Volvo Thinks Autonomous Tech Will Lower Insurance Costs - We Say They Will Find Another To Keep Rates High

As a big promoter of the autonomous trend, Volvo says the upcoming driverless technologies are forcing the multi-billion-dollar motor insurance industry to face a period of radical restructuring.

There are increasingly more studies showing that self-driving cars will definitely upset the insurance industry. Volvo, one of the most active advocates within the auto world on pushing this technology upfront, also believes that insurers have to make radical changes in their business, as the number of crashes are being forecasted to drop by 80 percent by 2035 and insurance premiums are set to plummet. The Swedish brand points out a research made by Swiss Re and HERE in which they calculated that self-driving technologies could wipe out 20 billion dollars off insurance premiums globally by 2020 alone. The study says this trimming would be greater were it not for global car sales growth, mainly fuelled by growth in emerging Asia, in China and India in particular, which will become the largest markets for motor insurance by 2025 in terms of volume.

TheSteve - 5/6/2016 12:50:14 PM

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As long as car insurance is mandatory, providers have a captive audience and there's no need to lower rates, autonomous cars and reduced risks included. They'll always find their excuses to keep rates high, and to keep raising them.

PUGPROUD - 5/6/2016 2:04:22 PM

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If your car isn't autonomous they will jack up your rates saying "Your
risk of having an accident is substantially higher." If your car is autonomous they will jack up your rates saying "While the risk of having an accident may be lower the cost of fixing the complicated autonomous systems is substantially higher if you do." They win...we loose.

pepito66 - 5/6/2016 3:27:35 PM

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Yes it is true and very easy they going to say that those car with autonomous features are very sophisticate and expensive the reparations so they need to charge you for that. They always do that to me , no even care if the car is more safe and has more technology to protec passenger.

TomM - 5/7/2016 7:31:53 AM

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AS long as there are other drivers on the road -whose cars are not autonomous - there will be accidents (Even caused by the autonomous cars). And as long as there will be accidents - insurance rates will continue to HAVE to take into account REPAIR COSTS. ANd since the autonomous features are expensive - insuring then will have to be expensive.

ANd - we still do not have the LAWS required to decide WHO is responsible in an accident where one car has no driver. Until this issue is settled (Example - California still requires a DRIVER so far), this is going to be an insurance nightmare. WHat if an autonomous car has an accident that is cause by a glitch in its software? How are the Manufacturers going to protect themselves against being sued for negligence? (Remember - the driver may agree to hold them harmless - but the people in the other car still do not have to)