The personal auto insurance industry could be in for massive disruption as autonomous-driving technology makes cars safer. In fact, the personal auto sector could shrink to 40% of its current size within 25 years as self-driving technology improves, according to a report by global accounting firm KPMG.
Many insurers are already adapting to the coming paradigm, according to a report by Business Insider. Farmers Insurance recently wrote a new auto policy for Tesloop, a small ride-sharing service in southern California that uses Tesla cars.
The policy cut the company’s previous insurance costs by 25% through a reduced premium, Tesloop CEO Rahul Sonnad told Business Insider. Farmers sees the partnership with Tesloop as a test case to see how insurance policies can be designed around autonomous tech.
“For us, it’s understanding what is new technology, and then understanding what are the business models of these new products that are trying to disrupt the industry,” Mariel Devesa, Farmers’ head of production innovation, told Business Insider.
And disruption is inevitable. Crash rates for Tesla cars have plummeted 40% since the company introduced its Autopilot technology, according to a report by the US National Highway Traffic Administration – and CEO Elon Musk has said that the company wants insurers to drop rates in proportion to the increased safety of Tesla vehicles.
Tesla itself is already selling car insurance with its vehicles in Australia and Hong Kong. The company hopes to one day include insurance in the final price of all of its cars.
