UK's first driverless car insurance policy launched by Adrian Flux
According to the policy, drivers won't be able to take naps and turn on the autopilot
Insurer Adrian Flux claims to have launched the first personal driverless car insurance policy in the UK.
The company explained that it designed the policy "for people who may have driverless or autonomous features in their existing car, or who may be thinking of buying a new car with driverless or autopilot features such as Tesla's forthcoming Model 3".
Aside from the technical aspects of driverless cars, insurance is one of the biggest talking points because the introduction of such vehicles could place greater scrutiny on the vehicle manufacturer than the owner in the event of an accident.
The new policy shares many similarities with a typical car insurance policy, but covers additional factors relating to driverless technology.
Car owners are covered for loss or damage if updates or security patches for things like the driverless operating system, firewalls, electronic mapping and journey planning systems haven't been installed in the vehicle within 24 hours of the owner being notified by the manufacturer or software provider.
They are also covered if the car gets hacked or an attempted hack results in loss or damage, and if there are satellite failures that affect the navigation systems or the manufacturer's operating system or other authorised software fails.
The final point covers loss or damage caused "by failing when able to use manual override to avoid a collision or accident in the event of operating system, navigation system or mechanical failure".
A number of factors would be considered when it comes to liability for an accident or collision to answer what the insurer called "a $64m question".
The driver may not bear any responsibility if the car's driverless technology or its supporting systems are shown to have failed or caused some other disruption resulting in an accident, collision or other type of damage.
But, importantly, the policy states that the driver "will always need to be able to take control of the car at any point in their journey", meaning that a driver cannot turn on the autopilot and nap at the wheel or be intoxicated while in the driving seat.
Adrian Flux stated in a blog post that the new policy will almost certainly change, and that it hopes the discussion around who or what is liable in the event of an accident will "take a new and interesting step forward".
The company insisted that there is still plenty of room for debate and that other insurers will draw their own conclusions when it comes to liability.
The technical and legal aspects of driverless cars will mean that insurers will have to continue to adapt their policies.
The Modern Transport Bill, announced in this year's Queen's Speech, suggested an extension of compulsory cover to accidents where the car itself, rather than the driver, is at fault.
Meanwhile, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in the US has said that it considers Google's autonomous driving software as the driver. But this contradicts a previous ruling in California which found that a fully licensed driver must be present in the car.
"If there's no steering wheel in the car, as Google is planning, why would a human occupant need a driving licence or car insurance," the blog post asked.