It turns out that GM is selling driving data without users' consent, driving up insurance premiums
An investigation by New York Times reporter Casimir Hill has revealed that General Motors (GM) sold driving data to data-collection companies, which then used it to determine insurance premiums.
Florida Man Sues GM and LexisNexis Over Sale of His Cadillac Data - The New York Times
How GM Tricked Millions of Drivers Into Being Spied On (Including Me) - The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/23/technology/general-motors-spying-driver-data-consent.html
Hill has been investigating the actual state of data collection by automakers, and in March 2024, he revealed that automakers such as GM, Honda, Kia, and Hyundai were collecting driving data without users' permission. Based on Cadillac owners and his own experiences, Hill recently reported on the actual state of data collection by GM.
It has been pointed out that manufacturers such as GM, Honda, Kia, and Hyundai are sharing driving data with insurance companies without explicit consent and using it to review insurance premiums - GIGAZINE
The experience of a Cadillac user reported by Hill is as follows: Romeo Chicco, who owned a 2021 Cadillac XT6, requested quotes from multiple insurance companies for his car insurance renewal in December 2023. However, the process of selecting an insurance company was difficult, as seven insurance companies rejected the quotes. In the end, he ended up signing a contract with a premium that was twice the price before renewal.
When Kikko asked the insurance company Liberty Mutual why they rejected his quote, they reportedly referred to data from the data collection company LexisNexis . Kikko requested LexisNexis to disclose his data, which revealed six months of driving data for his Cadillac XT6. The information disclosed included data from 258 driving sessions, including the distance driven, start and end time of the drive, speed, hard braking, acceleration, and number of speeding violations. It was also revealed that Kikko's driving data was sent by GM, which develops Cadillac.
When Mr. Chicco inquired with GM, he found out that his driving data had been sent via GM's connected car service ' OnStar '. However, although Mr. Chicco used Cadillac's car management app ' myCadillac ', he had never consented to the use of OnStar. In other words, Mr. Chicco's data was sold to LexisNexis via OnStar without Mr. Chicco's knowledge, and that data was shared with insurance companies.
Hill, who has been investigating the actual state of data collection by GM, also revealed that GM had sold his driving data without his consent.
Hill said she purchased a 2023 Chevrolet Bolt EV with her husband in December 2023. When Hill requested data disclosure from LexisNexis under her and her husband's names, it was discovered that driving data for the car associated with her husband's name had been sent to LexisNexis. However, no data for the car associated with Hill's name was recorded. Hill speculates that this is because the contract was made under her husband's name when purchasing the car.
When Hill contacted GM, GM claimed that 'I agreed to data collection when I signed the car purchase contract.' Because Hill had been investigating GM's data collection practices for a long time, when purchasing a car, he carefully checked the contract to see if it included any clauses regarding data collection. Therefore, Hill said, 'The fact that I, who always keep a close eye on the clauses in my contract, encountered this situation shows that for the average consumer, (refusal to collect data) was hopeless.'
Furthermore, Hill demanded an explanation from the salesman who negotiated with him when he purchased the car. As a result, it was revealed that the salesman had registered Hill's car with OnStar. According to the salesman, GM requires dealers to show users the following screen when signing a contract for a car, and to have them agree to register the car with OnStar. However, Hill was not shown this screen.
Salesmen also testified that 'registering users for OnStar' was included in their salary evaluations. In other words, GM is imposing a quota on dealers to register for OnStar.
A GM spokesperson said that to disable data transmission to OnStar, customers should contact an OnStar advisor or contact the OnStar customer center .
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