(Reuters) – The state of Texas filed a lawsuit against Allstate, which accused the insurer on Monday of illegally tracking drivers through their cell phones without their consent and using the data to justify surcharges on auto insurance.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said Allstate created “the world’s largest driving behavior database,” containing data on more than 45 million Americans, by paying mobile app developers millions of dollars to secretly integrate its driver-tracking software.
According to a complaint filed in Texas state court near Houston, Allstate profited by using the data to raise premiums or deny coverage, and by selling the data to other insurers.
The payments were made through Allstate Arity’s data analytics unit, the complaint said.
The lawsuit accuses Allstate of violating Texas laws governing data privacy, data brokers, and unfair and deceptive actions by insurance companies. It seeks damages including civil fines of up to $10,000 per violation.
Allstate did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by David Gregorio)
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