Insurers seek clarity over differing levels of autonomous vehicles

Date: 02 August 2017   |   Author: Daniel Puddicombe

The 'Regulating Automated Driving' paper released by the consortium suggests regulators should make a clear distinction between assisted and automated vehicles, with a vehicle only being marketed as automated when:

• The driver can safely disengage in the knowledge that the car has sufficient capabilities to deal with virtually all situations on the road
• A vehicle encounters a situation it can't handle, that it has the ability to come to a safe stop
• The autonomous system can avoid all conceivable crash types and can continue to function adequately in the event of a partial system failure
• Both insurers and vehicle manufacturers can immediately access data to identify whether the driver or vehicle is liable in the case of an accident, without ambiguity.

"Autonomous vehicles will make our roads much safer, but inappropriate use or marketing of intermediate technology could confuse road users and cause unnecessary accidents," said David Williams, ADIG chairman and head of underwriting at AXA. "Clarity over system capability and commitment to share vehicle data with insurers will help public confidence, and help rather than hinder development in this area."

Peter Shaw, Thatcham Research CEO, added: "Vehicles with intermediate systems that offer assisted driving still require immediate driver intervention if the car cannot deal with a situation. Systems like these are fast emerging and unless clearly regulated, could convince drivers that their car is more capable than it actually is. This risk of autonomous ambiguity could result in a short-term increase in crashes."

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