Those who would struggle to get car insurance now may find it easier in the future – although they may not actually need to learn to drive.
This is the prediction from Axa Chief Executive, Amanda Blanc, who has urged the insurance industry to pre-empt the disruption that driverless cars will bring to the sector.
“It is crucial for the insurance industry to build a framework for what will happen in the event of a car accident in the future, when the driver is likely to be a computer,” she said.
According to Blanc’s estimations, advancing technology will have completely revolutionised the way we get around and about by the year 2050, meaning children of the future may not even have to learn to drive.
It is American car firm Tesla who are spearheading the advancement of driverless cars, which is already underway in the UK thanks to Venturer, based in Bristol, and Milton Keynes’ Autodrive, who are working with Direct Line in developing trials.
As drivers are legally required to have motor insurance, it’s clear that an overhaul to meet new means and methods of travel are needed, but it’s hoped that autonomous vehicles will reduce accident rates.
This is not the case for the cars in their current stage of development, as tests have shown that over the course of 20,354 miles every car had to be controlled by a human driver an average of once every mile.
But when the cars are ready for the roads, it’s anticipated that insurance premiums will fall thanks to the safety potential of the car’s auto-pilot, while those who have limited mobility will have another transport option made available to them.
