Drivers of cars manufactured by General Motors, Ford, Honda and other popular brands say that their insurance rates went up after the businesses sent data about their driving behavior to issuers without their knowledge.
Kenn Dahl, 65, is a Seattle-area businessman who told The Recent York Times that his automobile insurance costs soared by 21% in 2022 after GM’s OnStar Smart Driver computerized system installed in his Chevy Bolt collected information in regards to the particulars of his driving habits.
Dahl said that his insurance agent told him the worth increase was based on data collected by LexisNexis, which compiled a report tracking every time he and his wife drove their Chevy Bolt over a six-month period.
Based on Dahl, the 258-page report contained information in regards to the start and end times of his trips, distance driven and other data detailing possible instances of speeding, hard braking and sharp accelerations.
The report contained details about one particular trip in June which lasted 18 minutes and spanned 7.33 miles
During that very same trip, the LexisNexis report recorded two instances of rapid acceleration and two incidents of hard braking.
The LexisNexis report indicated that the main points it had cobbled together were gleaned from the OnStar Smart Driver, the GM-owned subscription service that records driver information corresponding to total miles driven, hard braking incident and other points of driver behavior.
Based on its site, OnStar Smart Driver “provides driving insights on how you may grow to be a wiser, safer driver” while enabling users to “earn badges by completing challenges, construct on streaks specific to different driving habits and consider all of your data in an intuitive dashboard.”
“It felt like a betrayal,” Dahl said. “They’re taking information that I didn’t realize was going to be shared and screwing with our insurance.”
It’s not only electric vehicle owners who’re complaining.
A Cadillac driver based in Palm Beach County, Fla., told the Times that he’s considering a lawsuit against GM after he was denied automobile insurance by seven different corporations in December.
He said he’s planning to sell his Cadillac and that he won’t ever buy one other GM-made automobile again.
The choice was based on a LexisNexis report which detailed six months of his driving behavior, including quite a few instances of hard braking, hard accelerating and speeding.
“I don’t know the definition of hard brake. My passenger’s head isn’t hitting the dash,” the unnamed Cadillac driver, who like Dahl was enrolled within the OnStar Smart Driver subscription service, told the Times.
“Same with acceleration. I’m not peeling out. I’m undecided how the automobile defines that. I don’t feel I’m driving aggressively or dangerously.”
GM, whose portfolio of brands includes Chevy, GMC, Cadillac and Buick, isn’t the one automobile company that’s gathering data through web connectivity after which providing it to insurance firms.
Subaru, Mitsubishi, Honda, Kia and Hyundai also offer drivers the choice of turning on similar features without them being aware that the information is being sold to brokers just like LexisNexis.
Verisk said it has accessed driver data from thousands and thousands of vehicles including those made by Ford, Honda and Hyundai.
A Ford spokesperson told the Times that the corporate “doesn’t transmit any connected vehicle data to either partner” — a reference to Verisk and LexisNexis.
Ford will only share driver behavior data with an insurance company if the motive force give explicit consent via an in-vehicle touch screen.
Kia, Mitsubishi, Hyundai, Honda and Acura enable drivers to show off data collection regarding on-road behavior of their apps.
But Honda requires drivers to just accept a 2,000-word “terms and conditions” screen on its app that specifies the corporate will share data with Verisk.
The Post has sought comment from Honda.
“GM’s OnStar Smart Driver service is optional to customers, who give their consent thrice before limited data is shared with an insurance carrier through a 3rd party,” a GM spokesperson told The Post.
“Customer advantages include learning more about their protected driving behaviors or vehicle performance that, with their consent, could also be used to acquire insurance quotes,” the spokesperson said, adding: “Customers can even unenroll from Smart Driver at any time.”
A LexisNexis spokesperson told the Times that the knowledge it takes in from OnStar is “for insurers to make use of as one factor of many to create more personalized insurance coverage.”
Drivers of cars manufactured by General Motors, Ford, Honda and other popular brands say that their insurance rates went up after the businesses sent data about their driving behavior to issuers without their knowledge.
Kenn Dahl, 65, is a Seattle-area businessman who told The Recent York Times that his automobile insurance costs soared by 21% in 2022 after GM’s OnStar Smart Driver computerized system installed in his Chevy Bolt collected information in regards to the particulars of his driving habits.
Dahl said that his insurance agent told him the worth increase was based on data collected by LexisNexis, which compiled a report tracking every time he and his wife drove their Chevy Bolt over a six-month period.
Based on Dahl, the 258-page report contained information in regards to the start and end times of his trips, distance driven and other data detailing possible instances of speeding, hard braking and sharp accelerations.
The report contained details about one particular trip in June which lasted 18 minutes and spanned 7.33 miles
During that very same trip, the LexisNexis report recorded two instances of rapid acceleration and two incidents of hard braking.
The LexisNexis report indicated that the main points it had cobbled together were gleaned from the OnStar Smart Driver, the GM-owned subscription service that records driver information corresponding to total miles driven, hard braking incident and other points of driver behavior.
Based on its site, OnStar Smart Driver “provides driving insights on how you may grow to be a wiser, safer driver” while enabling users to “earn badges by completing challenges, construct on streaks specific to different driving habits and consider all of your data in an intuitive dashboard.”
“It felt like a betrayal,” Dahl said. “They’re taking information that I didn’t realize was going to be shared and screwing with our insurance.”
It’s not only electric vehicle owners who’re complaining.
A Cadillac driver based in Palm Beach County, Fla., told the Times that he’s considering a lawsuit against GM after he was denied automobile insurance by seven different corporations in December.
He said he’s planning to sell his Cadillac and that he won’t ever buy one other GM-made automobile again.
The choice was based on a LexisNexis report which detailed six months of his driving behavior, including quite a few instances of hard braking, hard accelerating and speeding.
“I don’t know the definition of hard brake. My passenger’s head isn’t hitting the dash,” the unnamed Cadillac driver, who like Dahl was enrolled within the OnStar Smart Driver subscription service, told the Times.
“Same with acceleration. I’m not peeling out. I’m undecided how the automobile defines that. I don’t feel I’m driving aggressively or dangerously.”
GM, whose portfolio of brands includes Chevy, GMC, Cadillac and Buick, isn’t the one automobile company that’s gathering data through web connectivity after which providing it to insurance firms.
Subaru, Mitsubishi, Honda, Kia and Hyundai also offer drivers the choice of turning on similar features without them being aware that the information is being sold to brokers just like LexisNexis.
Verisk said it has accessed driver data from thousands and thousands of vehicles including those made by Ford, Honda and Hyundai.
A Ford spokesperson told the Times that the corporate “doesn’t transmit any connected vehicle data to either partner” — a reference to Verisk and LexisNexis.
Ford will only share driver behavior data with an insurance company if the motive force give explicit consent via an in-vehicle touch screen.
Kia, Mitsubishi, Hyundai, Honda and Acura enable drivers to show off data collection regarding on-road behavior of their apps.
But Honda requires drivers to just accept a 2,000-word “terms and conditions” screen on its app that specifies the corporate will share data with Verisk.
The Post has sought comment from Honda.
“GM’s OnStar Smart Driver service is optional to customers, who give their consent thrice before limited data is shared with an insurance carrier through a 3rd party,” a GM spokesperson told The Post.
“Customer advantages include learning more about their protected driving behaviors or vehicle performance that, with their consent, could also be used to acquire insurance quotes,” the spokesperson said, adding: “Customers can even unenroll from Smart Driver at any time.”
A LexisNexis spokesperson told the Times that the knowledge it takes in from OnStar is “for insurers to make use of as one factor of many to create more personalized insurance coverage.”
