INSURANCE
CREDIT: WAYMO advanced vehicles, laden with expensive sensors and complex electronics, could offset some of the gains from reduced accident frequency in the short term.
Moreover, the initial public reception to Tesla’ s Austin trial underscores the reputational risks at stake. Every televised glitch and social media critique can influence public trust and regulatory scrutiny. For Tesla and its competitors, the race is not just to deploy robotaxis, but to prove their safety and reliability to a skeptical public and a watchful insurance industry.
Insurers, for their part, cannot afford to be passive observers. As Barry notes:
“ We see a crucial role for motor insurers as enablers of change, and in supporting the adoption and use of autonomous driving technology. Even if the ownership-and-use model for vehicles changes as a result of the introduction of self-driving vehicles, there will likely remain a need for cover against risks such as theft, weather and vandalism, as well as potentially new risks such as cyber-hacking.”
The future of auto insurance will be less about the person behind the wheel and more about the invisible, and now insurable, logic that guides the vehicle. The trial in Texas is just the beginning …
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