Drivers who have been in a car accident can now have their vehicles, depending on make, help file a claim with their insurance company. The technology is available to Toyota and Lexus drivers with State Farm insurance and allows them to instantly share crash data from their vehicles, speeding up the claims process. State Farm, the largest auto insurer in the country, and its partner Connected Analytic Services, a Toyota affiliate, will let eligible customers with 2020 or newer Toyota and Lexus models authorize a one-time transfer of crash data after an accident using the State Farm app. This feature is part of a larger trend in the insurance industry, in which companies use connected-car technology to verify crashes, send help faster, and settle claims more quickly. However, it comes after a series of high-profile controversies over connected-car data, including FTC allegations that General Motors collected and sold drivers’ location and behavior data without obtaining adequate consent. Different from telematics programs “Our service helps make the claims process easier by providing faster insight into what happened and what needs to happen next,” Jennifer Megargell, State Farm vice president of property and casualty claims, said in a news release announcing the program. State Farm says this new service is only for handling claims, unlike conventional telematics programs that constantly monitor driving behavior. If customers give clear consent through the Claims Hub in the State Farm app after an accident, claims representatives can access information from the vehicle, including: - Direction of travel - Vehicle speed - Point of impact - Crash location displayed on a map State Farm says it accesses only data from the specific date and time of the accident. It then uses this information to resolve that claim and doesn’t use it to set a driver’s future rates