Automakers may be sharing your driving habits with Insurance Companies
 

There is a article in today's NY Times talking about how your driving data is being shared with insurance companies. Yes it is behind a pay wall.

Automakers Are Sharing Consumers’ Driving Behavior With Insurance Companies - The New York Times

An excerpt

"Mr. Dahl, 65, was surprised in 2022 when the cost of his car insurance jumped by 21 percent. Quotes from other insurance companies were also high. One insurance agent told him his LexisNexis report was a factor.

LexisNexis is a New York-based global data broker with a “Risk Solutions” division that caters to the auto insurance industry and has traditionally kept tabs on car accidents and tickets. Upon Mr. Dahl’s request, LexisNexis sent him a 258-page “consumer disclosure report,” which it must provide per the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

What it contained stunned him: more than 130 pages detailing each time he or his wife had driven the Bolt over the previous six months. It included the dates of 640 trips, their start and end times, the distance driven and an accounting of any speeding, hard braking or sharp accelerations. The only thing it didn’t have is where they had driven the car."

If you have Onstar or similar system, big brother is watching!

Nothing new here. 'Black box' technology has been standard in most vehicles for years. One of the major insurance companies has advertised a plug in for its customers that allows them to track in lieu of potential premium reductions. Get used to it. You all can use Google maps and Waze or smartphones to make it easier in them .... i'll stick to soft cover maps and AAA TripTiks!

Personally, I don't have a problem with big brother tracking my driving. But, a 21 percent increase in premiums may have nothing to do with the driving report. I had Allstate auto insurance for 27 years with no claims, no tickets, no excessive driving usage, and very little highway driving, and they raised my premium by 32 percent. Go figure.

My grandson has a black box fitted to his car by insurance company.
It lowers his premium a lot, and as a new 17-year-old driver, it is a big help.
Insurance premiums for first time drivers in many cases in the UK exceed the cost of the car being driven.
It also gives both his parents, and us, a little more peace of mind in that too much speed or hard cornering and breaking will cost him big time financially.

The industry, while wanting safe drivers and credit worthy clientele, the real money is in poor drivers. Higher premiums and surcharges. I equate it to an auto dealer...most don't care about a briefcase with cash for purchase. Theyre selling financing (interest etc) and extended warranties.

If an insurance premium cost more than the car, one would have to be pretty stupid to buy anything more than liability.

If a carrier would even underwrite it

Minimum insurance in UK is Third Party, Fire and Theft.
My grandson pays close to £1750 for comprehensive insurance, with a black box, but has a Volvo which is considered a lower risk car which kept premium down.
His friend has a VW Golf, and pays close to £3000.
Golfs are a Higher premium simply because of the number of accidents they have.
Boy Racers preferred wheels!

I’m guessing dodge challenge hellcats don’t sell well over there?

Only us pensioners can afford to run them!

I've had Allstate all my adult life, and my parents had Allstate when I was growing up. Our insurance went down when we moved here. It's gone up a little bit since then, but it's still less than it was when we lived up north, 5 years ago. Plus - I signed up for their Drivewise program. I figure they know every move I make anyway, I might as well get a discount for the privilege. So I get 3% off my premium just because I signed up for the program. And if my driving habits are "clean" I get up to another 7% discount.

That's on top of all the discounts we get now. We're paying around $1400 per -year- for two vehicles, combined, and another $200 (give or take a few bucks) for the two golf carts.

I saved more than 50 percent by switching to State Farm, after Allstate raised my premium by 32 percent.

Onstar has used technology to disable stolen cars for many years.

Find those who have memory issues and have lost their way.

Have helped young girls get to safety when a potential adult to trying to do them harm

Reported an accident when passengers are unconscious.

Given direction to quickly leave an unsafe area.

So yep big brother may be watching, but countless people have been saved

All of the above true. How did we all make it this far in life without all of this technology?!

First Mercedes I bought, I think 2003. I get a phone call, from an out-of-breath young lady, inquiring as to my location and if I'm safe. "Quite safe", I replied. "We're showing your vehicle is in the ocean, are you in it", she asks?

