How will autonomous cars affect insurance?
Self-driving cars are subject to state insurance requirements just like standard vehicles are. An autopiloted vehicle’s driver is still responsible for its safe operation while on the road. As for driverless vehicles, although self-driving car technology has advanced dramatically with Tesla, Nissan, Google, and other major companies entering the autonomous vehicle industry, we’re still a long way from truly driverless cars.
It’s still very early to predict how driverless cars may ultimately impact the car insurance industry. However, the hope is that, among other benefits, autonomous vehicles will reduce the significant number of crashes currently caused by distracted driving. More than 3,100 people were killed and more than 424,000 injured due to distracted driving in 2019 alone, according to the CDC. Driverless cars may be able to react more quickly to input than the human brain. Manufacturers and researchers hope the safety features implemented in these vehicles will reduce crashes and, therefore, human life lost in accidents.