Semi-automated vehicles have begun to replace conventional cars and trucks on Canadian roads. As conventional vehicles share the roads with semi-automated vehicles (sometimes referred to as autonomous cars) and the first driverless cars, the challenge for the insurance industry over the next 10 years will involve determining who is responsible for collisions.

This spring, the Institute is preparing to release Automated Vehicles: Implications for the Insurance Industry in Canada – an important report that assesses the developments of automated vehicles on Canadian roads within the next 5-10 years.

More and more we are hearing about automated vehicles in the news, from the Google car to Tesla. It seems like manufacturers and consumers are ready for driverless cars, but there are still many unanswered questions for the insurance industry:

• Will vehicles have on-board devices to identify whether or not the vehicle’s technology was engaged at the time of a collision?
• Will insurance companies be allowed to access this information?
• How will insurance companies recover costs when automakers are found to be at fault?
• How can property and casualty insurers reduce their risk of loss?
• How should costs be shared when driver errors and vehicle automation systems failure both contribute to a collision?