Could you imagine filing an insurance claim and then having them secretly follow you to church, synagogue, mosque, or other place of worship to track, record, and surveil you socializing and praying? Imagine them watching you and recording you from the parking lot or across the street as you go inside. Imagine that those you care about--friends, family, and other people who go there are being seen and recorded incidentally in the background or as they wait for you to show up. Can you imagine them secretly looking to see if you can bow or kneel in prayer to determine the legitimacy of your claim?

No one should have a private company research their religion and their potential places of worship or religious activities. No one should have to worry about filing an insurance claim because they might be secretly followed, recorded, and surveilled practicing their religion.

Insurance fraud is a serious issue and crime that hurts both the companies and other customers. Special Investigation Units (SIU), which are private and not affiliated with law enforcement, are generally necessary for insurance companies to investigate whether people are trying to defraud them. However, The Hartford has gone too far by investigating their claimant's religions and nearby potential places of worship.

The Hartford, in their SIU reports, has noted on at least one occasion as an "additional point of interest" that a claimant was "believed to be Jewish" and listed the closest place of worship (synagogue). Meanwhile, this raises the question as to whether this was to use for the investigation or to legitimize it. 

We are asking The Hartford to institute a policy for its SIU to avoid investigating or using as evidence a claimant's religion or potential religious activities as either justification for or as part of an investigation into any potential fraud. Please sign and share to let The Hartford know that religion should not be investigated and recorded in a person's claim file and religious activities should be off-limits for recording and surveilling them.