Telematics class action: Law and legal news

A legal filing is seeking to establish class action claims. A Florida man filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida against General Motors, OnStar and LexisNexis Risk Solutions for allegedly providing his insurance carrier, Liberty Mutual, with telematics data, which is sometimes obtained from sensors and cameras within a vehicle. The complaint suggests the driving information was made without consent and is an invasion of privacy. 

Massachusetts Senator Edward J. Markey recently urged the Federal Trade Commission to investigate the data privacy practices of auto manufacturers. 

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is inviting states, territories and tribes to apply for $350 million in grants to upgrade and standardize state crash data collection systems. 

Sophie Shulman, NHTSA's deputy administrator, said in a statement: "State data tells us what's happening on our roads and allows us to develop effective and responsive strategies, countermeasures, research, rulemakings, and consumer education campaigns." The program is a part of a law directive to establish The State Electronic Data Collection. 

In Virginia, Senate Bill 256 would require insurers to pay policyholders up to double the amount of a claim that they denied or refused if they were found, by a judge, to be acting in bad faith. The bill passed the Virginia General Assembly and is headed to Governor Glenn Youngkin's desk. 

The American Property Casualty Insurance Association (APCIA) urged Gov. Youngkins to veto the bill because it could increase auto insurance costs. Milliman conducted a study for APCIA and estimates that the legislation could cause a median increase of 9.9% per policyholder annually.