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OEMs aren't just connecting cars for the fun of it; the idea is to actually improve their customers' experience with the cars. But right now, we're still missing an actual killer app—and to be honest, data on how many customers renew those cell contracts for their vehicles. A survey out this week from Solace that polled 1,500 connected car owners found that they still don't really trust the technology.
[...] But the bit of Solace's survey I found most interesting was the widespread ignorance regarding data collection. Only 38 percent of connected car drivers knew that their cars could store personally identifiable information [PII] about them, with 48 percent unaware this was the case. And that's important because that PII is being viewed as a goldmine.
[...] "[The fuel companies] want to offer you more than fuel," [Ben] Volkow said. "Many times, the fuel stations are also interested in anonymized data—why do some people always stop, do they take whatever's available or a specific brand, places to build new stations, and so on."
What's more, unlike selling cars, selling data is a high-margin business—between 80- and 90-percent profit. "A big part of the investment is already done," he said. "The databases are built, SIMs and modems are in the cars; they've crossed the Rubicon."
[...] Volkow thinks that drivers will be happy to share this data, as long as they get some value out of it, like free servicing or micropayments per mile traveled. But he also thinks consumer education is vital. "People tend to be more demanding when it comes to cars; they don't think of them as the same as mobile devices. You have to convince them there's a benefit," he told me.
Source: ArsTechnica
(Score: 1) by toddestan on Sunday February 25 2018, @04:41PM
What the insurance companies are trying to do is to determine what each individual will cost them over their lifetime, and then charge that individual that much (plus overhead, etc.). It will never be perfect obviously, but the more data they can slurp up, the better profile they can build up on individuals.
To use your example, they may have considered house fires basically random - sure, they could adjust their rates based upon things like geographic areas knowing broad factors like climate, lightning strike risks, and things like that. But other than that they really didn't know who's house would be the one that catches on fire.
Now with big data, they can actually build up profiles. Do any of the occupants smoke? Do they park their car in an attached garage (small, but a bigger risk than most would think)? What's their power usage like - high power usage probably means higher risk of electrical fire? What kind of heat does their house have? Do they buy lots of candles? How old are their appliances? Do they buy a Christmas tree every year? Do they cook a lot, or do they buy lots of TV dinners or eat out? Etc. Based upon that and factors you would have no idea about, you could suddenly end up paying a lot for your fire insurance. Or maybe even find that no one is willing to insure your house.
Same thing with automobiles - Where do you drive? How often? What time? How fast do they accelerate? How hard to they use the brakes? How fast? Are they using their cellphone while driving? How often do they fiddle with the infotainment system? Are they along or with passengers most of the time? What kind of music do they listen to? How loud? Do they use their turn signals? Do they use cruise control? etc. They more data they can slurp up, the less it's going to look like insurance and the more they'll turn it into a savings account.
What's truly scary is health insurance. At least a lot of the stuff above is things that you have some control over, or behaviors you can modify. But the same thing applies to things like cancer - right now it's essentially random to them. But if they can get a hold of your genetic information and start sorting out the people who will likely cost them a lot in expensive medical treatments, they could end up creating a large group of people forced to pay outrageous rates for health insurance - or may even find they are uninsurable. All for something that they absolutely no control over and cannot change.