Autonomous vehicles are hitting the roads, ushering in the promise of improved safety and efficiency but also the prospect of unprecedented change within the auto insurance industry.
In order to better understand the industry’s perspectives on automated vehicles, ISO, a Verisk Analytics business, conducted the ISO Automated Vehicles Survey. Our survey captured responses from approximately 400 insurers, who answered questions designed to elicit their candid, high-level insights as well as more granular viewpoints.
Key findings from the survey
According to the survey, 44 percent of insurance professionals consider autonomous vehicles (AVs) to be highly important compared with other emerging issues. But that doesn’t mean they’re all prepared to address the issue. Almost half of these survey respondents said they’ve only begun to have some informal discussions concerning AVs. A third of respondents said they haven’t discussed the issue at all.
The survey provided valuable insight on a number of important questions about AVs, including:
- What’s holding up AV growth? Survey respondents said regulatory roadblocks and consumer acceptance are the greatest barriers to the adoption of autonomous vehicles. Availability of the appropriate insurance and privacy concerns relating to AV data were among the lowest barriers.
- How will AVs affect insurance? Many respondents said they thought AVs would lead to more innovation among insurers and a shift of exposures from personal to commercial lines of insurance, rather than consolidation among personal auto insurers.
- How might the legal landscape change? When asked which type of law would be best poised to address liability for AV-related accidents, most respondents said product liability law (in relation to traditional auto financial responsibility or no-fault liability law).