In a letter to the US Federal Trade Commission late last week, US Senators Ron Wayde and Edward Markey revealed that Honda and Hyundai sold driver data to Verisk Analytics, a data broker, for surprisingly little profit.
Automakers have been under increased scrutiny in the last few months regarding their data collection policies and how they get consent to share that information with third parties. Investigations have revealed that some automakers have been selling driver information to data brokers who packaged and sold it to insurance companies.
According to the letter, Honda shared data from 97,000 cars with Verisk between 2020 and 2024. Owners who opted into Honda’s Driver Feedback program through the company’s mobile app had their data disclosed to the analytics company, which paid Honda $25,920—or just 26 cents per car.
Hyundai sold quite a bit more data to Verisk between 2018 and 2024 of users who enabled their car’s internet connectivity, automatically enrolling those drivers in the automaker’s Driving Score program “without telling them,” according to the US Senators. It sold data from 1.7 million vehicles for roughly $1 million, or 61 cents per car.
In April, Verisk shut down the product that scored drivers on their driving habits based on data from internet-connected cars. General Motors also sold data from consumers enrolled in its Smart Driver program to Verisk; however, the company didn’t disclose to the senators the number of cars involved or the amount paid.
The letter also accuses the automakers of making deceptive claims about the potential outcomes of their respective programs, highlighting potential discounts instead of possible rate hikes. Wayde and Markey asked FTC Chair Lina Kahn to investigate how automakers disclose and share consumer data. Motor1 has reached out to Hyundai to confirm the numbers in the letter.
Automakers seem eager to be able to collect your driving data and know more about your driving habits than ever before, but at what cost? Anything with a computer chip, an internet connection, and a sensor or two can collect and transmit data that a company can then share and sell to various third parties, including your insurance company, who can easily recoup what they paid to get that data with a few rate hikes.
Honda responded to a request for comment about the letter with the following:
“With the subscription-based Driver Feedback Program, Honda contracted with Verisk to facilitate a service for Honda customers where, upon expressly opting in, their driving data was collected and given a driving score that the customer would receive along with a contextual overview of their driving behaviors. Some consumers with favorable driving scores were presented opportunities to opt-in to receive discount offers from specific participating insurance companies. Without that clear second opt-in by the customer, no identifiable consumer information was shared with any insurance company.
“Honda’s collection and use of data is done responsibly and while abiding by all applicable privacy laws. Our customers can feel assured that Honda will transparently disclose both the collection and use of data and will always offer choices to our customers regarding the sharing or selling of their personally identifiable data. Customer satisfaction is our highest priority.”
Hyundai also shared this statement with Motor1:
“Regrettably, Senator Wyden’s letter mischaracterizes Hyundai’s data policies and the safeguards it implemented to ensure customer consent for sharing driving behavior information with insurers. The letter also inaccurately describes the customer consent required for the sharing of customer driving behavior data with Verisk, a third-party data-sharing service provider.
“Drive Score was launched as a value-added feature for Bluelink customers to enable a better understanding of their driving habits. Customers had the option to connect their Drive Score to their insurance for potential benefits, such as a good driving discount, thereby enhancing their driving experience and potentially saving on insurance costs. Each customer’s vehicle usage-based “Drive Score” information was activated only after the customer affirmatively opted into Hyundai’s BlueLink connected car suite of services.
”This opt-in included the customer’s agreement for the Drive Score data to be provided to Verisk for the purpose of facilitating the sharing of the Drive Score information with insurers should the customer later affirmatively consent. Verisk paid Hyundai for potential future earnings from customers who affirmatively opted into the insurance feature. It is important to note that Verisk was not authorized by Hyundai or the customer to share the Drive Score data with insurers until the customer affirmatively consented to this on an insurer’s website or app.
“Customers could always opt out of data collection through their MyHyundai account via the privacy portal. We continually review how we use and share customer data. As of mid-March, Hyundai has taken the step to no longer offer Drive Score as part of its Bluelink-connected car system, and customer data is no longer being shared as Verisk has discontinued the feature.“
