Still, sharing data with the insurance industry, which may already have a lot of information about a user, raises privacy issues, said Ioannis Kouvakas, a legal officer at Privacy International, a British charity that lobbies for privacy rights.
It’s difficult to truly anonymize data, and companies could potentially reconstruct identities and use that information in invasive ways. Another big concern is whether customers are aware that they’re sharing data, he said.
“There’s a lot of potential for abuse,” Kouvakas said in an interview, adding that people can rarely ever be sure of how their data is used.
Consent Needed
Allianz’s Hoff said the insurance industry is constrained by regulations on information they can use when assessing applicants, particularly in Europe.
That’s largely thanks to the General Data Protection Regulation legislation that requires companies to inform people when their personal data is being used, letting them opt out or object, said Ian De Freitas, a partner at law firm Farrer & Co. who specializes in privacy law.
But when identifying markers are stripped out and the data become anonymous, it’s no longer considered private, he said.
Turo’s users currently consent to share data that lets the firm determine their likelihood of getting into an accident or making an insurance claim, identify unsafe driving behavior and conduct investigations and risk assessments.
The firm’s privacy policy says that the company might collect aggregate data about its users to consider new features. Customers share their drivers’ license information, reviews, street address, employers, schools and location.
Smarter Insurance
Similarly, BlaBlaCar collects details about cars, biographical information, replies to surveys and reviews, and location.
Last year, BlaBlaCar announced BlaBlaSure, an insurance product with Axa SA that targets ride-sharers. It’s been rolled out in France, with plans to make it Europe-wide, BlaBlaCar Chief Executive Officer Nicolas Brusson said in an interview. Eventually, this product will use data collected from BlaBlaCar users to help determine rates for new customers.