BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK/KBFX) A California bill could change how drivers’ auto insurance rates are set by allowing companies to track driving behavior using GPS technology and feed that data into an AI-powered system designed to predict future driving risk.
Assembly Bill 311 would let insurance companies use GPS technology to track how people drive.
That information would then be used in an AI-powered system that predicts a driver’s future risk and uses those predictions to help set auto insurance rates.
California bill would let insurers use GPS, AI to predict driving risk, set rates (Photo: Randy Likness, KUTV Photojournalist)
Carmen Balber, executive director of Consumer Watchdog, said the approach could create a rating system that drivers may not fully understand.
“So, we’re essentially talking about a score that would rate you on factors you might not even be aware of and change your auto insurance premium,” Balber said.
Balber said California has long based car insurance rates on three main factors: a driver’s safety record, how many miles they drive each year, and their years of driving experience.
“And we have real problems turning over your insurance rate which is supposed to be fair and currently is in California to an unregulated algorithm or AI prediction,” Balber said.
Balber noted that insurance companies are offering discounted insurance rates to entice drivers to agree to the new technology.
California bill would let insurers use GPS, AI to predict driving risk, set rates (Photo: Randy Likness, KUTV Photojournalist)
But she warned there could be a tradeoff, saying insurance companies could sell the data they collect from drivers to a third-party vendor.
“Insurance companies want a piece of the data broker action. And that’s part of the reason why they’re pushing this legislation that would allow them to collect so much information in your car,” Balber said.
Some local residents raised concerns about privacy.
“Yeah, it’s just that thing where it’s like its creeping. Our privacy just keeps getting taken and taken and taken. I don’t think it’s something that should keep moving forward,” said Anderson Ortiz, a Bakersfield local.
California bill would let insurers use GPS, AI to predict driving risk, set rates (105 HIGHWAY.jpg)
Another Bakersfield resident said, “It’s a privacy issue I don’t want them having access to all my information.”