By Jonathan Stempel
(Reuters) – Allstate is being sued by the state of Texas, which accused the insurer on Monday of illegally tracking drivers through their cell phones without their consent and driving cars. Uses data to justify charging more for insurance.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said Allstate had created “the world’s largest driving behavior database” with data on more than 45 million Americans, costing mobile app developers millions of dollars to covertly include tracking software. by paying
Allstate profited by using the data to raise premiums or deny coverage and by selling the data to other insurers, according to a complaint filed in a Texas state court near Houston.
The software was designed by Allstate’s data analytics unit Areity in 2015, and integrated into apps like Fuel Rewards, GasBuddy, Life360 and Allstate-owned Rootly, the complaint said.
Allstate also recently purchased data about vehicle locations directly from manufacturers, not just based on cellphone locations, when policyholders are actually driving, Texas said.
Manufacturers that allegedly sold this data to Allstate include Toyota, Lexus, Mazda and Stellantis Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Jeep, Maserati and Ram.
Allstate, based in Northbrook, Illinois, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The lawsuit accuses Allstate of violating Texas laws governing data privacy, data brokers, and unfair and deceptive practices by insurers.
It seeks compensatory and other damages for consumers, civil penalties of up to $10,000 per violation, and destruction of illegally collected data.
Paxton filed a similar lawsuit last August, accusing General Motors of installing technology in more than 14 million vehicles since 2015 to collect driver data, which it later claimed drivers had consented to. had sold to insurers and other companies without
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by David Gregorio and Aurora Ellis)
