Dealers spy on your driving

And more of the week's best financial insight

A car.
(Image credit: iStockphoto)

Here are three of the week's top pieces of financial insight, gathered from around the web:

House-flipping blackmail

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Dealers spy on your driving

Big Brother has taken a seat in your car, said David Lazarus at the Los Angeles Times, as dealers and repair shops increasingly collect data about your vehicle and pass it on to insurers. One California car owner "was supposed to drive fewer than 5,000 miles a year" to get State Farm's low-mileage discount, saving around 15 percent. But the insurance company nixed the discount, saying his 2015 Infiniti had racked up 5,700 miles. How would State Farm know? "It's common for dealers to sell odometer reading counts to insurers and their proxies." Another source for insurers is data broker LexisNexis, which offers them a service detailing accidents and shop visits. "Keep this in mind next time you hit the road — especially if you're driving a newer car with sensors, micro­phones, and other so-called telematics."

Slacking on retirement

Generation X is falling behind on retirement savings, said Catey Hill in MarketWatch. According to a new survey from Fidelity Investments, savers between the ages of 39 and 54 "only have 80 percent of the income they need to retire." That's down from 83 percent in 2018, making Gen X the only group less prepared for retirement since Fidelity's last survey. Gen Xers say they have the highest levels of mortgage debt, and more personal debt than Baby Boomers or Millennials. Though they have less time to save before retirement, the Fidelity study shows them banking about the same share of their income as ­Millennials — and other studies show them saving even less.

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