Autonomous Transportation on the Horizon

Brian Anderson

Executive Editor
100+ Post Club
656
Posted a new article (link below) about how autonomous vehicles – cars, commercial trucks and even boats/ships, will disrupt the P&C insurance market based on three reports from pricing analytics service provider Quadrant Information Services.

As self-piloted vehicles become a reality, it figures to fundamentally change how vehicles are insured. While still years from widespread adoption, insurers are now challenged to figure out how to adapt coverage to fit an expected gradual transition from individual ownership to fleet ownership of ridesharing autonomous vehicles.

Meanwhile, on the commercial side, removing truck drivers from the equation and the invention of remote control “drone ships” present challenges of their own for insurers. The prospective savings in shipping costs created by automation means manufacturers and shipping companies will no doubt pursue it as quickly as possible.

Yes, it’s not immediate-concern stuff. But looking 10-20 years down the road, how do you see a shift toward autonomous transportation impacting insurers and agents?

Insurance Forums | The autonomous transportation horizon and its impact on insurance
 
Yes, it’s not immediate-concern stuff. But looking 10-20 years down the road, how do you see a shift toward autonomous transportation impacting insurers and agents?

I have mixed feelings about it.

I am surprised at the success achieved so far with the Google and NASA test vehicles.... only a few minor accidents have happened. but these test drives were all done in nice weather.

There's still a LONG way to go before it becomes a real issue. I like your time frame of at least 10-20 years (probably closer to 20).... These people predicting that major changes will happen within 5 years are delusional!

How much money will be needed to "teach" a vehicle how to recognize and drive through snow, ice, heavy rain etc? I'm guessing that R&D and technology needed to address weather conditions will cost a fortune.

And then after that problem is solved, another big problem is that these vehicles have governors that won't exceed the speed limit. Let's be honest here.... driving at the speed limit is slow enough to get you killed on some metro freeways! so the transition phase of having real drivers and robot drivers together could be a nightmare.

adding all of those costs up, I think only a tiny slither of the population could afford to buy such a vehicle. It will take additional years to bring those costs down to where real people can afford it.

Thus, I think it's more of an issue that our kids and grandkids will have to deal with.... Hopefully, we'll still be around to see it happen.
 
Last edited:
adding all of those costs up, I think only a tiny slither of the population could afford to buy such a vehicle. It will take additional years to bring those costs down to where real people can afford it.

Thus, I think it's more of an issue that our kids and grandkids will have to deal with.... Hopefully, we'll still be around to see it happen.

Depends on your age...

In all seriousness, it will start soon, however it will take a long time to fully take hold. So many issues to overcome. An automated vehicle is capable of much faster speeds than a human on the same road. It can process input at a much higher and faster level than any human ever could. It just needs to be able to make good decisions, which is what takes time.

I would say the next 5-30 years will be a transition from human driven to automated vehicles. Some groups won't want to give up the control and many groups wouldn't be able to afford the vehicles. It will be curious to see what biases emerge from police in citing drivers and assigning fault, at least in those jurisdictions where an officer still responds. Will they always fault the human, the computer or will they be rather fair about it?

The greatest danger to agents will be ride-sharing and liability being assumed by the manufacturer and not the owner.
 
Also throw in the big data to being able to underwrite instead of using agents. The insurance PNC industry is going to shrink significantly. small agents will leave whilr bigger agents get bigger
 
Brian you are always on top of this stuff...

The industry will change, I'll keep hammering out policies and adapting to technology as we go. Maybe we'll survive it maybe we won't.

In my opinion climate change is a bigger fear than technology. We just recorded our hottest year on record last year. If continued, weather patterns and rising sea levels will do more damage than technology to the industry.

Just keep on writing.
 
https://twitter.com/ValaAfshar/status/821375043053690881

Something like 15 states where truck driver isnt the most common job.

Massive culture changes past insurance.

----------

Brian you are always on top of this stuff...

The industry will change, I'll keep hammering out policies and adapting to technology as we go. Maybe we'll survive it maybe we won't.

In my opinion climate change is a bigger fear than technology. We just recorded our hottest year on record last year. If continued, weather patterns and rising sea levels will do more damage than technology to the industry.

Just keep on writing.

Ooh good Lord. :goofy:
 
Last edited:
Another take via a new article posted on Inside Counsel:

(selected excerpts)
In a world of driverless cars, however, accidents would no longer be caused by a careless driver. Rather, garden variety car crashes would be the result of a defective product. When accidents happen, instead of one driver suing the other driver for negligence, both drivers will sue the automobile manufacturers because the cars themselves failed to prevent a collision.

As a result, drivers will no longer have a need for automobile liability insurance, but car manufacturers will have products liability exposure for every collision.

Accordingly, the U.S. insurance industry can expect a decline in automobile insurance premiums and an increase in products liability insurance premiums ($3.6 billion in 2015 as reported by the NAIC).


http://www.insidecounsel.com/2017/01/23/us-insurance-market-braces-for-a-seismic-shift-due
 
Another take via a new article posted on Inside Counsel:

(selected excerpts)
In a world of driverless cars, however, accidents would no longer be caused by a careless driver. Rather, garden variety car crashes would be the result of a defective product. When accidents happen, instead of one driver suing the other driver for negligence, both drivers will sue the automobile manufacturers because the cars themselves failed to prevent a collision.

As a result, drivers will no longer have a need for automobile liability insurance, but car manufacturers will have products liability exposure for every collision.

Accordingly, the U.S. insurance industry can expect a decline in automobile insurance premiums and an increase in products liability insurance premiums ($3.6 billion in 2015 as reported by the NAIC).


http://www.insidecounsel.com/2017/01/23/us-insurance-market-braces-for-a-seismic-shift-due

Eh...

What about improper maintenance, user modifications, user override, etc.? I can certainly see fewer claims, but I doubt there will be no need for insurance at all.

I can definitely see manufacturers trying to shift liability back onto the owners.
 
Eh...

What about improper maintenance, user modifications, user override, etc.? I can certainly see fewer claims, but I doubt there will be no need for insurance at all.

I can definitely see manufacturers trying to shift liability back onto the owners.

Good point. I can definitely see the owner of a driverless car still needing coverage - whether it is an individual or the owner of a fleet of ride-hailed vehicles. Doubt the cars will automatically drive themselves in for service whenever it's needed without the owner's "permission" - not to mention reluctance to pay for recommended (or even required) new parts (i.e.: tires, brake pads).

So many issues still - driverless car with worn tires slides on snowy road, or hydroplanes on wet road, hits something. If owner would have maintained the vehicle to prohibit it operating with balding tires...etc.

Premiums for owners of autonomous vehicles would still likely be a fraction of current rate, but insurers can "double-dip" by having this along with the manufacturer having to maintain liability coverage.

Interesting times coming in the auto insurance market.
 
Yes, I would agree that premiums for autonomous vehicles being much less. It may or may not be profitable for agents to write in the future.

Let's remember one thing, for better or worse, PI attorneys are in the same boat as agents on this. I seriously doubt they will let the gravy train stop, they are going to find someone to sue which may or may not create a new insurance market and product.
 
Back
Top