In insurance Big Data could lower rates for optimistic tweeters 4-Traders

But such tweets could help insurers to price premiums for individuals, with research suggesting a direct link between positive posts and a reduced risk of heart disease. This could lead to future insurance cover based on "sentiment analysis", in which Big Data and artificial intelligence make predictive models ever more accurate. Swiss Re ( Swiss Re AG) says technological advances will cut the price of insurance protection and help individuals and firms make better decisions through programs that offer advice and incentivise improvements in areas such as health and driving. However, detractors fret that such developments could erode customers' privacy or lead to increasingly personalized pricing, undermining the basic principle of insurance - sharing risk. Social media monitoring is one of several advances insurers are examining to improve the pricing of policies.