Insurance requirements for automated vehicles

The DfT has proposed amendments for the motor insurance framework to include automated vehicles. The amendments will require changes to legislation, however the government says it will change as little as possible in order to enable the market to develop the appropriate products for AVs.

The proposal is that an insurance company will cover both a driver’s use of a vehicle and the car’s AV technology. Having appropriate insurance will still be compulsory and the insurance would cover times when motorists are in control and when cars are in automated driving mode.

This follows on from the ABI’s call for driverless car data which they made at their annual conference in November. They requested that car makers provide enough data to show who has been at fault in an accident involving driverless vehicles, with a standard set of data agreed at international level. This would include information from 30 seconds before and 15 seconds after an incident, such as:

·         was the car in autonomous mode

·         was the motorist in the driver’s seat

·         was the motorist wearing a seatbelt

·         the time of the incident

·         location of the vehicle

·         driver activity, such as steering and braking

The information provided would be used to:

·         establish liability

·         process claims promptly

·         help improve the vehicle manufacturer’s products

·         inform emergency services

Where the information shows that the technology is at fault, the insurer should be able to recover costs from the vehicle manufacturer.

The government’s insurance proposals for driverless cars will be taken forward into the Modern Transport Bill, which is due to enter the Houses of Parliament this year.

What are your views on the proposal?