Telematics, or the use of technology to track and verify customer behavior, has been a buzzword in the industry for some time, but the subject has largely flown under the radar of most consumers.

Until now.

The issue took center stage in an article posted Wednesday on The Atlantic's Quartz site entitled, “Car Insurance Companies Want to Track Your Every Move—and You're Going to Let Them.”

The proposition is simple: Install a device in your car and allow your insurance company to monitor your driving: how fast you drive, how hard you brake, how sharply you corner, and so on. In exchange, it will give you a discount on your premiums.

That might sound alarming, but it shouldn't be surprising. Considering internet users already happily trade data on every online move they make in exchange for free services, the only surprise is tracking-based insurance isn't lready more widespread.

So, is this good or bad for the industry? According to the Quartz article, telematics is poised to upend the entire group proxy model that the insurance industry is built on — “Young men drive more hazardously than young women, young people are worse drivers than older people, people who drive certain types of sports cars are riskier than those with grandpa cars, and so on.” — so providers are as concerned about this shift as consumers are.