(Reuters) -Allstate has been sued by the state of Texas, which accused the insurer on Monday of illegally tracking drivers through their cellphones without consent, and using the data to justify charging more for car insurance.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said Allstate created the “world’s largest driving behavior database,” with data on more than 45 million Americans, by paying mobile app developers million of dollars to secretly incorporate its driver tracking software.
According to a complaint filed in a 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.
Payments were made through Allstate’s data analytics unit Arity, the complaint said.
The lawsuit accuses Allstate of violating Texas laws governing data privacy, data brokers, and unfair and deceptive acts by insurers. 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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