Your Car Is Selling Your Driving Data to Insurance Companies — How to Opt Out

Your car knows how you drive. It records every hard brake, every rapid acceleration, every late-night trip, and every mile. And for most drivers, that data isn't staying in the car — it's being transmitted to manufacturers, sold to data brokers like LexisNexis and Verisk, and used by insurance companies to set your premiums. A 2025 study found that only 31% of drivers benefit from telematics-based scoring. For the other 69%, their own car's data is either neutral or actively working against them.

How Big Is the Problem?

As of 2026, 91% of new cars sold in the United States come equipped with embedded telematics systems. These aren't optional dongles or aftermarket devices — they're built into the car's hardware, connected through cellular modems, and active from the moment you drive off the lot. The telematics hardware in modern vehicles collects:

• Speed data: Your speed at every moment, including how often you exceed speed limits.
• Braking patterns: How hard and how frequently you brake, classified as "hard braking events."
• Acceleration: How aggressively you accelerate from stops.
• Mileage: Total miles driven, broken down by time of day and day of week.
• Trip times: When you drive, with particular attention to late-night and early-morning hours (considered high-risk periods).
• GPS location: Where you drive, including routes, destinations, and duration at each stop.
• Cornering: How sharply you take turns.
• Seat belt usage: Whether driver and passengers are buckled.
• Diagnostic data: Engine performance, tire pressure, fuel levels, and maintenance status.

Car manufacturers earn an estimated $100 per vehicle per year selling this data to third parties. For a manufacturer selling 2 million vehicles annually, that's a $200 million recurring revenue stream built entirely on driver surveillance. The primary buyers are insurance data brokers — LexisNexis Risk Solutions and Verisk Analytics — who aggregate the data into driver behavior profiles and sell those profiles to insurance companies.

The GM/OnStar Settlement

The issue reached a breaking point in 2024 when a New York Times investigation revealed that GM had been sharing detailed driving data from OnStar-connected vehicles with LexisNexis and Verisk. Drivers discovered — often after being denied insurance or seeing unexplained premium increases — that their cars had been reporting their every move to data brokers without meaningful consent.

The class-action lawsuit Yaroshefsky v. General Motors argued that GM enrolled drivers in its Smart Driver program through misleading prompts during the OnStar setup process. Many drivers reported that they never knowingly agreed to share their driving data. The consent language was buried in multi-page terms of service that no reasonable consumer would read during a car purchase — a process already overloaded with paperwork.

In January 2026, GM settled the lawsuit. The key terms:

• Five-year ban on sharing driving behavior data with LexisNexis, Verisk, or any other data broker.
• Mandatory deletion of previously shared driving data from broker databases.
• Improved consent disclosures that clearly explain what data is collected and how it's used.
• Applies to all GM brands: Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, Cadillac, and any vehicle with OnStar.

The settlement was a meaningful win, but it only covers GM. Every other major manufacturer continues to collect and share driving data through their own connected vehicle platforms, and most consumers remain unaware that their cars are reporting on them.

How It Affects Your Insurance

The data flowing from your car to LexisNexis and Verisk is compiled into driver behavior reports. Insurance companies access these reports — alongside your credit score, claims history, and driving record — when setting your premiums. Here's what the data shows about who benefits and who gets hurt.

The insurance industry promotes telematics as a way for safe drivers to save money. And for roughly a third of drivers, that's true — people who drive low mileage, avoid hard braking, and don't drive late at night can see meaningful discounts. But for nearly a quarter of drivers, the data works against them. And the remaining 45% see no benefit at all, meaning their data is being collected and sold for zero consumer upside.

The scoring is also context-blind. A hard braking event caused by avoiding a child running into the street is scored the same as one caused by tailgating. Driving at 2 AM because you're a nurse or shift worker is scored the same as recreational late-night driving. High mileage from a long commute is treated as a risk factor even though highway miles are statistically safer per mile than city driving. The algorithms don't ask why — they just count events and generate risk scores.

Which Manufacturers Collect and Share Data

Nearly every major manufacturer collects telematics data. The key question is whether they share it with data brokers and insurance companies. Here's the current landscape.

How to Opt Out: Step by Step

The opt-out process varies by manufacturer. Here are instructions for the major brands. In all cases, opting out of data sharing does not disable your car's features — it only stops the manufacturer from transmitting your driving data to third parties.

General Motors (Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, Cadillac)

GM's data sharing with brokers is banned through 2031 under the settlement. However, to ensure your data isn't shared through any remaining programs:

1. Open the myChevrolet, myGMC, myBuick, or myCadillac app.
2. Go to Vehicle > Connected Services.
3. Look for Smart Driver or OnStar Smart Driver and disable it.
4. Call OnStar at 1-888-466-7827 and request written confirmation that driving data sharing is disabled.

Ford

1. Open the FordPass app.
2. Go to Account > Privacy Settings.
3. Toggle off "Share Driving Data" or any usage-based insurance program.
4. Additionally, log into ford.com, go to Account > Privacy, and submit a data deletion request under CCPA rights.

Toyota

1. Open the Toyota app (or Lexus app for Lexus vehicles).
2. Navigate to Menu > Account Settings > Privacy.
3. Disable "Connected Vehicle Data Sharing" and any insurance-related programs.
4. Contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331 to request data deletion and confirm opt-out.

Tesla

Tesla's approach is different because it sells its own insurance product that uses driving data directly. If you use Tesla Insurance:

1. Open the Tesla app.
2. Tap Safety Score and understand that this data directly affects your Tesla Insurance premium.
3. Go to Controls > Software > Data Sharing in the car's touchscreen and toggle off data sharing.
4. Note: disabling data sharing may affect Tesla Insurance pricing, as Tesla uses your Safety Score to set premiums.

