Not trying to scare you here, peeps, but if you use one of those Smart Driver programs like OnStar or other internet-connected programs, well, be warned.
Let's take a look at what happened to Ken Dahl of Seattle, whose Chevy Bolt ended up spying on him and causing his car insurance cost to rise by 21%.
Kenn Dahl, 65, is a Seattle-area businessman who told The New York Times that his car insurance costs soared by 21% in 2022 after GM's OnStar Smart Driver computerized system installed in his Chevy Bolt collected information about the particulars of his driving habits.
Dahl said that his insurance agent told him the price increase was based on data collected by LexisNexis, which compiled a report tracking each and every time he and his wife drove their Chevy Bolt over a six-month period.
According to Dahl, the 258-page report contained information about the start and end times of his trips, distance driven and other data detailing possible instances of speeding, hard braking and sharp accelerations …
A LexisNexis spokesperson told the Times that the information it takes in from OnStar is "for insurers to use as one factor of many to create more personalized insurance coverage."
Bro, I'd hate to see my own OnStar report. I get to driving waaay too crazy sometimes, and I'm not even sure if I'd qualify for insurance if my info got out.
And believe it or not, our next victim of OnStar spying, that's exactly what happened to him.
A Cadillac driver based in Palm Beach County, Fla., told the Times that he is considering a lawsuit against GM after he was denied car insurance by seven different companies in December.
He said he is planning to sell his Cadillac and that he will never buy another GM-made car again.
The decision was based on a LexisNexis report which detailed six months of his driving behavior, including numerous instances of hard braking, hard accelerating and speeding.
"I don't know the definition of hard brake. My passenger's head isn't hitting the dash," the unnamed Cadillac driver, who like Dahl was enrolled in the OnStar Smart Driver subscription service, told the Times.
It almost seems like satire to suggest that a man's OnStar — a program meant to help him be a better driver — is actually feeding his driving information to data analytics firms who then relay the information to insurance companies, who then straight up denied to cover him.
You guys go ahead and work out The Bee headline in the comments.
Interesting to note, it's not just GM (Chevy, GMC, Cadillac, Buick) leaking this data which inevitably ends up in the hands of insurance providers. Honda, Subaru, Mitsubishi, Kia, Ford, and Hyundai are also guilty.
Basically, if your car is connected to the internet, your data is accessible. So just giving you a heads up here, you might wanna disable these things and unsubscribe from OnStar and other similar programs. That is, unless you are responsible 100% of the time behind the wheel. Then you've got nothing to worry about.
We'll have to keep an eye out for this unnamed driver out in Miami and see if he actually does sue GM for this data-motivated insurance hike. If so, I'll meet you right back here with all the goods.
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