Which states restrict telematics surcharges or data use

No federal law decides whether an auto insurer can raise your price because of what a telematics program records, so the answer comes from your state's statutes, your insurance department's approval of the insurer's rating plan, and the terms you accept at enrollment. A few states have written rules aimed squarely at driving data. Montana's statute bars premium increases based on the data. California has long limited what a device may collect and has no behavior-based programs. Virginia, Washington and Delaware regulate consent, access or use. Most other states say nothing specific, and the insurer's filing governs.

This article is a snapshot as of November 2026, built from statutes and regulator documents opened for this piece, not a complete 50-state survey. It names what each source says, flags what is only a proposal, and ends with a method for confirming your own state. Treat any single row as a starting point for a call to your state insurance department, because statutes change and a program's filed terms can be stricter or looser than the law.

Five questions a state rule can answer

Telematics rules are easier to compare if you split them into five separate questions.

1. Can the insurer surcharge? Some states let an insurer raise a price based on the data; others allow only discounts.
2. What may the device or app collect? Some limit location collection or require separate consent for it.
3. What may the insurer do with the data? Some restrict use to pricing, or bar sharing with third parties.
4. Must you be told, and must you agree? Several states require a signed agreement or a written disclosure before enrollment.
5. Can the insurer penalize you for saying no? Some rules bar a higher price or less favorable tier for a driver who declines.

A state can answer one of these and be silent on the rest. The sections below sort the states opened for this piece by which questions their sources answer.

A dated snapshot

The last row shows why dates matter. The Rhode Island answer comes from a survey the National Association of Insurance Commissioners ran in May 2014 and published in its 2015 study. It is evidence of what a regulator said then, not a current statute citation.

California: mileage only

California is the clearest example of a state that limits what telematics can do. Its rating system, set by proposition 103, requires insurers to weigh safety record, miles driven and years of driving experience first. CalMatters reported in July 2026 that California "is the only state in the nation that does not allow insurers to use telematics in setting rates," and that mileage-based discounts are allowed because miles driven is a permitted rating factor.

The regulation text is specific. The Department of Insurance's final text for 10 CCR 2632.5, approved October 15, 2009, lets an insurer use verified actual miles driven, which may be confirmed by odometer readings or "by a technological device." It then says an insurer "shall only use a technological device to collect information for determining actual miles driven" and "shall not use a technological device to collect or store information about the location of the insured vehicle," with an exception for emergency road service, theft, map or travel services. The department's advisory notice of October 19, 2009 confirms the regulations took effect. That is consistent with Progressive's statement that Snapshot, which grades braking and other behaviors, is not available in California. For the broader framework, see California Proposition 103 explained.

A proposal to change this stalled in 2026. Assembly Bill 311 would have let insurers use opt-in telematics data in setting rates. The Department of Insurance opposed it, and Capitol Weekly reported in August 2026 that the Senate Appropriations Committee held it under submission, which the outlet said effectively kills it for the year. The department's fiscal analysis cited costs without a revenue source. The department told legislators the bill is incompatible with Proposition 103, so any later version would face the same objection. As of this writing, the mileage-only rule stands.

States with statutes aimed at driving data

Montana

Montana has the most direct rule in the group. Its telematics chapter covers a "telematics agreement" between insurer and policyholder, which "must be signed by the policyholder" and disclose the categories of data, any third parties, the purposes, the retention period and the terms of the benefit. Section 33-23-223 says an insurer may provide a benefit for taking part, may not cancel, refuse to issue or refuse to renew a policy solely because you refuse, and may not, based on analysis of the recorded data, "reduce coverage, increase a premium, place in a less favorable rate tier, deny a claim, or reduce or refuse to provide a benefit," with exceptions. One exception lets the insurer adjust the benefit "to the extent that an analysis of the recorded data … accurately represents the policyholder's driving habits." Another covers policies priced on miles with a required recording device.

Insurers' own pages reflect this. Travelers says that on its IntelliDrive 365 program, riskier habits will not result in a surcharge in Montana or North Carolina, per its IntelliDrive 365 page. Montana also states that the data are personal information and may not be used for purposes beyond those disclosed, and it exempts vehicle manufacturers and aftermarket suppliers that are not acting as insurers, which matters for connected-car data discussed below.

Virginia

Virginia's statutes, enacted in 2006, separate two issues. Section 38.2-2213.1 says an insurer or agent may not, solely because an owner refuses to allow access to recorded data, reduce coverage, increase the premium, apply a surcharge, refuse to apply a discount (other than one based on recording-device data), or place the insured in a less favorable tier. The companion section 46.2-1088.6 says recorded data may be accessed only by the vehicle's owner, with exceptions, and that for underwriting and rating the owner may consent directly to the insurer. Virginia does not, in the text reviewed, say whether a program may raise rates based on what the data show. It protects the choice to decline. The Virginia code is online.

Washington

RCW 48.18.600, added in 2012, is about collection and use. An insurer may not collect location data unless it discloses the collection and obtains the insured's consent. Individually identifiable usage information from a recording device may be used or retained only to determine premiums, or as RCW 46.35.030 otherwise allows, and may not be shared with third parties except as that section allows. A companion provision, RCW 48.19.040, makes the usage-based part of a rate filing confidential, which limits what a public records request can show about the algorithm.

Delaware

Delaware's 2014 law, now 18 Del. C. section 3918, applies to personal, family and household private passenger vehicle policies. An insurer must tell the policyholder about the installation or use of a data-reporting device, the data it may obtain and how it can affect the cost of coverage, and may not install or use a device without the policyholder's consent. Rating plans that use the data are subject to the state's regular rating-law chapter. The section, as read for this piece, does not itself list permitted uses of the data.

