More Upsides to Zero Privacy: GPS Tracking for Cheaper Insurance

A couple of weeks ago, Senior Editor Jacob Sullum explained "How GPS Tracking Threatens Privacy":

The case decided [by the Supreme Count] this week involved Antoine Jones, a Washington, D.C., nightclub owner who was convicted of cocaine trafficking in 2008 and sentenced to life in prison based largely on information that investigators obtained by surreptitiously attaching a GPS tracking device to his Jeep Grand Cherokee. All nine justices agreed that a warrant was constitutionally required for this surveillance. 

But what about situations where users give permission to slap a GPS on thier cars to monitor their driving habits in exchange for cheaper insurance?

Welcome to installment #4,762 of the Upsides of Zero Privacy series.

The service would provide users with cheaper quotes, but prices could be pushed up if driver logs show recklessness or dangerous driving….

Drivers on the scheme will be given a TomTom PRO 3100 as part of the package, and the device will include Active Driver Feedback and LIVE Services to warn drivers when they were cornering too sharply or braking too hard.

The TomTom will also have a LINK tracking unit fitted in their vehicles, allowing driver behaviour and habits to be monitored.

This particular deal is taking place in the U.K., where group profiling to set insurance prices—charging more for men than women, for instance—is now verboten. (Similar developments are underway in the U.S.)

Via BoingBoing