ARAG is launching a new policy

This article first featured on Irish Independent

Specialist insurance firm Arag Ireland is rolling out a new product that it claims can help protect people who have faced difficulties with damaging or untrue postings about them on social media..
The firm, which specialises in legal expenses insurance, said its new Safer Social product would be available as an add on to household, motor and commercial insurance. Arag CEO Adrienne O’Sullivan,

The new product, which launches this week, will monitor for harmful and damaging content on behalf of organisations and individuals and intervene with a legal letter if necessary to have it removed.

“This really is a new innovation across the world of insurance,” she said.

“When you have a Safer Social policy with Arag we will monitor social media and have content taken down.

The service is being rolled out in conjunction with partner RiskEye

“This really is a new innovation across the world of insurance,” she said.

“When you have a Safer Social policy with Arag we will monitor social media and have content taken down.

This could be content that is harmful to you, your family or your organisation. Perhaps it could be a problem with stalking or someone could be a victim of hateful content, sexploitation or defamatory content, for example,” she said.

“From experience, the platforms react very quickly to the initial request to take down content. It is only if they don’t react that they get a letter from a specialised legal representative.”

The Safer Social insurance does not cover any further legal action beyond that point but O’Sullivan believes that in the vast majority of cases this will be adequate to deal with most issues.

The service is being rolled out in conjunction with partner RiskEye, an Irish firm that has built expertise in online harm, security and mitigation over the past decade.

The highest level of cover – aimed at organisations – will include access to RiskEye’s social media monitoring service, a platform already used by numerous large Irish firms and brands for monitoring the web for damaging content.

But individuals will also be able to sign up for cover that provides assistance once damaging content appears on social media about them or their family members.

“The Safer Social people will monitor it, write to the platform and get that stuff taken down” O'Sullivan said.

"And if necessary, if that doesn't happen, Arag will write a legal letter to the platform.

And what the legal letter does is ensure that the platform cannot use the defence of ignorance about damaging and harmful content.”

A pilot version of the service was rolled out last year by Arag and RiskEye for the National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals (NAPD), providing assistance and protection to school principals who face online abuse.

Now, Arag intends to initially target the product at other representative associations, and trade unions before selling directly into the consumer market.

Arag will monitor for and flag harmful and damaging content before intervening to have it removed

“We’re talking to our big insurer partners about rolling this out.”

The speed of the rollout will depend on the platforms different insurers use, with legacy systems used by some insurers taking longer to deploy innovative products. O’Sullivan said that some older systems used in the sector took time to update and that this sometimes slowed down access to new products.

But for those who do have access to the product, the cover begins on day one.

“With it they get access to legal advice as well as counselling where people have faced upsetting situations.”

The firm has spearheaded the growth of legal service insurances in Ireland, covering action that arises from home, motoring and personal claims. It provides access to a 24-hour legal advice helpline and cover for legal representation if needed.

When you have a Safer Social policy with Arag we will monitor social media and have content taken down

“So, for example, with car insurance this added legal protection will provide cover for legal representation if somebody hit me, or if there is a dispute with a garage where my car is being fixed.

Or it might be to cover for a legal defence if I’m prosecuted for speeding.”

The insurance also provides access to a counselling service if it is needed.

“We are now up at €10m in premium income per annum and that is growing steadily at 5pc every year.

51pc of our income comes from the commercial insurance market and the SME sector is our focus, although we still very much have motor legal protection and family legal protection.”

From Tuesday, alongside the rollout of Safer Social, Arag will also offer its clients the opportunity to try to settle issues without going to court through a new partnership with specialist organisation Let’s Mediate.

“It is faster, it's less costly, and, unlike a legal case, it's in private.”

O’Sullivan expects as many as 85pc of cases that claim through Arag will – at least initially – go for mediation.

“Some people may still want to go the litigation route and that is fine. But really, the promotion of alternative dispute resolutions is what access to justice, in our view, is all about and may give the best outcomes.”

Disclaimer - all information in this article was correct at time of publishing.