Staff Reports
ICYMI (In Case You Missed It): Big Brother Is Driving Your Car… and Your Insurance Rates! Buckle up, folks, because your car is tattling on you to the insurance companies, and it’s not just for a chit-chat. It’s for financial games, and you might end up paying more for doing what you thought was a great job behind the wheel.
Your Car Could Be Tracking Your Driving Habits—and Driving Insurance Rates Sky Highhttps://t.co/fmLm9wMUah
— RedState (@RedState) March 14, 2024
So, the cat’s out of the bag thanks to a New York Times report exposing how your precious four-wheeled friend is keeping tabs on every turn, brake, and acceleration you make. Meet Kenn Dahl, a driver from the rainy Seattle area, who got hit with a brutal 21% insurance rate increase in 2022. And guess what? He didn’t see that one coming because his trustworthy car ratted him out! Talk about a backstabbing Bolt.
Imagine Kenn’s surprise when he found out that his insurance provider was armed with a 258-page LexisNexis report detailing his every car journey. That’s right, folks, every trip noted down – where, when, how fast, even how hard he hit the brakes. Doggone it, even the car’s actions when he wasn’t even driving were under scrutiny! It’s like having your own personal reality show, but no red carpet or fan mail, just spiked insurance bills.
Now, let’s peel back the curtain and see who’s pulling the strings in this high-tech tracking tango. General Motors, among other sneaky automakers, shared these driving habits with data brokers like LexisNexis to help insurers decide how much cash to squeeze out of drivers’ pockets. In other words, if you brake too hard, speed a tad, or drive a smidge fast around a curve – out comes the insurance rate whip! How about a little grace for defensive driving tactics, huh?
Fast forward to the present day, and it’s not just your car snooping on you; it’s your phone, too! Some drivers willingly share their driving data to snag discounts, but others are blindsided by the tech takeover. Modern cars are practically nosy little know-it-alls, feeding insurers details on your driving prowess – or lack thereof. Ford even hopped on the surveillance train with a Telematics Exchange agreement with LexisNexis, making cautious drivers trade their privacy for potential premium perks.
But hold the phone! Isn’t privacy important to us red-blooded Americans? Shouldn’t we have a say in who peeps at our pedal-pushing prowess? And do we really want Big Brother riding shotgun on every trip to work, the store, or Auntie Em’s house? My friend, the answer is a hearty NO! We deserve transparency, fairness, and a break for using our driving skills to dodge the crazy traffic out there! So, let’s rev up our engines and demand our privacy back – because freedom should ride shotgun, not surveillance!
Dear readers, keep your eyes on the road, not on the rearview mirror wondering who’s watching. Your driving should be between you, your conscience, and maybe the friendly neighborhood traffic cop – not some algorithm deciding your fiscal fate. So, drive safe, drive savvy, and let’s all put the brakes on this invasive insurance tracking game. Because in America, your life is your business – even behind the wheel.
