The Internet of Things (for cars) also has its downsides
What exactly is your car telling your insurance company?
More and more vehicles being manufactured today are connected to the internet. That’s good, right? In a way, it is. Internet connectivity makes it easier to deploy software updates and send emergency services to a vehicle’s location after an accident. But as internet connectivity becomes a more everyday feature, some drivers are starting to learn about some unexpected downsides. That means insurance companies may have access to very detailed data about how you drive. And, as a result, your premium payments can increase significantly.
That’s the gist of a blockbuster New York Times report by Kashmir Hill writer and author of books on technology and privacy. It turns out that some automakers send data to LexisNexis, which then sells it to insurance companies. This means instances of hard braking can be tracked and recorded, which could ultimately lead to higher premiums when renewing your cover.
As Hill points out, some automakers are more explicitly committed to sharing driver data with third parties than others. Some people don’t. Hill cited his own experience with the Smart His Driver program that “provides driving insights on how to become a smarter and safer driver” as an example. “I have a GM car, a Chevrolet,” she wrote. She said, “I completed the Smart Driver registration process. There were no warnings or noticeable disclosures that third parties could access my driving data.”
The issue of privacy and what drivers believe they are consenting to is one of the big themes of this legislation. times But a broader question looms over everything. So, as an industry, how do we communicate this to drivers who may be affected? Hill said lawmakers at the state and federal level are concerned about this, and drivers themselves have resources at their disposal. But in an age of labyrinthine terms-of-service documents and long chains of third-party services, spelling out exactly which companies can access what data can be surprisingly complex.
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