Honda

1. Open the HondaLink app.
2. Go to Settings > Privacy.
3. Disable data sharing for connected vehicle services.
4. Submit a CCPA opt-out request through honda.com/privacy.

Get Your LexisNexis Report

Even if you opt out today, LexisNexis may already have years of your driving data on file. You have the right to see what they have and dispute inaccuracies. Here's how to get your LexisNexis consumer disclosure.

1. Go to consumer.risk.lexisnexis.com.
2. Click "Request a Consumer Disclosure" (also called a Full File Disclosure).
3. Fill out the request form with your full name, address, date of birth, and Social Security number (required for identity verification).
4. Request all available reports, including your C.L.U.E. (Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange) report and any driving behavior data.
5. You are entitled to one free report per year under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).
6. Review the report for any driving data entries. If you see data from a vehicle you own, check whether it aligns with a connected vehicle program you enrolled in.
7. If you find inaccuracies or data collected without your consent, file a dispute directly with LexisNexis and note the GM settlement as precedent if applicable.

State-Level Protections

While there's no federal law specifically addressing connected vehicle data, several states have enacted or are considering protections.

• Virginia (SB 338): Passed in 2025. Bans the sale of precise geolocation data collected by connected vehicles without explicit opt-in consent from the consumer. This is the strongest state law specifically targeting vehicle data.
• California (CCPA/CPRA): Gives consumers the right to opt out of the sale of personal information, which includes driving data. You can submit a "Do Not Sell My Personal Information" request to your car manufacturer and to LexisNexis.
• Maine: Introduced LD 1977, which would require automakers to give consumers complete control over vehicle data and prohibit sharing without affirmative consent.
• Massachusetts (Right to Repair): While focused on repair data, the state's vehicle data access law has implications for telematics data ownership.
• Vermont: As a data broker registration state, Vermont requires companies that purchase and resell driving data to register, providing some transparency into the pipeline.

Regardless of your state, you can exercise CCPA-style opt-out rights with most manufacturers and data brokers because they apply their California compliance policies nationally rather than building state-specific systems.

The Broader Data Broker Connection

Your car's telematics data feeds into the same data broker ecosystem that trades in your phone number, home address, employment history, and online activity. LexisNexis and Verisk aren't just driving data companies — they're massive data aggregators that compile hundreds of data points on every American consumer. Your driving behavior report is combined with your credit history, insurance claims, property records, and personal information from people-search sites to create a comprehensive risk profile.

This is why addressing data brokers comprehensively matters more than tackling any single data source. Opting out of your car's telemetry is important, but it's one piece of a larger picture. Data brokers also have your address, phone number, email, relatives' names, and more — information they use to enrich your driving profile and sell more complete packages to insurers and other buyers. GhostVault addresses this broader ecosystem by continuously removing your personal information from 500+ data broker sites, including filing opt-outs with LexisNexis's consumer-facing databases.

What to Do If Your Premiums Already Increased

If you suspect your insurance premiums rose because of telematics data you didn't knowingly consent to share, you have options.

1. Request your LexisNexis and Verisk reports to see exactly what driving data is on file.
2. Ask your insurer directly whether telematics or driving behavior data was used in your most recent underwriting or renewal decision. Under the FCRA, insurers must tell you if they used consumer reports in adverse decisions.
3. File disputes with LexisNexis and Verisk for any data collected without your informed consent. Reference the GM settlement as industry precedent.
4. Opt out immediately through your car's connected services app to stop future data collection.
5. Shop your insurance. Not all insurers use telematics data the same way. Getting quotes from multiple carriers may reveal that your current insurer is weighting driving data more heavily than competitors.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is my car really selling my driving data to insurance companies?

Yes. As of 2026, 91% of new cars sold in the US have embedded telematics systems that collect detailed driving data including speed, braking patterns, acceleration, mileage, time of day, and GPS location. Major manufacturers including GM, Ford, Toyota, Hyundai, and Kia have shared this data with data brokers like LexisNexis and Verisk, which compile it into driver behavior reports and sell them to insurance companies. These reports can directly affect your insurance premiums.

What was the GM OnStar data sharing settlement?

In January 2026, General Motors settled a class-action lawsuit over its practice of sharing OnStar driving data with LexisNexis and Verisk without adequate consumer consent. The settlement includes a five-year ban on GM sharing driving behavior data with data brokers, required deletion of previously shared data from broker databases, and improved consent disclosures for OnStar-connected services. The settlement covers GM, Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, and Cadillac vehicles with OnStar.

How do I get my LexisNexis consumer disclosure report?

You can request your LexisNexis consumer disclosure report for free through the LexisNexis Consumer Center at consumer.risk.lexisnexis.com. Request the "Full File Disclosure" which includes your C.L.U.E. report and any driving behavior data. You are entitled to one free report per year under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. The report will show what driving data LexisNexis has on file, which insurers have accessed it, and what risk scores have been generated from it.

Can car driving data actually raise my insurance rates?

Yes. Studies show that only 31% of drivers benefit from telematics-based insurance scoring, while 24% see their premiums increase. Insurance companies use driving behavior data — including hard braking frequency, rapid acceleration, late-night driving, and total mileage — to adjust risk scores. A LexisNexis driving behavior report with frequent hard braking events or high nighttime driving can result in premium increases of 10-40%, even if you have never filed a claim or received a traffic violation.

Did any states ban car manufacturers from selling driving data?

Virginia passed SB 338 in 2025, which bans the sale of precise geolocation data collected by connected vehicles without explicit consumer consent. California's CCPA gives consumers the right to opt out of the sale of personal information including driving data. Several other states are considering similar legislation. However, there is no federal law specifically addressing connected vehicle data sharing, and most states still have no restrictions on the practice.