"Nah, but I'm on the Ferry Boat to Martha's Vineyard".

Unfortunately, insurance pricing is based(mostly) on the companies paid claims and your share of a pool of people.

When petrol is $5-$6 a gallon, hellcats too expensive to run

When a man following our 17yo granddaughter for 11 miles trying to force her off the road multiple times.

Onstar was with her along with 9 local and county sheriffs, driving near her. For 21 minutes she was directed where to turn, finally guiding her to a parking area. Where she was told where to park and not to move, officers were in place to keep her safe.

The man jumped out of his car with a tire iron, tried to get inside. Within seconds Leo’s took over situation (man had been convicted of prior abduction).

The Onstar advisor acting quickly to get Sheriff in place to save her. For us without that technology she could have been attacked or worse.

For the last 4 years she goes to schools to give her accounts and warnings of what to do with either on board advisors or cellphones if anyone thinks they are could be in danger while driving. Not to hesitate calling even if it may be a false alarm.

She is still in contact with the officers and Onstar advisor, thankful for their help, keeping her safe

Every parents (grandparents) nightmare. Glad yours was a happy ending. Kudos to your granddaughter for educating young people as I’m sure it’s a form of therapy for her as well. Thank you for sharing

Why is that tracking bad?
Ever have to brake hard to avoid a collision because someone pulls out right in front of you? = Rate increase.
Ever drive in a school zone when school is closed and the blinking yellow lights are not on? = Rate increase.
Ever drive on an interstate at 2mph above the speed limit? = Rate increase.
Ever exceed the speed limit to pass another vehicle? = Rate increase.
Ever allow someone else to drive your car, one time perhaps? Like a Valet or a serviceman, and you have zero control over what they do? = Rate increase.

Do you think driving "perfectly" is possible, and if you did, your rate goes down? LOL ROFL

Just another piece of the Orwellian nightmare jigsaw puzzle. They're starting to make King George III look good.:1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

Safe pilot
 

I installed a free app from my insurance company USAA that tracks my driving . I get a 10 % discount due to the driving score
I receive.
Don’t see or have a problem if any auto maker wants to do the same
thing . .

Not the way it works for most companies (from someone who has used the devices to lower his rates).

Don't see a problem??? Seriously???

Maybe you would allow the insurance company to install cameras in your home to make sure you don't have any unsafe throw rugs that would affect your liability premium? How about a bathroom camera to insure you use the grab bar in the shower correctly??? After all, just like driving, they are "protecting" you by encouraging "safe" behavior and rating up the premiums on those that don't comply with their rules. Yes, Big Brother is watching.

Not a problem if you are provided a choice and the ability to opt out. I believe one of the main points of the article was that the data was being collected and forwarded without informing the user.

I would absolutely argue that three confusing sentences buried in a fifteen page EULA is not "informing the user."

When I purchase an automobile and have the title, I OWN it, and everything in it, including any computer components. When I own it, I control it. Nobody else has the authority to use it for any reason. If I want my insurance company to track me, then I will give them permission to install their tracking equipment. Otherwise, it's an invasion of privacy.
If you're worried about your physical safety from others, then carry a firearm.
If you're worried about getting lost, then learn how to read a map.
If you're worried about getting locked out of your vehicle, then carry a spare set of keys or key fob.
If you don't know how to change a flat tire, then don't drive.

Don't give up your personal freedoms for a bit of convenience.
My own opinion, and I've told countless Chevy and GM salesmen ..".Onstar is for idiots".[/LIST]

Great points. Where does it end and like anything else, if there is no pushback every facet of your life will be infringed upon. The problem here is there will be no way to hit the reset

Oddly, this actually makes a good argument for using the data. My insurance rates are calculated according to the "group" I am in (over 55, married, multi-vehicle, homeowner, multi-year safe driver, anti-theft system, etc). There are likely some in my "group" who regularly drive in an unsafe manner resulting in crashes, claims, and an increase of rates. If my insurance company could know that I was NOT one of those drivers then it could put me in a different group with lower rates and up the premiums on those with the unsafe habits. That actually makes a lot of sense.

