As Google’s driverless vehicles start to hit the spotlight, coverage for owners has become a major question.
The next wave of insurance news over a brand new industry that will need coverage that is unlike anything else that the world has ever seen, is now attracting some serious attention as Google’s self-driving cars are becoming increasingly “real”.
Auto insurers are now starting to take these driverless vehicles much more seriously, as they’re on their way.
According to an insurance news statement made by PricewaterhouseCoopers in a report that was published earlier this year, “Autonomous cars will be on public roads in the not-so-distant future,” adding that “Ignoring them or not taking decisive action could be fatal.” Among the main struggles being presented by driverless cars is that it affects several industries, none of which know exactly what types of problems to predict or how to go about handling them. Though this wasn’t much of an issue back when these vehicles were still only a concept, it is now reaching the point that they could actually be on the roads in a future that isn’t all that far off.
This insurance news is going to be growing over the next ten years, but it may take much longer to iron it out.
A statement from the Insurance Information Institute’s president, Robert Hartwig, “We’re looking at a transformation that’s going to begin in the next decade, but take 30 years to be complete.”
It makes sense that auto insurance companies are concerned about this new technology. In 2015, there have been at least four different publicly traded insurers – Mercury General, Travelers Cos. Progressive Corp., and Cincinnati Financial – that have included self-driving cars among the various risk factors that were identified in their annual reports to the Securities and Exchange Commission.
What many insurance news reports have been suggesting is that auto insurers could end up seeing quite the losing end of this technology. That industry is estimated to be worth $200 billion, and over the long term, the number of accidents and crashes will decrease as the technology continues to improve. This will mean that the cost of the coverage will also start to be reduced.