Auto Insurance Rate Hike? Your Phone Might Be to Blame | Insurify [Video]

Drivers routinely use their phones in the car to listen to music or get directions. But the devices may be listening back, tracking driving behavior, and ultimately sharing that information with insurers.

A recent report from The New York Times named three popular apps — Life360, MyRadar, and Gas Buddy — as recording and sharing driver data with Arity, an Allstate-owned analytics company. Arity, in turn, uses the information to create consumer “driving scores” that insurance companies can purchase “instantly.”

Arity receives data for more than 40 million drivers through consumer mobile apps and usage-based insurance (UBI) programs, the company says on its website. Driver scores profile “risk-related driving behaviors” such as speeding, hard braking, extreme acceleration, and using a phone while driving.

Using one of Arity’s partner apps in the car could mean the software is sharing a driver’s every swerve, brake, and acceleration with the analytics company — …