Consumer Federation of America Urges More Transparency and Consumer Protections for Auto Insurance Telematics Programs

In comments to the Maryland Insurance Administration (MIA), the Consumer Federation of America supported a recent proposed bulletin requiring more transparency of telematics programs in auto insurance. CFA further called for the MIA to to take a holistic approach to these programs, collect additional information on telematics, and adopt broader telematics regulations intended to protect policyholders, their data, and overall consumer privacy.

Telematics is when insurers gather information on consumers' driving behavior through device, mobile phone apps, and the cars themselves, and calculate insurance premiums based on that behavior. There are substantial privacy concerns about what data is being collected by these programs, what it is used for, and whether it is being sold to other companies.