Photo: Screenshot from YouTube
It is believed (and it makes perfect sense) that one of the biggest blocks in the way of self-driving cars are the insurance companies. If your car came with a 100 percent guarantee of being crash-proof from the manufacturer, would you still spend absurdly high sums of money on a secondary insurance?
You most definitely would not, and that's exactly what must have the insurance companies trembling in fear. The auto industry represents a large chunk of their business, and they're not too keen to see it go just yet. However, it's pretty clear that it's not a fight they can win, as the technology seems to progress one step further each day.
It is still hard to tell whether the insurance process will be moved at manufacturer level or it will be dissolved for good, but let's not be in any haste to cry over the fate of these mammoth companies. We're pretty sure they'll find a way to extort money from the population even if the autonomous cars become the norm.
As for now, these self-driving features are only just beginning to appear. Some carmakers make bold promises and say that they will take full responsibility for anything bad that happens while the automated systems were active (Volvo), while others have endless disclaimers that basically mean "look, we've made these things, we think they're good, but we wouldn't bet our lives on it. Use them at your own discretion; and peril." That would be Tesla.
Most cars only use certain features like autonomous braking, lane changing or self-parking for now, but if anything were to happen while the systems were operational, the insurer would consider it the driver's fault. Adrian Flux, a British insurance company that's well-known for accepting hard-to-insure vehicles, is now covering these automated features as well.
Apart from the more technical problems like software malfunctioning, satellite coverage issues or hacking attempts, Adrian Flux is also willing to cover the most common situation that leads to accidents involving semi-automated cars: the driver's inability to take control in time when the vehicle's AI isn't able to avoid a collision.
But Adrian Flux has always been the black sheep of the flock, so this is hardly a sign that other companies will do the same in the near future. It also doesn't say anything about the cost of these insurance policies, but it is the first step in a long overdue direction.
It is still hard to tell whether the insurance process will be moved at manufacturer level or it will be dissolved for good, but let's not be in any haste to cry over the fate of these mammoth companies. We're pretty sure they'll find a way to extort money from the population even if the autonomous cars become the norm.
As for now, these self-driving features are only just beginning to appear. Some carmakers make bold promises and say that they will take full responsibility for anything bad that happens while the automated systems were active (Volvo), while others have endless disclaimers that basically mean "look, we've made these things, we think they're good, but we wouldn't bet our lives on it. Use them at your own discretion; and peril." That would be Tesla.
Most cars only use certain features like autonomous braking, lane changing or self-parking for now, but if anything were to happen while the systems were operational, the insurer would consider it the driver's fault. Adrian Flux, a British insurance company that's well-known for accepting hard-to-insure vehicles, is now covering these automated features as well.
Apart from the more technical problems like software malfunctioning, satellite coverage issues or hacking attempts, Adrian Flux is also willing to cover the most common situation that leads to accidents involving semi-automated cars: the driver's inability to take control in time when the vehicle's AI isn't able to avoid a collision.
But Adrian Flux has always been the black sheep of the flock, so this is hardly a sign that other companies will do the same in the near future. It also doesn't say anything about the cost of these insurance policies, but it is the first step in a long overdue direction.
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