Autopilot and Collision Avoidance Effect on Insurance Rates

[Andyw2100]

I haven't seen anything posted on this, so I thought I'd throw this out there.

How do people think insurance rates will be affected by the changes coming our way with the autopilot and the new safety features, and how do you think these rate changes will be implemented?

For example all Model S owners probably won't all get the features at the same time, so that may pose an issue with respect to rate changes.

Presumably a car that can avoid collisions should pay less for collision insurance, and probably less for liability insurance, etc., than one that can't, so do we think we will see a discount when our cars have those capabilities?

And what about autopilot? I think the auto insurance companies could make the argument that someone using autopilot MAY be less attentive and MAY be MORE likely to get into an accident, and use that to actually RAISE rates on cars with autopilot. (I'm not saying they should. Just fearing they may.)

Thoughts?

 

[alexkiritz]

They will wait a few years to see what the numbers are and then adjust rates accordingly.

 

[jerry33]

What Alex said, but typically the more safety features you have the lower the rates. I'd hope the autopilot system would be able to determine if you're inattentive and take some action, such as alerts or even bringing the car to a halt on the side of the road. Accidents often happen during a short lapse of attention and this is what the autopilot can do. I suspect that number is far higher than the amount of people who will be inattentive because they have autopilot (and even those folks will be saved a lot of the time).

 

[Andyw2100]

What Alex said, but typically the more safety features you have the lower the rates. I'd hope the autopilot system would be able to determine if you're inattentive and take some action, such as alerts or even bringing the car to a halt on the side of the road. Accidents often happen during a short lapse of attention and this is what the autopilot can do. I suspect that number is far higher than the amount of people who will be inattentive because they have autopilot (and even those folks will be saved a lot of the time).

I'm not questioning the value of the autopilot system, but rather what the insurance industry might make of it. I fear that they may raise rates simply because it's something new that they have no data on, and they'd rather be safe than sorry. I certainly hope they don't take that approach, but I don't think it's outside the realm of possibility,

 

[Ride Long]

I'm not questioning the value of the autopilot system, but rather what the insurance industry might make of it. I fear that they may raise rates simply because it's something new that they have no data on, and they'd rather be safe than sorry. I certainly hope they don't take that approach, but I don't think it's outside the realm of possibility,

That's not the way they usually work. The auto insurance business is really competitive (see Warren Buffett's shareholder letter about underwriting losses) so I doubt a carrier would abandon market share in this manner. Yes, if the sample size is big enough they will make inferences about whether autopilot increases or reduces claim incidence and magnitude, then react accordingly.

I don't see major movement until they have a few million miles of data to review.

 

[TI Sailor]

Presumably a car that can avoid collisions should pay less for collision insurance, and probably less for liability insurance, etc., than one that can't, so do we think we will see a discount when our cars have those capabilities? Thoughts?

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) rates vehicles based on several factors, including safety features. To get their highest rating, Top Safety Pick Plus, a vehicle MUST have the safety features just made available to Model S. While the MS has not been evaluatied by IIHS yet, I suspect that will happen soon, and that rating will be used by insurers as a factor in assigning rates. Once statistically significant data on accidents, claims, medical expenses, etc are available, they (and we) will have a better idea of the impact. I have no idea what they will do in the short run about autopilot, but they'll use data in the long run to determine which way to go with their rates.

 

[SR22pilot]

The insurance industry loves active collision avoidance and says it decreases accidents by 15%. The most common accident is the rear end collusion in traffic from following too close. Active braking that decreases those accidents is something the insurance industry loves.