Articles - On the road to self driving vehicles


It is a well-known fact that the vast majority (95% ) of road accidents are caused by human error. It is a less well-known fact that current Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) can reduce accident claims by over 30% . The power of safety technology in cars to cut accident rates is undeniable so it is good to know that today, 8 in 10 new cars comes fitted with some form of driver assistance and vehicle automation continues at pace.

 By Andrew Ballard, product principal, LexisNexis Risk Solutions
  
 We’re seeing the whole automotive sector is going through an exciting transition, moving from ‘assisted to automated’ capabilities and ‘The Automated Vehicles Act 2024’ has been created to safely roll out self-driving vehicles across the U.K.

 So what does this all mean for the insurance sector? Increasing automation should mean safer roads for us all, fewer accidents, potentially leading to lower premiums. But there are some big data roadblocks to overcome as cars become highly assisted and partially automated. For example, how will insurance providers know the vehicle mode ‘live’ – i.e., is it in self-driving mode or being operated by the driver of the vehicle should an accident occur? The SAE does a great job in defining the levels of automation for vehicles but insurers need to know both what the vehicle is capable of, and what driving mode is it operating in should there be a claim .

 Without insurance, there can be no viable market for the vehicles of the future - but insurance providers won’t be in a position to provide cover if they don’t know the risk.

 We also need to recognise that a fully autonomous vehicle, one that makes complete journeys without the need for a driver, is unlikely to be privately owned. These would be managed services and mobility solutions. For vehicles owned and operated by private individuals and companies, we should expect to see specific automated functions being made available. In Germany, for example. a vehicle can drive autonomously on certain autobahns and fully automated valet parking is offered for the customers of German car maker at two locations. In the UK, one car maker is already offering hands-free motorway driving at SAE Level 2 autonomy. This shows how safety functionality can evolve.

 The first step on the road to automation has been to help motor insurance providers better understand the presence and performance (whether they simply warn or take mitigating action) of ADAS in the vehicles they are insuring.

 More and more insurance providers are ingesting ADAS data for the exact car they are quoting on (not one like it), allowing them to use this for rating and possibly rewarding customers for the investment they have made in the safety of their vehicle. The Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI) has revealed that only 1 in 5 drivers can identify ADAS features in their vehicles. The more the insurance sector can do to extend awareness of safety technology, the better for society as a whole. Letting customers know what ADAS they have fitted could be a great start.

 The added consideration highlighted by the Association of British Insurers is that consumer education around automated vehicles must improve as well as training, helping to create familiarity with vehicle features, functions and how they operate. Insurance providers could play an increasingly valuable role here, but only if they have access to ‘live’ intelligence as cars move through the varying levels of autonomy and over the air software updates change vehicle capabilities and risk overnight.

 In an accident involving an automated vehicle, insurance providers must understand what technology was in use at the time of the crash to establish who or what was at fault and to manage claims efficiently. It will also be vital intelligence to help vehicle manufacturers to understand where improvements to their technology could be focused. As such, the fundamental ingredients to making self-driving vehicles insurable will be establishing consumer consent to share their data and creating the appropriate technical connectivity so that data from vehicles can be fed through to insurance providers.

 Preparing for this future, the data solution available today to confirm ADAS at the point of quote will not stand still. LexisNexis® Vehicle Build was created with a firm eye on the future and will evolve to expose data and insight into more advanced and complex vehicles – leading to connected car and automated vehicles.

 To this end, we are working with vehicle manufacturers to establish connections to data sources to confirm software versions and over-the-air updates to safety technology in the vehicle. In the future, with full consumer transparency and consent, the data available may also include real-time connected car data that could confirm the activation status and deployment of any given ADAS fitment by the driver.

 In essence, as the market’s data provider, we’re already well down the road to help make self-driving vehicles insurable.

 
  

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