Ultimately, however, I agree with you. I don't want to be tracked and I don't want to be monitored, I don't want to give an inch then find out I've lost a mile. That is why I have declined to enroll in any voluntary monitoring program.

Exactly. And here's the ultimate irony: Those who are stupid enough to allow their insurance company track their driving habits (i.e.: sold out their privacy and freedoms for a few bucks) will be the loudest to whine and complain when for whatever reason THEIR premiums get raised.

It's not dissimilar to a recent thread where a poster was "happy" that sheriff pulled over a "speeder" on BV (limit 35) because he "deserved" it while that poster was driving at 42 and the other guy was going faster. I never got a response to my comment that he was also "speeding" and maybe the slug going 28 thought that HE deserved it as well. So, did he have a tracking device??? I doubt it.

It's only a good argument until.....
You get rated up for going 1 mph over the speed limit, or
Slam on the brakes to avoid a 3 year old kid, or
Floor it through the intersection with a green light when you notice some bozo running the red light and headed straight for you.

I'm sure the insurance company would attentively listen to your story, and then rate you up anyway---after all, what's the downside for them?

The way it has worked when the insurance company required the use of the device for my initial policy was that thresholds were set. There was no opportunity for me to explain that I slammed on the brakes to avoid the 3 year old kid but instead, the insurance company took into consideration how many times 3 year old kids were running into the street in front of me. I don't recall if the threshold was three or five or ten incidents in a month but I never reached it.

Yes, the company could lower the threshold to a single incident. They could also reverse the analysis and use the driving habits of those that made claims to adjust the thresholds down.

I don't trust insurance companies and so I haven't volunteered for those type of programs.

Basically, if the pitch includes, "If you are doing nothing wrong then you have nothing to worry about," then I want no part of it.

MAY BE? You’re kidding right. IMO they’re no doubt. :)

I don't like the IDEA or CONCEPT of big brother tracking my driving habits. But if they do, I would probably get an insurance discount. I drive defensively and keep a reasonable distance between my car and the vehicle in front of me. I don't speed and I brake slowly to a stop. I only slam on the brakes to prevent an accident when some clown makes a mistake and pulls in front of me without looking (which happens fairly often in The Villages).
.....I read recently that during the Covid years that tickets for aggressive driving increased (and also murders).

Interesting story and I think that it is important that he VOLUNTEERED to be monitored. That takes the "big brother" concept out of the picture.

I wonder if the insurance for an e-vehicle would be higher or lower than gas. And was there more fires or less with E-vehicles?

Talk to a professional firefighter. A car fire is more manageable for a department. Without a foam truck in your arsenal all you can do is stand by and wait....for hours til an E vehicle burns out and into its own debris field.

I disable drivewise when I'm visiting my family in southeastern Florida. The "speeding" max is 80mph, if you hit that number, you lose the credit for that month. Sometimes, I'll be in the middle lane behind people going a little slow (like, 60-65 in a 70mph zone), and traffic is starting to back up behind me. So I'll speed up significantly to pass them on the left, often going over 80mph just to get past them. I get back into the middle lane and slow down to 68-72mh, and continue on my way. The drivewise program doesn't know WHY I'm speeding up, only that I am. So - I shut it off before I head out for a trip where I expect to do that at least a couple of times.

Is it really ‘shut off’? Let’s be real. No different than Siri, Alexa etc. Just a quick search on OnStar doesn’t address if they ‘listen’ or monitor to you unsuspecting, only that a warrant is needed for law enforcement access to your activity.

Driving data is being shared with insurance companies?
 

Sure? Federal law enforcement can do about anything. Why are the paying companies millions for information. You think FB makes billions from free web site? They’re selling you information to anyone that will pay. Problem 3rd party rule and tiny fine print when signup?