California bill would allow auto insurance telematics programs
A California bill would allow consumers to opt into telematics programs with insurance companies for the purpose of establishing a driving record.
The bill, AB311, would amend the state’s Insurance Rate Reduction and Reform Act of 1988, which requires rates and premiums for auto insurance to only be determined based on specific factors.
These factors include driving safety record, annual miles driven, and years of driving experience. The bill would amend the law to allow telematics to establish the driver’s record.
Assemblymember Tina McKinnor (D-61) said during a June Senate Standing Committee on Insurance that California is the only state that does not allow consumers to opt into telematics programs.
“AB 311 puts vehicle users in the driver’s seat to improve safety on our roads and highways to create an optional and more accurate way to determine vehicle insurance rates through the use of telematics technology,” McKinnor said. “This bill also contains nation leading driver data protections and prohibits driver data from being used for any other purpose other than for automobile insurance.”
Kellie Montalvo, the mother of a 21-year-old bicyclist killed in a 2020, also spoke in favor of the bill. She said the driver who struck her son had texted with her boyfriend 24 times in the six minutes leading up to the crash.
“AB 311 will improve road safety by reducing poor driving,” Montalvo said. “My son’s killer could have been and should have been a safer driver. It may be too late for Benjamin, but it is not too late for the next victim. Please advance this bill. We all deserve to be safe on our streets, and AB 311 will save lives.”
Multiple other citizens gave their support for the bill, along with Streets Are for Everyone, Thomas Advocacy Group, American Property Casualty Insurance Association, and Safehouse Partnership.
Cal Matters, a California nonprofit media publication, reports that the California Insurance Department has raised concerns about the bill, saying that it is not compatible with California insurance law, Proposition 103.
The proposition was a ballot initiative written by advocacy group Consumer Watchdog founder Harvey Rosenfield, the article says. It was approved with a 51% vote, it adds.
“The bill creates broad liability loopholes, dilutes regulator oversight, and allows insurance companies to shift core regulatory responsibilities to unregulated third-party telematics vendors, among other concerns,” Calmatters says Josephine Figueroa, deputy insurance commissioner and legislative director for the department, wrote to Sen. Steve Padilla, chairperson of the Senate insurance committee, on June 20.
She also pointed to Maryland data that she says found consumer savings claims remaining “generally unproven and varied.”
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Assemblymember Tina McKinnor (D-61) speaks before the Senate Standing Committee on Insurance in June/screenshot.