It is predicted that in the next 20 years, over 10% of vehicles on the road will be self-driving. This is exciting news due to the fact that 2,841 lives were taken in the US as a result of distracted drivers. Although there are some concerns when it comes to these vehicles such as technical failures, obsolete transportation occupations, and hacking, the benefits outweigh the negatives. Self-driving automobiles, in essence, can save thousands of lives but how will this affect your auto insurance policies?
Affecting Your Insurance Premium
In terms of auto insurance, every state is different when it comes to what a drivers pays and what their current state deems important. Since autonomous vehicles steer the liability away from the driver and instead to the car manufacturer, there are pushes for no-fault insurance which would cover injuries and losses regardless of who is at fault. Also, programs like pay-as-you-go or usage-based programs utilize built-in sensors inside of your dashboard that monitor your driving behavior and will give you discounts for good driving habits.The push for these programs will much more prevalent in the near future as more self-driving cars hit the road.
Cheaper Insurance?
The main question that many drivers may have is whether or not the cost of their auto insurance will be different with the purchase of an autonomous vehicle. While self driving cars are safer, other losses have to be taken into consideration; losses that aren’t caused by accidents with other cars such as hail, floods, other natural elements, and theft. This extra coverage may be of benefit if the regularity of accidents are lower, even though the cost to repair damaged vehicles due to circumstances just mentioned are relatively high. Other insurance types might emerge as a result of self driving cars, such as cybersecurity insurance and product liability insurance which will protect you from hacking and faulty sensors.
The verdict is still out on the price of premium insurance concerning autonomous cars. Millions of Americans are still reluctant to own and operate such machinery in the coming years, as only32% of people have currently faith in such machinery. With this low percentage, gauging the pricing of premium auto insurance is hard to determine. But as automation technology increases exponentially, the amount of self driving cars operating on the streets will inevitably rise, and thus create a more precise discussion on auto insurance prices.