Life insurance companies are increasingly relying on technology to evaluate risk, investigate claims, and justify denials. One of the newest and most troubling trends involves the use of geolocation and mobility data. Many policyholders and beneficiaries are shocked to learn that information pulled from smartphones, apps, vehicles, or wearable devices may be cited as a reason to deny a life insurance claim.
This practice raises serious legal, ethical, and contractual concerns. In many cases, insurers are stretching data far beyond its original purpose and using it in ways that policyholders never agreed to when purchasing coverage.
What Is Geolocation and Mobility Data
Geolocation data refers to information that identifies where a person was located at a specific time. Mobility data tracks patterns of movement over time. Together, these data sources can paint a detailed picture of a person’s daily life.
Common sources include smartphone GPS data, fitness trackers, smart watches, vehicle telematics systems, ride share histories, social media check ins, and even data sold by third party brokers. While this information is often collected for convenience or health tracking, insurers may attempt to use it during a claim investigation.
How Insurers Use This Data to Deny Claims
Life insurance companies may argue that geolocation or mobility data proves a misrepresentation, policy violation, or exclusion. Some of the most common denial scenarios include claims that the insured traveled to a restricted country, engaged in hazardous activities, misrepresented their lifestyle during underwriting, violated policy terms related to occupation or hobbies, or provided inaccurate information about health or physical activity levels.
For example, an insurer might claim that GPS data shows frequent travel to high risk locations, contradicting answers on the application. In other cases, step count or activity data may be used to argue that a medical condition was more severe than disclosed. These arguments are often speculative and unsupported by the actual policy language.
Why These Denials Are Often Unfair
Life insurance policies are contracts. The insurer must prove that a specific policy provision was violated and that the violation was material to the risk. Simply pointing to location data does not automatically meet that burden.
Many policies do not clearly define prohibited travel or activities. Others require intentional misrepresentation, not innocent or unrelated movement patterns. In addition, geolocation data is frequently incomplete, inaccurate, or taken out of context. A data point showing a location does not explain why the insured was there, how long they stayed, or what they were doing.
There are also serious privacy concerns. Policyholders are rarely informed that this type of data could be used to evaluate or deny a claim. In some cases, insurers obtain the data after death through broad authorizations signed by grieving beneficiaries who do not understand the implications.
Legal Challenges to Geolocation Based Denials
Courts across the country are beginning to scrutinize these denials more closely. Judges often question whether the data is reliable, whether it was lawfully obtained, and whether it actually relates to a policy exclusion. Insurers cannot rewrite policy terms after the fact by importing modern technology into older contracts.
In denied life insurance claims, the key issues usually involve materiality, intent, causation, and contractual interpretation. Even if location data is accurate, it must still directly relate to a valid exclusion or misrepresentation that justifies denying benefits.
What Beneficiaries Should Do After a Denial
If a life insurance claim is denied based on geolocation or mobility data, beneficiaries should not assume the insurer is correct. These denials are highly technical and often vulnerable to legal challenge.
It is critical to request the full claim file, identify exactly what data the insurer relied on, and compare those findings to the actual policy language. Many denials collapse once subjected to legal scrutiny, especially when insurers rely on vague assumptions rather than clear contractual violations.
Protecting Policyholders and Beneficiaries
As insurers continue to adopt new technology, policyholders and beneficiaries must remain vigilant. Just because data exists does not mean it can be used to deny a life insurance claim. Contracts still control, and insurers must follow the law.
Denied life insurance claims based on geolocation or mobility data represent a growing battleground in insurance law. With proper legal analysis, many of these denials can be challenged and overturned.
We have recently settled claims from: National Life Group; Global Atlantic; OneAmerica; Athene Annuity & Life; and USAA life insurance companies.