The Dangers of Allowing an Insurance Company to Track your Driving Habits

Insurance companies have recently promoted certain programs that allow those drivers with safe driving records to receive discounts on car insurance. Insurance companies offer their customers the ability to download specific apps on their cell phones that can use GPS to track certain statistics such as speed or if a driver has been involved in an accident. The tradeoff for allowing the insurance company access to your data and information is a lower monthly insurance premium. However, there are some unexpected dangers associated with allowing an insurance company (or any company) to have access to your cell phone and your personal information.

Driver Benefits

It seems completely fair to provide a better insurance rate to drivers with safer records, and car insurance companies are already doing this. If you go for a certain period of time without an accident, you are rewarded. Driver discounts can be substantial for safe drivers, and advocates of this system argue that these rewards incentivize good driving behavior which can save lives. In some cases, drivers may receive reduced rates based on their safety records, and in other cases, drivers may receive benefits for driving fewer miles.

Concerns Regarding Data Privacy

In a world where all of your data can be on your cell phone, and significant privacy data can be obtained through unintentional breaches, providing an insurance company with unlimited access to your cell phone may be cause for concern. While you may be receiving lower premium rates for your car insurance, you may be relinquishing some of your most important data and privacy rights. Some studies have shown that the sacrifice of privacy rights with these types of programs are much more substantial than insurance customers actually understand. In fact, some of this data may be utilized by the insurance company in ways that the driver never expected. For example, this data may be sold to third party marketers or used for tracking purposes. Additionally, the more companies that have access to a person’s data, the more likely they are to be breached by a cyberattack in the future.

Know Your Policy

Make sure that if you make the decision to take part in a driving app offered by your insurance company for reduced rates that you completely understand the agreement. Make sure to actually read the fine print and understand what the insurance company is legally allowed to track regarding your driving and safety record. Understand how this data will directly impact your insurance premium and if your data may be sold or provided to any third-party for marketing or other purposes in the future. Additionally, can this information be used against you if you were even in a car accident and trying to obtain compensation under a personal injury claim? Finding out the specifics will help you better understand if this program will benefit you in the long run.

Let Us Help You Today

If you were in a car accident, contact a Columbia car accident attorney at The Stanley Law Group at 803-799-4700 to help you build a strong personal injury case and help ensure your legal rights are protected.

Resource:

pewresearch.org/internet/2016/01/14/scenario-auto-insurance-discounts-and-monitoring/

https://www.thestanleylawgroup.com/car-accidents-due-to-unsafe-lane-changes/