Autonomous vehicles will require two-in-one insurance policies, suggest leaks from the Department for Transport

Driverless cars in the UK will require one insurance policy for the driver and another to cover the AI

Driverless cars, or autonomous vehicles, will require not one, but two insurance policies according to plans that have been leaked from the Department for Transport (DfT).

It comes as the DfT gears up to support the potential introduction of autonomous vehicles and seeks to prepare the legal and regulatory grounds.

According to information leaked to The Telegraph, the Department for Transport (DfT) is gearing up to launch the two-in-one plans for autonomous vehicles, which will which cover both the motorist when they are driving and the car when it is in driverless mode.

Claims made against accidents involving artificial intelligence (AI) will be covered by the insurance company, who will recuperate losses from the party responsible, which may include the car manufacturer.

The government hopes this will make it less confusing for victims of crashes involving driverless vehicles to access compensation.

Chris Grayling, the Transport Secretary, said: "Automated vehicles have the potential to transform our roads in the future and make them even safer and easier to use, as well as promising new mobility for those who cannot drive.

"But we must ensure the public is protected in the event of an incident and this week we are introducing the framework to allow insurance for these new technologies."

While it's unclear how much one of these policies would cost, a spokeswoman at the Association of British Insurers told the newspaper that uncertainty around the introduction of driverless cars likely will make insurance more expensive, but added that it will probably get cheaper over time. Maybe.

Edmund King, president at insurance firm AA, said: "There has been much debate about the whether the driver, manufacturer or indeed highway authority would be liable in a driverless collision. This announcement puts the onus on the driver to ensure that they are fully covered."

"This single insurer model will ensure that in the event of a collision, the not-at-fault party will be properly compensated in the way that motor insurance works now."