Every day technology advances; coming out with new items for us to marvel at. One of the hottest inventions to hit the streets of testing facilities in recent months is a driverless vehicle. While they are still mostly a curiosity, it seems inevitable that soon, they will be a significant part of the transportation industry.
Autonomous vehicles are growing increasingly more reliant in test studies. The data shows that the frequency of accidents declining. Google’s fleet of autonomous vehicles have logged over 1 million miles with only 12 minor accidents, non of which were the vehicles fault, since 2009.
Ford motor company announced plans to triple its research self-driving fleet of Fusion Hybrid cars. This increase from 10 to 30 reinforces speculation that Ford is planning its own autonomous car. General Motors has announced that they have partnered with Lyft in a $500 million plan to create a network of ‘on-demand’ self-driving vehicles.
It remains to be seen how this new technology will affect personal auto insurance policies, and changes in premiums are a long way off as autonomous vehicles are still in the testing stage. If anything, most drivers will likely need to purchase insurance to cover theft and non-crash related damage, but may see their costs significantly decrease for accident coverage.
Celent, a research and consulting firm, predicts that it will take 20 to 30 years for 50% of drivers to be in autonomous vehicles. In the meantime, vehicle manufacturers are incorporating certain aspects of autonomous technology into its new models with systems designed to help in crash avoidance.
At Metro Boston Insurance Agency, we understand that changes in technology create changes in every aspect of your life. Call us today at 617.884.5480 for information on our policies.
Written by Metro Boston Insurance Agency on Jan 21, 2016