Jan 13 (Reuters) - Allstate ( ALL ) has been sued by the

state of Texas, which accused the insurer on Monday of illegally

tracking drivers through their cellphones without consent, and

using the data to justify charging more for car insurance.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said Allstate ( ALL ) created

the "world's largest driving behavior database," with data on

more than 45 million Americans, by paying mobile app developers

million of dollars to secretly incorporate its driver tracking

software.

According to a complaint filed in a Texas state court near

Houston, Allstate ( ALL ) profited by using the data to raise premiums

or deny coverage, and by selling the data to other insurers.

Payments were made through Allstate's ( ALL ) data analytics

unit Arity, the complaint said.

The lawsuit accuses Allstate ( ALL ) of violating Texas laws

governing data privacy, data brokers, and unfair and deceptive

acts by insurers. It seeks damages including civil fines of up

to $10,000 per violation.

Allstate ( ALL ) did not immediately respond to a request for

comment.