In this week's Legally Speaking, Attorney Ken Denos with Acadia Law Group says your car may be selling you out to insurers.
Here's the part most people don't realize: you don't have to download anything for this to be happening.
Ken says a lot of newer vehicles are already collecting this data straight from the car itself.
Connected car technology has been standard across most manufacturers for years now — so if you're driving something built in roughly the last five years, there's a real chance your car has been quietly logging your driving habits and handing them off to someone else, whether you ever downloaded a single app or not.
So, how do you protect yourself? Ken says to check your vehicle's connected-services settings. Most automakers let you opt out of location and driving-behavior data collection through the car's infotainment menu or the manufacturer's companion app, even if it's not obvious or well-labeled.
Also, you can ask your dealer or manufacturer directly, in writing, whether your vehicle collects and sells driving data, and to whom.
If your premium jumps for no clear reason, ask why. Insurers using outside data to price your policy generally have to tell you where that data came from — exercise that right.
Ken says the bottom line is... a safe-driver discount sounds like a reward.
Too often it's a data-collection agreement wearing a discount's clothing — and sometimes you never even got asked to sign up.
You can get your legal questions answered 24/7 by calling 801-816-2525 or visiting acadialawgroup.com.
