Montana sues GM over alleged insurance use of driver data

Montana has sued General Motors and OnStar, alleging they collected customers’ driving data and sold it through data brokers to insurance carriers. The state is asking a court to stop the alleged practices, impose civil fines and order deletion of the data, including copies held by third parties.

Montana filed the lawsuit against General Motors and OnStar in Lewis and Clark County on Oct. 16, 2026. The complaint brings claims under the state’s Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Act. The allegations have not been adjudicated, and the requested remedies have not been granted.

Montana’s allegations about data and enrollment

The state alleges that GM and its subsidiary OnStar enrolled customers in a service that collected driving information, passed it to data brokers and ultimately supplied it to insurance carriers. The information listed in the complaint includes vehicle speed, seat-belt buckle status and hard-braking events.

Montana also challenges how customers were enrolled. The state alleges that customers were presented with more than 50 pages of disclosures during onboarding and that dealerships had incentives to enroll them. Customers who tried to decline were allegedly warned that safety features might be deactivated. Those claims about the enrollment process remain allegations, not court findings.

Bloomberg Law reported that the complaint alleges data collection and sales involving more than 14 million vehicles nationwide. Bloomberg Law said the complaint did not specify how many Montanans were affected; the nationwide vehicle figure is not a count of Montana residents.

Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen said insurers used the information to raise rates and deny coverage, Bloomberg Law reported. Those alleged effects have not been established in court. Montana seeks a permanent injunction against the challenged practices, civil fines, and deletion and destruction of the driving data, including copies held by other parties. These are requests for relief, not penalties or orders already imposed in the state case.

The filing itself does not require GM or OnStar to change their practices or delete data. The court has not yet decided the claims or whether to grant the state’s requested remedies.

A separate federal order sets different requirements

A separate Federal Trade Commission order concerning General Motors, General Motors Holdings and OnStar was finalized on Jan. 14, 2026. For five years from its entry, the order bars disclosure of defined Covered Driver Data to consumer reporting agencies. It is not a blanket ban on collecting or sharing all vehicle data.

For the order’s 20-year term, it generally requires affirmative express consent before covered driver data is collected, used or disclosed to third parties, subject to specified exceptions. It also sets data-handling requirements and gives consumers ways to decline or withdraw consent.

The FTC order is final, but it does not decide Montana’s allegations or grant the state’s requested remedies. In the federal matter, the companies neither admitted nor denied the allegations, except as specified in the order and for jurisdictional facts. Montana’s lawsuit remains a separate state case.