Is your insurance company tracking your driving? You might have agreed to such tracking in exchange for a reduced rate. But you should be aware of the risks. Insurance companies are interested in tracking your driving so they can monitor your driving behavior. The data on your driving behavior may be used against by the insurance company when you make a claim, and may even be subpoenaed by the other side. In addition to these concerns, if your insurance company is tracking your driving, they’re also privy to a great deal of your personal information. Privacy concerns aside, if your driving behavior is good, allowing your insurance company to track your driving may be worth the savings.
Tracking Your Driving? How??
Today, the majority of auto insurance companies offer usage-based insurance (UBI) programs. Once you join this program, the insurance company provides the equipment to track your driving habits. Tracking your driving is done with a device plugged into an onboard diagnostic (OBD) car port or by way of a smartphone app. Late-model cars may already come with a tracking device already installed. Your insurance company may be tracking your driving through any of these three methods. Assuming you drive safely according to the metrics used by your insurer, you get the benefit of discounted insurance rates.
Tracking your driving means your auto insurance company is collecting the following information:
- Driving speed
- Braking and acceleration habits, such as hard braking or rapid acceleration
- Turning habits, for example hard cornering
- How often you drive, and for how long
- Daytime or nighttime driving
- Phone use while driving, for instance smartphone apps
Most major car insurance companies today offer programs for the purpose of tracking your driving. However, such programs are completely voluntary. Your insurance company can’t track your vehicle unless you agree. Let’s say you opted into such a program, but you want to drop out. You can do so, but keep in mind that your insurance rates are likely to rise.
Tracking Your Driving: The Risks
There are two primary risks to allowing your auto insurance company to monitor your driving. The first issue concerns privacy. Your insurance company may be tracking your driving to see where you were on a certain date at a specific time. They may want see if you tend to drive too fast on a regular basis. But if your insurer is tracking your driving through your smartphone, data can be collected even when you’re not driving. Worse yet, your insurer can collect even non-driving-related data, for example your credit card information. Only you can decide if you feel comfortable allowing your insurance company to access your private information.
The second risk to having your insurance company tracking your driving is that any data collected can be used against you. Let’s say you get in a car accident and file a claim for damage to your car. Your insurance company can use tracking data to deny or offer a lesser amount in compensation for your claim. In a lawsuit regarding an accident involving a second vehicle, the attorneys for the other party can subpoena your insurance company’s tracking data to look for something they can use against you.
At the same time, tracking data may help your case when filing an insurance claim.
Tracking data can also support your case when filing an insurance claim. In the event of an accident-related lawsuit, your attorneys may be able to prove the other party is at fault. What is critical for drivers to know is that tracking data goes both ways: the data may help or hurt an insurance claim or lawsuit.
Tracking Device Damage Concerns
Some insurance tracking devices have been accused of causing damage to cars. Car insurance trackers that plug into a car’s OBD port have, in particular, been accused of draining the car battery or destroying the car’s electrical system. In 2018, a class action lawsuit was initiates against Progressive Insurance in regard to its Snapshot tracking device. While Progressive did not acknowledge that the Snapshot device damages car batteries or electrical systems, the insurance company did settle out of court in 2019. In light of these allegations and the failure of Progressive to either acknowledge or disavow them, you’d be smart to keep watch on your battery and electrical system if you’re in a program that uses the OBD tracking device.
