Social Media Is Part of Your Business Identity

Your social media is now part of your business identity and it can absolutely kill a trucking quote or claim.

This post is inspired by a real situation from one of Jessica’s customers. A trucking quote was pulled back. Not repriced. Not tweaked. Decline.

Why?

Activity on the trucking company’s Instagram account.

The underwriter saw a post where the driver referred to a location as “home.” Based on that single word, they assumed the truck was garaged out of state from what was submitted. Different state, different exposure, quote pulled.

The facts matter here. That state is where his parents live. It’s where he grew up. He was passing through and called it home.

Underwriting does not care about sentiment. They care about risk.

Social Media Is No Longer Just Personal

If your business name is on the truck, your DOT is in the bio, or your rig is in the photo, that post is business information. Period.

Underwriters are not guessing anymore. They are verifying. Public information is fair game. And social media is public. In this day and age it is the representation of who you are. 

What Underwriters Are Looking At

Carriers are using every tool available to understand risk before they put their paper on it.

That includes:

• Location tags versus stated radius

• Posts that show NYC, Chicago, Atlanta, LA, ports

• Urban delivery, tight docks, residential exposure

• Specialized freight casually mentioned online

• Night driving, congestion, weather, lane changes

• Videos of a movie playing on the dash = distracted driving (even though you were parked the engine was still idling)

If your social media says one thing and your application says another, the carrier believes the post. Every time.

What Underwriters Assume

Underwriters do not ask follow-up questions on Instagram. They assume.

You say “home,” they assume garaging. You tag a city, they assume regular exposure.

You post it once, they assume it happens more than once.

Their job is not to interpret your intent. Their job is to protect the insurer.

Since Then, We Have Looked

After that quote got pulled, yes, we started looking at customer social media too. And honestly, we are scarred for life.

The amount of stuff we see that “is not happening,” while being clearly posted online, is wild.

Cities you said you never run. Loads you said you do not haul. Operations you swore were not part of your business.

Passengers in the cab of the truck.

Clear maintenance we can see needing done that you skipped over. (This is an invitation for FMCSA violations and a huge safety concern if you get in an accident now the lawyers can also see that you were negligent and your whole business just went down in flames, and it was preventable.)

How Social Media Shows Up in Claim Investigations

Once there is a claim, everything gets reviewed. Adjusters and defense teams build timelines, and social media is big part of that file.

They look for:

• Location tags confirming where the truck really was

• Video showing road type, congestion, lighting, weather

• Posts that contradict reported routes or radius

• Comments made by drivers or company pages after a loss

• Preventative maintenance that did not get taken care of and is now going to be highlighted in court for negligence.

If a claim says rural highway and your post shows downtown streets and parked cars, that inconsistency gets documented. It does not go away.

Posts made after an accident matter too. A casual “long night” caption can raise questions about fatigue or judgment when it lands in a claim file.

This does not mean every claim gets denied.

It does mean defense gets harder and outcomes get unpredictable.

Let’s Be Very Clear

Do not post stupid sh*t. Better yet, do not do it at all.

If you lie to your agent and then get caught in an uncovered claim, it's on you. That is accountability.

Trying to save money by cutting corners almost always costs more later. Claims headaches. Nonrenewal. Forced rewrites. Legal messes.

Our Role As Agents

As agents, we dedicate real time to telling your story to underwriters. That story is how you get placed correctly and priced fairly.

We can only tell the story you give us.

Underwriters are crafty. They will find inconsistencies. They will connect dots you forgot you posted.

And to be crystal clear, we will not help you untangle lies you created. We protect our clients. We do not protect bad faith.

Truck U Take

If your social media and your insurance application do not match, underwriting will trust Social Media every time.

Be honest with your agent, or be prepared to pay for it later.

If you are not sure your real operations line up with what is on your policy, let’s fix it before a carrier does it for you.

Call 254-294-7798 or email info@trucku.biz. We review operations for a living, not just quote numbers.

Disclosure

This post is for educational purposes only. It is not legal advice, insurance advice, or a substitute for calling your agent. Truck U is good, but we are not psychic. Policies vary, laws change, and courtrooms get weird. Do not make decisions based solely on something you read on the internet unless it is from us, in writing, with your name on it.

All opinions are our own and do not represent the views of any carrier, employer, or underwriting department that occasionally wishes we were quieter on LinkedIn.