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NYT: Is Your Driving Being Secretly Scored?
The insurance industry, hungry for insights into how people drive, has turned to automakers and smartphone apps like Life360.
Archived link (no paywall): https://archive.ph/pYdtT
You know you have a credit score. Did you know that you might also have a driver score? The score reflects the safety of your driving habits — how often you slam on the brakes, speed, look at your phone or drive late at night.
While you can see your credit score, you will have a harder time finding out what your driving score is. But auto insurance companies can get it — and that could affect the rate you pay.
For the last two decades, auto insurers have been trying to get people to enroll in programs, commonly called usage-based insurance plans, that monitor their day-to-day driving so rates better reflect the actual risk. But privacy-minded consumers have been reluctant to sign up.
So the industry has taken a different tack, getting data about how people drive from automakers or from apps that drivers already have on their phones. Experts say most people have no idea the insurance industry can track them this way.
- more at link -
While you can see your credit score, you will have a harder time finding out what your driving score is. But auto insurance companies can get it — and that could affect the rate you pay.
For the last two decades, auto insurers have been trying to get people to enroll in programs, commonly called usage-based insurance plans, that monitor their day-to-day driving so rates better reflect the actual risk. But privacy-minded consumers have been reluctant to sign up.
So the industry has taken a different tack, getting data about how people drive from automakers or from apps that drivers already have on their phones. Experts say most people have no idea the insurance industry can track them this way.
Beware of cellphone apps like Life360, MyRadar, and GasBuddy. Those apps could be tracking your driving habits and reporting to current or future insurance providers. You may not know that you're opted in. Some of the newer model cars are connected to the internet and they could be recording your driving speeds and braking habits, among other things. Insurance companies use this info to decide whether you're a high-risk driver.
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