The company allegedly used its apps to track policyholders
Texas Attorney General KenPaxtonsued Allstate and its subsidiary, Arity, for unlawfully collecting, using, and selling data about the location and movement of Texans cell phones through secretly embedded software in mobile apps, such as Life360.
Allstate and other insurers then used the covertly obtained data to justify raising Texans insurance rates.
Two law firms have filed a class action suit against Allstate making basically the same allegations.
Our investigation revealed that Allstate and Arity paid mobile apps millions of dollars to install Allstates tracking software, said Paxton. The personal data of millions of Americans was sold to insurance companies without their knowledge or consent in violation of the law. Texans deserve better and we will hold all these companies accountable.
Allstate said its actions were legal.
Arity helps consumers get the most accurate auto insurance price after they consent in a simple and transparent way that fully complies with all laws and regulations, Allstate said in a statement.
Allstate recently began purchasing data about vehicles operation directly from car manufactures including Toyota, Lexus, Mazda, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Jeep, Maserati, and Ram, the complaint says. Texas alleges Allstate did this to tell whether drivers were paying attention, based onthe location and movements of their phone
The information pulled from customers phones includes geolocation data, accelerometer data, magnetometer data, and gyroscopic data, which monitors details such as the phones altitude, longitude, latitude, bearing, GPS time, speed, and accuracy, according to the complaint.
Class action makes similar allegations
Two law firms, Morgan & Morgan and Clifford Law Offices, make similar allegations in their class action filed in federal court in Illinois, charging that Allstate invaded the privacu ofhave filed a class action lawsuit against Allstate Insurance for the alleged surveillance and invasion of privacy of more than 45 million Americans by collecting their data without prior consent.
Allstate has allegedly built the worlds largest driver database by collecting and selling data about tens of millions of people without their consent. Our class action lawsuit alleges that Allstate undertook this data collection effort to increase its profits at the expense of unaware consumers and their privacy," the firms said in a statement provided to ConsumerAffairs.
Trillions of miles of data
The Texas suit alleges that Allstate, through its subsidiary data analytics company Arity, would pay app developers to incorporate its software to track consumers driving data.
Allstate collected trillions of miles worth of location data from over 45 million consumers nationwide and used the data to create the worlds largest driving behavior database. When a consumer requested a quote or renewed their coverage, Allstate and other insurers would use that consumers data to justify increasing their car insurance premium.
These actions violated the Texas Data Privacy and Security Act (TDPSA), which created heightened protections for Texans sensitive data, including but not limited to precise geolocation information, the suit charges.
The law requires clear notice and informed consent regarding how a company will use Texans sensitive data. But Paston said Allstate never provided notice or obtained Texans consent to collect or sell their sensitive data.
This lawsuit follows Attorney GeneralPaxtonslawsuitagainst General Motors and his ongoinginvestigationsinto several car manufacturers for secretly collecting and selling drivers highly detailed driving data.
Photo Credit: Consumer Affairs News Department Images
Posted: 2025-01-16 18:39:05
