While the above-described uses (and potential uses) of social media by insurance companies are important to note, it must be pointed out there is another side of the proverbial coin to social media in insurance. A not-insignificant number of insurance companies — concerned about the novelty of the medium, the lack of explicit regulatory and legal guidance, and very real practical and technical issues — have either banned the use of social media outright or taken an approach of benign disregard r