Ready or Not, Autonomous Cars are Coming: We are well past the point of autonomous vehicles being a fad. With several production cars around the world already coming from the factory with partial automation features, manufacturers, ride sharing companies, and rental car companies are in an all-out race to lead innovation in autonomous vehicle technology. That intense competition will also lead many to take risks.
Auto Insurers Betting on Autonomous to Decrease Frequency of Accidents: Auto insurers have already begun factoring the growth of autonomous and semi-autonomous technologies, such as forward collision warning with autobrake, adaptive headlights, and blind spot assist into future claims projections. In general, the industry is betting on autonomous technology to ultimately decrease the frequency of accidents, but not the severity of accidents that do occur.
You Are Being Recorded: One of the most interesting implications of the autonomous vehicle movement on the P&C insurance industry is the vast amount of data that is being collected by these technologies. According to a new studyconducted by J.D. Power in collaboration with Miller Canfield and Mcity, nearly three fourths (74%) of consumers say they are willing to share autonomous vehicle data after a collision, potentially giving insurers broad access into the details surrounding a crash and the ability to expand the current telematics offerings they currently have in place, which offer discounts to safer drivers. According to J.D. Power data, these telematics-powered offerings have been associated with high levels of insurance customer satisfaction.
