The Future of Automobile Insurance in the Era of Autonomous Vehicles
Much study has been done on the relationship between insurance companies, automobile manufacturers, and technology companies to better understand the impact of autonomous vehicles on the future of insurance policy.
The capabilities of fully autonomous vehicles are being tested in cities across America. Auto insurance policies have already been impacted by autonomous vehicles and autonomous technology. Safety is and will be a top concern for the public’s view of autonomous vehicles.
Autonomous vehicles will become the majority of vehicles in 20 years and will have a significant impact and change for a competitive private insurance market in terms of risk management and regulation.
The U.S. system of state-based insurance regulation established by the McCarran-Ferguson Act remains strong and can adapt to the development of emerging technologies, such as autonomous vehicles.
The business of insurance will adapt its practices to reflect levels of uncertainty associated with the transformation of mobility that the country will experience.
The development and deployment of proven, safe Automated Vehicles will require significant technological advances, regulatory changes, and an active partnership between technology companies, vehicle makers, insurance companies, and the government.
Insurance will evolve to address changes in both vehicle technology and the increased vehicle sharing that is enabled by that technology.
As is true today, the role of insurance in an era dominated by highly automated technologies will continue to provide financial certainty to the owner and operator of a vehicle in the event of an accident, theft or other damage to that vehicle. In a world of autonomous vehicles, insurance will play additional roles.
Society is moving from driving our individually owned cars to sharing cars that we or someone else drives, to sharing cars that are autonomous. The effect of this is nothing short of revolutionary.
The speed of the conversion to a driverless environment is impossible to predict, carriers will start creating the actuarial models which determine risk and pricing for advancing stages of autonomous vehicles. They will also be developing new product offerings in areas including cyber insurance and product liability for software and sensors.
