[English translation] How self-driving cars will transform the insurance industry

This time we’re changing things up a bit, talking about autonomous driving.

When people think of AI, robots, fintech, and autonomous driving are major areas, but as autonomous driving becomes common, car insurance should also change.

For example, recording mileage and accident history on the blockchain to select optimal insurance. But fundamentally, if accidents drop drastically due to autonomous driving, I believe insurance could become unnecessary.

If that happens, insurance companies would struggle, so they might secretly hire hackers to cause a few accidents… (laughs)

In the era of autonomous rental cars and public transportation, I’m excited to imagine a world where smart contracts are fully utilized through leases and passenger ride records and fares, rather than insurance.

(I wonder what would happen if we made a human-powered rickshaw operated by humanoid robots—lol)

Now, let’s read a translated article to see how the insurance industry is expected to change.

How autonomous vehicles will transform the insurance industry

For most people, autonomous vehicles sound like a dream. If you can drive without using your hands, you gain spare time, and there will be much more comfortable commuting and a dramatic reduction in traffic accidents. It’s hard to deny that this is an attractive future, but the insurance industry does not appear to have a favorable impression of autonomous vehicles. On the contrary, there is even anxiety.

Insurance companies are currently in a rush, preparing for a world where humans do not cause automobile accidents. Many experts believethat autonomous vehicles will be mainstream by 2030So they have only a short time to change how we think about auto insurance. The following sections highlight the areas expected to undergo the greatest changes.

Where accountability lies

If a car accident occurs and a human was not driving the car, who is responsible?

This is the central question facing insurers, and finding a strong answer has been a source of concern. In such accidents,people will probably pursue the responsibility of the car’s manufacturer. Logically, manufacturers are responsible for the production of their products. However, this raises serious issues.

If manufacturers are held liable for every single unit they produce, litigation risk would skyrocket. Lawsuits are costly. In such a scenario, manufacturers might avoid producing autonomous vehicles to prevent bankruptcy.

To improve this situation, the Land Institute proposeda no-fault systemUnder this system, victims would be compensated without the manufacturers having to halt production of problematic products.