[hawkharris]

Thanks for reading and offering feedback. I agree that web searches alone are variable, but some health care companies consider the data in aggregate, along with other factors, to develop profiles of patients. Here's one example of an insurance company using online browsing data to set insurance rates and policies: http://www.cnbc.com/id/101586404

[dalke]

That article says nothing about "using online browsing data to set insurance rates and policies."

To start with, every insurance company develops a statistical model of each and every customer. Non-smokers get lower rates than smokers. Life insurance depends on age. That's how insurance companies must work.

That article says that some insurance companies use more than just risk factors in order to determine the price, but also information like market power (or lack thereof) for your market segment. For example, poor or immigrant people may not have the time or knowledge to look for alternative companies, so an insurance company may offer an initially low price to get lock-in, then raise it after a few years to be above the price needed for actuarial reasons.

It doesn't talk about online browsing data, and it doesn't talk about personalized factors other than the expected aggregate demographic modeling.