Allstate abused driving data of 45 million Americans, new lawsuit claims

Allstate is being sued by the Texas Attorney General over claims the insurance giant illegally col­lect­ed, used, and sold the private driving data of over 45 mil­lion Amer­i­cans without their knowledge or consent.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton charges that Allstate and its subsidiary, Arity – a driving data and analytics firm – conspired to create the “world’s largest driving behavior database” using the data collected from millions of American consumers without their permission and selling it to other insurance companies.

The “trillions of miles” of driving behavior, including movements and locations, were said to be obtained from cell phones “through secretly embedded software” in third-party mobile apps. Data was also collected through the vehicles themselves, as well as with in-car devices.

What’s more, Allstate and other insurers would use the “covertly” gathered data to jack up the insurance rates of Texas residents, or even deny coverage, the 46-page filing stated.

“When a consumer requested a quote or renewed their coverage, Allstate and other insurers would use that consumer’s data to justify increasing their car insurance premium,” the lawsuit said.

Attorney General Ken Paxton Sues Allstate and Arity for Unlawfully Collecting, Using, and Selling Over 45 Million Americans' Driving Data to Insurance Companies: https://t.co/8NiNxzkqKC

undefined Texas Attorney General (@TXAG) January 13, 2025

Driver data collected every 15 seconds

According to the lawsuit, Allstate and its Arity subsidiary paid millions of dollars to mobile app developers to have Allstate’s tracking software installed in their products in violation of the Texas Data Privacy and Security Act (“TDPSA”).

When consumers downloaded a third-party app they would inadvertently download the Allstate software with it, allowing Allstate to “monitor the consumer’s location and movement in real-time.”

One of those third-party apps specifically named in the suit was “Life360,” a family location-sharing and safety app used by 77+ million people worldwide, according to its website. Others named included Fuel Rewards, GasBuddy, and the Allstate-owned app Routely.

Driver data said to be collected from the third-party apps included the phone’s altitude, latitude and longitude, speed, GPS time, bearing, and accuracy, with some apps collecting data every 15 seconds.

The state’s comprehensive data privacy law requires a company to provide clear notice or collect informed consent regarding how a company will use Texans’ sensitive data, and apparently, Allstate did neither, the Attorney General said in Monday’s announcement.

“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,” Paxton said.

The complaint also revealed that Allstate also bought data about vehicles' whereabouts directly from manufacturers to fine-tune the accuracy of when its policyholders were actually driving.

Manufacturers that allegedly sold this data to Allstate include Toyota, Lexus, Mazda, Stellantis' Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Jeep, Maserati, and Ram.

If found liable, Allstate could be forced to delete or destroy all the data it collected (including any data held by third parties), pay full restitution to those injured by Allstate’s actions, and be fined up to 10,000 per violation, the filing states.

The Illinois-headquartered company has not publicly commented on the charges as of Monday.

It's not the first lawsuit of its kind by the Texas AG. In July 2024, Pax­ton also sued Gen­er­al Motors for illegally col­lect­ing the private data of 1.5 million Texan dri­vers via installed technology in GM vehicles and then selling that information to various third-party companies, includ­ing insur­ance companies.

The technology used to collect the driver data had been installed in over 14 million GM vehicles dating back to 2015, the Texas AG said.