States that regulate through filings

New York shows the other approach: no telematics statute, but the department's gatekeeping. DFS Insurance Circular Letter 4 of May 27, 2014 says the department "has approved UBI filings only where it is clear that the product or program is offered to the consumer solely on a voluntary basis," and invites filings that use telematics. Progressive's plug-in terms add that New York requires at least 120 days of monitoring and re-monitoring every 36 months. Progressive's page also says the participation discount is not available in New York. A bill, A7614, introduced in the 2023-24 session, would have barred a premium increase due to a telematics program, as described in a Variance Journal paper, but I found no enacted version.

Maryland's 2025 Senate Bill 984, which would have required insurers to disclose use of a program that measures how a vehicle is operated and to offer a way to correct or appeal the data, passed the Senate but received an unfavorable report from the House committee. Check the current session before assuming a similar bill failed again.

In states without a specific statute, the rules come from the general rate-regulation system: the insurer files its rating plan, and the department reviews it under standards such as "not excessive, inadequate or unfairly discriminatory." The article how regulators review usage-based insurance rating plans explains that review.

What insurers say, state by state

The most up-to-date state variations are often on the insurers' own pages, which cite the states where a rule changes the program. These are as published in November 2026.

Programs stay out of some states because of rating-law limits, small markets or business choices, and the pages rarely say which. Use the table as evidence of what the program is, not as proof of what the law requires.

Where privacy statutes fit

Telematics rules sit beside broader privacy law. The federal Gramm-Leach-Bliley framework, state insurance information privacy acts and state consumer privacy statutes each cover different slices; Who protects your insurance data: GLBA, state acts and your rights sorts them. Two enforcement actions show the pressure on driving data outside insurance rating rules:

• Texas v. Allstate and Arity. In January 2025 the Texas attorney general sued Allstate and its subsidiary Arity, alleging they collected driving and location data on more than 45 million people through software embedded in third-party apps, and citing the Texas Data Privacy and Security Act, according to Insurance Business. Allstate denied the allegations. These are allegations in a lawsuit, not findings.
• FTC and General Motors. The Federal Trade Commission finalized an order in January 2026 that bars GM from disclosing geolocation and driver behavior data to consumer reporting agencies for five years and requires affirmative express consent for connected-vehicle data collection for 20 years, per the FTC announcement.

The practical lesson is that insurance-code protections usually apply to the insurer's own program. Data that reaches an insurer through an automaker or a data broker may fall under different rules. See connected-car data, data brokers and your premium and driving data privacy lawsuits.

What insurers must tell you before you enroll

Few states set a full list, so the disclosure you get depends mostly on the insurer's terms and conditions. Where a statute speaks, the list is concrete: Montana requires the data categories, third parties, purposes, retention and benefit terms in a signed agreement; Delaware requires notice of the installation, the data and the effect on cost; Washington requires disclosure of location collection. Elsewhere, read the enrollment terms for:

• the data collected and whether location is included;
• who receives it, and whether it can be used in a claim or investigation;
• how long it is kept;
• whether a driver's price can rise, and in which states;
• what happens if you leave.

Progressive's plug-in terms, for instance, say data may be requested by opposing parties in a civil lawsuit, by police, or in response to a subpoena. See can your telematics data be used in a claim or a lawsuit? for that question.

How to find the answer for your state

1. Start with the insurer's state page. Look for a footnote about your state and a line on whether the program can raise your price.
2. Ask in writing. Email the agent: "In my state, can this program raise my premium above what I would pay without it?" Keep the answer.
3. Search your state's statutes. Use terms such as "telematics," "recording device," "usage-based insurance" and "motor vehicle data" on the legislature's site, then read the section itself, not a summary.
4. Check the department's guidance. Look for circular letters, bulletins and consumer guides on usage-based insurance on your state department of insurance site; call the consumer line if nothing appears.
5. Look for the filing. The rate filing holds the program's rules, but some states keep the usage-based component confidential, so a search may show less than expected.
6. Run the lookup tool. The state car insurance requirements lookup helps with basic state rules, though it does not cover telematics.

Common questions

If my state has no telematics law, can the insurer do anything it wants?

No. The insurer still needs approval or filing of its rating plan under the state's general rate laws, must follow federal and state privacy and unfair-practice rules, and is bound by the terms you accept. Silence in a statute means the filing and the contract do the work.

Does a "discount-only" program mean I can never pay more?

It means the program's driving score will not raise your premium above the non-program rate. Other renewal changes can still raise it. See how a telematics discount works: sign-up credit and renewal.

Can I be refused coverage for declining to enroll?

In Virginia, Montana and Delaware the sources reviewed bar penalties or require consent, and Montana bars cancellation or non-renewal on that basis alone. Enrollment is voluntary almost everywhere, but confirm your state.

Does the law cover data my car's maker collects?

Often not. Montana's chapter excludes manufacturers and aftermarket suppliers that are not acting as insurers, and the FTC's GM order is about one company's practices. See plug-in device, phone app or built-in car data: which tracking method?.

Key takeaways

• Telematics rules are state by state, and most states regulate through rate filings rather than a specific statute.
• Montana's statute bars premium increases based on the data; Virginia protects drivers who decline; Washington and Delaware regulate consent and use; California allows mileage only.
• Bills such as California's AB 311 and Maryland's SB 984 did not become law in the sessions reviewed.
• Insurers' state footnotes show where a program changes, but they are not a legal citation.
• Ask the insurer in writing whether the program can raise your price in your state, and confirm with your department of insurance.