It is common knowledge that it will be easier, and less expensive, to get auto insurance coverage for a minivan that it will be on a flashy, fast, sports car. What about self-driving cars? Google has created an autonomous car. How will auto insurance companies handle the coverage for this specialized type of vehicle?
No one wants to have to pay a lot for auto insurance. Most states require drivers to buy car insurance, which means that you cannot simply decide not to pay for this particular expense. Drivers of minivans often pay less for auto insurance than do drivers of the newest, hottest, model of a sports car.
If you are unhappy with the cost of your current car insurance, or the company it comes from, you can go online and get some quotes to see what other insurers will offer you. It is easy to do.
What isn’t so easy, though, is attempting to figure out what auto insurance companies will do when asked to provide coverage for an autonomous vehicle. Google has created what is, essentially, a self-driving car. This is something completely new.
The state of Nevada is the first state to issue a license for a self-driving car. The state requires two people to be inside the car. One must be in the driver’s seat, ready to take the wheel or hit the breaks if that is necessary. The other person needs to monitor a computer screen that shows the car’s planned route, traffic lights, and potential road hazards.
Google’s research showed that autonomous vehicles are safer than the typical vehicles that are driven manually by humans. The fleet of Google’s self-driving Priuses drove over 200,000 miles and only had a total of two minor fender benders. One of them was caused when the car was being driven manually by a human driver (and not when the car was automatically driving itself).
In general, auto insurance companies will issue lower rates for drivers who are considered to be good, safe, drivers. It is hard to say if insurers will accept that a self-driving car is safer than one that is always driven by a human. There are many questions that must be answered.
Will insurers decide to charge one premium for when the car is being driven manually by a human, and another for when the car is driving autonomously? If an accident happens, will it be considered the fault of the human in the driver’s seat, or of the computer that was actually driving the car? Each and every auto insurance company is going to have to figure out the answer to those questions.
Image by Zack Sheppard on Flickr