Restrict Use of Vehicle Telematics.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
H 2
HOUSE BILL 81
Committee Substitute Favorable 3/20/25

Short Title: Restrict Use of Vehicle Telematics. (Public)
Sponsors:
Referred to:
February 11, 2025
*H81-v-2*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT REQUIRING NOTICE AND CONSENT BEFORE AN INSURANCE INSTITUTION 2
OR AGENT MAY USE VEHICLE TELEMATICS. 3
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 4
SECTION 1. Article 39 of Chapter 58 of the General Statutes is amended by adding 5
a new section to read: 6
"§ 58-39-33. Use of vehicle telematics. 7
(a) Notice and C onsent Required. – An insurance institution or agent shall not collect, 8
receive, sell, share, or otherwise use vehicle telematics regarding an applicant or policyholder 9
without first doing all of the following: 10
(1) Notifying the applicant or policyholde r how the vehicle telematics will be 11
used. 12
(2) Obtaining the consent of the applicant or policyholder in writing. 13
(3) Notifying the applicant or policyholder that consent may be revoked at any 14
time. 15
(b) Revocation of Consent. – Any applicant or policyholder providing consent pursuant 16
to this section may revoke consent at any time. A n insurance institution or agent collecting, 17
receiving, selling, sharing, or otherwise using vehicle telematics shall (i) provide an applicant or 18
policyholder with reasonable means to communicate revocation of consent and (ii) effectuate the 19
revocation of consent within 24 hours of its communication. 20
(c) Penalty. – A violation of this section constitutes both an unfair trade practice under 21
Article 63 of this Chapter and an unfair and deceptive trade practice under G.S. 75-1.1." 22
SECTION 2. G.S. 58-39-15 reads as rewritten: 23
"§ 58-39-15. Definitions. 24
As used in this Article: 25
(1) "Adverse underwriting decision" means:Adverse underwriting decision. – 26
a. Any of the following actions with respect to insurance transaction s 27
involving insurance coverage that is individually underwritten: 28
1. A declination of insurance coverage;coverage. 29
2. A termination of insurance coverage;coverage. 30
3. Failure of an agent to apply for insurance coverage with a 31
specific insurance institution that an agent represents and that 32
is requested by an applicant;applicant. 33
4. In the case of a property or casualty insurance coverage: 34
I. Placement by an insurance institution or agent of a risk 35
with a residual market mechanism, an unauthorized 36
General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 House Bill 81-Second Edition
insurer, or an insurance institution that specializes in 1
substandard risks; or 2
II. The charging of a higher rate on the basis of 3
information that differs from that which the applicant 4
or policyholder furnished; orfurnished. 5
5. In the case of a life, health, or disability insurance coverage, an 6
offer to insure at higher than standard rates. 7
b. Notwithstanding subdivision (1)a. of this section, none of the 8
following actions shall not be considered adverse underwriting 9
decisions, but the insurance institution or agent responsible for their 10
occurrence shall nevertheless provide the applicant or policyholder 11
with the specific reason or reasons for their occurrence: 12
1. The termination of an individual policy form on a class or 13
statewide basis;basis. 14
2. A declination of insurance coverage solely because such 15
coverage is not available on a class or statewide basis; orbasis. 16
3. The rescission of a policy. 17
(2) "Affiliate" or "affiliated" means a Affiliate or affiliated. – A person that 18
directly, or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, controls, is 19
controlled by, or is under common control with another person. 20
(3) "Agent" has Agent. – Agent has the meaning as set forth in G.S. 58-33-10, 21
and includes limited representatives, limited line credit insurance producers, 22
limited lines producers, insurance producers, and surplus lines licensees. 23
(4) "Applicant" means any Applicant. – Any person who seeks to contract for 24
insurance coverage other than a person seeking group insurance that is not 25
individually underwritten. 26
(5) "Consumer report" means any Consumer report. – Any written, oral, or other 27
communication of information bearing on a natural person's credit worthiness, 28
credit standing, credit capacity, character, general reputation, personal 29
characteristics, or mode of living that is used or expected to be used in 30
connection with an insurance transaction. 31
(6) "Consumer reporting agency" means any Consumer reporting agency. – Any 32
person who:who does all of the following: 33
a. Regularly engages, in whole or in part, in the practice of assembling 34
or preparing consumer reports for a monetary fee;fee. 35
b. Obtains information primarily from sources other than insurance 36
institutions; andinstitutions. 37
c. Furnishes consumer reports to other persons. 38
(7) "Control," including the term s "controlled by" or "under common control 39
