The transition from the current driver operated motoring landscape to a driverless one promises to throw up a number of hurdles.  From a technical perspective, startups such as Otto should help as they offer the prospect of a relatively easy conversion of the cars of today to a driverless car of tomorrow.

Of course, the technology is but one part of the equation, with companies such as Volvo advocating the ‘Nordic’ approach that sees a wide range of parties involved in ensuring the transition goes smoothly.

Central to this will be how we respond to accidents involving driverless vehicles.  We’ve seen with the recent fatality involving a Tesla vehicle that we are still a little way from achieving a fully safe environment.

What’s more, as vehicles become connected, it’s quite possible that liability for any accidents will shift to the manufacturer rather than the driver, especially if the human driver is unable to re-take control from the car itself.

It’s perhaps fair to say that the current insurance landscape offers little in the way of coverage of the various issues involved in driverless technology, whether it’s what happens in the event of hacking, or how semi-automated vehicles should be covered.

Automated insurance

One of the first companies to venture down this path however are Adrian Flux, who have created insurance coverage that sets out to cover many of these issues.

Their policies cover not only the usual accident related incidents we associate with existing coverage, but also things such as assistive parking incidents or issues concerning the downloading of files to the vehicle.

The insurance industry is not one that’s renowned for innovation, but with driverless technology around the corner, it is an area that will be ripe for it in the coming years.

In line with the Nordic approach advocated by Volvo, the industry is working alongside government, the car companies, regulators and the legal industry to insure that the best approach is taken to insure passengers as we go driverless.

It will certainly be fascinating to see just how they make the transition.