Driving fast or braking hard? Your connected car may be telling your insurance company

Automakers like General Motors (GM) are sharing customers’ detailed driving behavior data with insurance companies, a practice that can lead to higher premiums for some drivers. According to a report in The New York Times today, the practice is fueling concerns over privacy and consent in the IoT world.   

The Times report focused on the experience of Kenn Dahl, a driver who saw his car insurance rates jump by 21%, seemingly out of the blue. When Dahl decided to shop around with other insurance companies, he found competing quotes to be just as high. One agent explained that this was due to his LexisNexis report. 

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When Dahl requested a copy of that report, LexisNexis sent him a 258-page document that included every single trip he or his wife drove in their Chevy Bolt during the preceding six months. The report included a total of 640 trips, complete with dates, start and end times, distances driven, and comprehensive data on driving habits, like speeding, hard braking, and rapid accelerations. 

Insurance firms will use this data from LexisNexis — a global provider of legal and business information and analytics — to personalize insurance rates for drivers. Anyone can download their own Consumer Disclosure Report online, in compliance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

Many insurance companies offer “safe driving” discounts, giving those who maintain a clean driving record a better rate. Some even offer devices installed in your car or location tracking through mobile apps to track your driving habits and watch for signs of safe driving, including steady acceleration, gentle braking, and observing speed limits. 

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But these discount programs — like Progressive’s Snapshot, Allstate’s Drivewise, and Geico’s DriveEasy — are ones that drivers enter willingly and knowingly. 

I bet you’ve never bought a car and been told plainly that the automaker will be able to track and see how you drive, down to the minute, and that insurance companies can use this data to adjust your rates. 

LexisNexis gathers this data from connected cars with the customer’s permission; the problem is that this consent is often buried in fine print or obtained indirectly without clear disclosure. On top of facing higher insurance premiums, drivers can feel surveilled and, consequently, lose trust in car makers.

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Connected cars are equipped with internet connectivity and the ability to collect and transmit data, and many of the vehicle models from recent years fall into this category (See what data your vehicle can collect here). Vehicles enrolled in telematics programs, like GM’s OnStar, HondaLink, and Hyundai’s Blue Link, can also collect driver behavior data that can be shared with LexisNexis. 

According to The Times, GM, Kia, Subaru, and Mitsubishi contribute to LexisNexis’ “Telematics Exchange,” which has gathered real-world driving behavior from more than 10 million vehicles as of 2022. 

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