Whereas brokers once heralded telematics as a consumer-friendly product instrumental to client acquisition, a new development may have them questioning that original assessment.
Allstate has been awarded a “traffic-based driving analysis” patent that allows the company to employ invasive techniques to collect distracted driving data, according to the Chicago Tribune.
This would entail sensors, cameras and other technology capturing such information as pets in the vehicle and phone usage, as well as physical conditions like eye and head movement and vocal patterns.
While this seems troubling in and of itself, the patent also includes a provision that will allow it to obtain information from nearby vehicles, which some critics have compared to profit-focused espionage.
It’s unclear if this product could be developed, and if so, whether it would make it to Canadian markets. Still, brokers have mixed feelings about the development.
Jeff Tallon is slightly unnerved by certain components of it, but feels that the technology is a natural progression from what is already fundamentally embedded into Canadian life
“These 'intrusions' already exist in different formats. Your cell phone can track your location, the number of texts you send, where you make phone calls, how often, to whom, etc,” Tallon, a compliance analyst at an insurance company, said. “There are vast reservoirs of human behaviour already being captured, and stored, in myriad forms.”
Echoing that sentiment, Thom Young feels that brokers should not be particularly concerned by the Allstate patent since insurance customers are not as guarded as many believe.
“The truth is, few give a damn about privacy if sharing their personal habits with an insurer will produce a discount for them, but they’re not so happy if it produces a surcharge,” Young, CEO, Lundgren & Young Insurance Ltd., said. “From the brokers perspective, so long as they have a competitive product to match with Allstate’s offering, it won’t cause any shortcomings in their dealings with clients.”
In addition, Canada has the distinct advantage of witnessing how the product fares south of the border before considering whether it is viable or not.
“Comparing Canadian to US consumers, Canadians will shy away initially until more information is revealed. This is evident in our office where the black box has been shunned by more than have accepted it,” said Paul Armstrong, partner, Paul C. Armstrong Insurance.
In the end, consumers will dictate their own comfort boundaries, and any other appraisals until then are merely speculation.
“As far as information gathered because one is travelling alongside a vehicle with sensors, I question how that can be used against any driver/owner,” Armstrong continued. “However, if insurers impose these surveillances for their betterment, consumers will have to decide if they are acceptable and how they will react to them.”