with," means the Control, controlled by, or under common control with. – The 40
possession, direct or indirect, of the power to direct or cause the direction of 41
the management and policies of a person, whether through the ownership of 42
voting securities, by contract other than a commercial contract for goods or 43
nonmanagement services, or otherwise, unless the power is the result of an 44
official position with or corporate office held by the person. 45
(8) "Declination of insurance coverage" means a Declination of insurance 46
coverage. – A denial, in whole or in part, by an insurance institution or agent 47
of requested insurance coverage. 48
(9) "Individual" means any Individual. – Any natural person who:who is any of 49
the following: 50
General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
House Bill 81-Second Edition Page 3
a. In the case of property or casualty insurance, is a past, present, or 1
proposed named insured or certificate holder;holder. 2
b. In the case of life, health, or disability insurance, is a past, present, or 3
proposed principal insured or certificate holder;holder. 4
c. Is a past, present or proposed policy owner;owner. 5
d. Is a past or present applicant;applicant. 6
e. Is a past or present claimant;claimant. 7
f. Derived, derives, or is proposed to derive insurance coverage under an 8
insurance policy or certificate subject to this Article; orArticle. 9
g. Is the subject of personal information collected or maintained by an 10
insurance institution, agent, or insurance -support organization in 11
connection with mortgage guaranty insurance. 12
(10) "Institutional source" means any Institutional source. – Any person or 13
governmental entity that provides information about an individual to an agent, 14
insurance institution, or insuranc e-support organization, other than:than any 15
of the following: 16
a. An agent;agent. 17
b. The individual who is the subject of the information; orinformation. 18
c. A natural person acting in a personal capacity rather than in a business 19
or professional capacity. 20
(11) "Insurance institution" means any Insurance institution. – Any corporation, 21
association, partnership, reciprocal exchange, inter -insurer, Lloyd's insurer, 22
fraternal benefit society, or other person engaged in the business of insurance, 23
including health maintenance organizations and medical, surgical, hospital, 24
dental, and optometric service plans, governed by Articles 65 through 67 of 25
this Chapter. "Insurance institution" shall not include agents or 26
insurance-support organizations. 27
(12) "Insurance-support organization" means any Insurance-support organization. 28
– Any person who regularly engages, in whole or in part, in the practice of 29
assembling or collecting information about natural persons for the primary 30
purpose of providing the information to an ins urance institution or agent for 31
insurance transactions, including: (i) the furnishing of consumer reports or 32
investigative consumer reports to an insurance institution or agent for use in 33
connection with an insurance transaction; or (ii) the collection of personal 34
information from insurance institutions, agents, or other insurance -support 35
organizations for the purpose of detecting or preventing fraud, material 36
misrepresentation, or material nondisclosure in connection with insurance 37
underwriting or insuranc e claim activity; provided, however, the following 38
persons shall not be considered "insurance -support organizations" for 39
purposes of this Article: agents, governmental institutions, insurance 40
institutions, medical-care institutions, and medical professionals. 41
(13) "Insurance transaction" means any Insurance transaction. – Any transaction 42
involving insurance primarily for personal, family, or household needs rather 43
than business or professional needs that entails:entails either of the following: 44
a. The determination of an individual's eligibility for an insurance 45
coverage, benefit, or payment; orpayment. 46
b. The servicing of an insurance application, policy, contract, or 47
certificate. 48
(14) "Investigative consumer report" means a Investigative consumer report. – A 49
consumer report or portion thereof in which information about a natural 50
person's character, general reputation, personal characteristics, or mode of 51
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living is obtained through personal interviews with the person's neighbors, 1
friends, associates , acquaintances, or others who may have knowledge 2
concerning such items of information. 3
(15) "Life insurance" includes Life insurance. – Life insurance includes annuities. 4
(16) "Medical-care institution" means any Medical-care institution. – Any facility 5
or institution that is licensed to provide health care services to natural persons, 6
including but not limited to, hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, home -health 7
agencies, medical clinics, rehabilitation agencies, public health agencies, or 8
health-maintenance organizations. 9
