The insurance industry is looking at a period of “radical restructuring” due to the advent of driverless vehicles, with insurance premiums set to nosedive, a panel discussion organised by Volvo and automotive researchers Thatcham has revealed.
According to mapping and data experts Here, autonomous vehicles could reduce insurance premiums by 20 billion dollars by 2020.
“The medium-to-long-term impact on the insurance industry is likely to be significant. But let’s not forget the real reason for this – fewer accidents, fewer injuries, fewer fatalities,” Hakan Samuelsson, president and chief executive of Volvo Cars said at the event in London.
“Autonomous drive technology is the single most important advance in automotive safety to be seen in recent years.”
“Vehicle manufacturers are predicting that highly autonomous vehicles, capable of allowing the driver to drop ‘out of the loop’ for certain sections of their journey, will be available from around 2021,” said Peter Shaw, chief executive at Thatcham Research. “Research in the US by NHTSA predicts that by 2035, as a result of autonomous and connected cars, crashes will be reduced by 80%.”
