Latest vehicles of today are equipped with some amazing technology features like Blind Spot Monitoring System, Collision Detection System and Intelligent Parking Assist, and these features are actually a step towards autonomous cars, as automakers are planning to introduce partially self driving cars in the coming years.
With the introduction of these self driving cars the driving responsibility will be shared by humans and vehicles. Rate of accidents would naturally go down, as most of the accidents are a result of human error. It is good news for both the governments and general public in Arab States, where road accident ratio is very high. This however would be alarming for insurers; they will suffer some losses in the years to come.
For self-driving vehicles, manufacturer liability will increase as compared to driver liability in the event of an accident. The insurance rules, laws and policies have to be revised to accommodate the implications of autonomous vehicles. Insurance premium calculation will probably rely on the make and model of the car instead of age, experience and accident history of the driver. Premium costs will also reduce considerably, thus resulting in loss for auto insurers.
Insurers might consider using ‘black boxes’ to monitor driver’s activity in autonomous vehicles. These cars have gravely endangered the future of these firms as well as mechanics. Insurance companies need to plan beforehand to stay in business when self driving cars finally hit the markets.