(17) "Medical professional" means any Medical professional. – Any person 10
licensed or certified to provide health care services to natural persons, 11
including but not limited to, a physician, dentist, nurse, chiropractor, 12
optometrist, p hysical or occupational therapist, licensed clinical social 13
worker, clinical dietitian, clinical psychologist, pharmacist, or speech 14
therapist. 15
(18) "Medical-record information" means personal Medical-record information. – 16
Personal information that: 17
a. Relates to an individual's physical or mental condition, medical 18
history, or medical treatment; and 19
b. Is obtained from a medical professional or medical -care institution, 20
from the individual, or from the individual's spouse, parent, or legal 21
guardian. 22
(19) "Personal information" means any Personal information. – Any individually 23
identifiable information gathered in connection with an insurance transaction 24
from which judgments can be made about an individual's character, habits, 25
avocations, finances, occupa tion, general reputation, credit, health, or any 26
other personal characteristics. "Personal information" includes an individual's 27
name and address and medical -record information, but does not include 28
privileged information. 29
(20) "Policyholder" means any person who:Policyholder. – Any of the following: 30
a. In the case of individual property or casualty insurance, a person who 31
is a present named insured;insured. 32
b. In the case of individual life or accident and health insurance, a person 33
who is a present policy owner; orowner. 34
c. In the case of group insurance that is individually underwritten, a 35
person who is a present group certificate holder. 36
(21) "Pretext interview" means an Pretext interview. – An interview whereby a 37
person, in an attempt to obtain information about a natural person, performs 38
one or more of the following acts: 39
a. Pretends to be someone he is not;not. 40
b. Pretends to represent a person he is not in fact 41
representing;representing. 42
c. Misrepresents the true purpose of the interview; orinterview. 43
d. Refuses to identify himself upon request. 44
(22) "Privileged information" means any Privileged information. – Any 45
individually identifiable information that (i) relates to a claim for insurance 46
benefits or a civil or criminal proceeding involving an individual, and (ii) is 47
collected in connection with or in reasonable anticipation of a claim for 48
insurance benefits or civil or criminal proceeding involving an individual: 49
Provided, however, information otherwise meeting the requirements of this 50
General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
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subsection shall nevertheless be considered personal information under this 1
Article if it is disclosed in violation of G.S. 58-39-75. 2
(23) "Residual market mechanism" means any Residual market mechanism. – Any 3
reinsurance facility, joint underwriting association, assigned risk plan, or other 4
similar plan established under the laws of this State. 5
(24) "Termination of insurance coverage" or "termination of an insurance policy" 6
means either Termination of insurance coverage or termination of an 7
insurance policy. – Either a cancellation or nonrenewal of an insurance policy, 8
in whole or in part, for any reason other than the failure to p ay a premium as 9
required by the policy. 10
(25) "Unauthorized insurer" means an Unauthorized insurer. – An insurance 11
institution that has not been granted a license by the Commissioner to transact 12
the business of insurance in this State. 13
(26) Vehicle telematics. – Data regarding an individual 's driving habits obtained 14
through the installation of a tracking device, application, or software into a n 15
individual's motor vehicle or mobile device that transmits the data via wireless 16
networks." 17
SECTION 3. G.S. 14-196.3 reads as rewritten: 18
"§ 14-196.3. Cyberstalking. 19
(a) The following definitions apply in this section: 20
… 21
(b) It is unlawful for a person to: 22
… 23
(5) Knowingly install, place, or use an electronic tracking device without consent, 24
or cause an electronic tracking device to be installed, placed, or used without 25
consent, to track the location of any person. The provisions of this subdivision 26
do not apply to the installation, placement, or use of an electronic tracking 27
device by any of the following: 28
… 29
l. An insurance institution or agent that collects, receives, sells, shares, 30
or otherwise uses vehicle telematics , as defined in G.S. 58-39-15, 31
regarding an applicant or policyholder through the installation of a 32
tracking device, application, or software into an individual 's motor 33
vehicle or mobile device that transmits the data via wireless networks, 34
provided the insurance institution or agent o btains written consent in 35
accordance with G.S. 58-39-33. 36
…." 37
SECTION 4. This act becomes effective October 1, 2025, and applies to contracts 38
issued, renewed, or amended on or after that date. 39