By Travis Atkinson, Executive General Manager, NZI
Autonomous vehicles will one day profoundly change the world.
Supporting the safe introduction of these driverless vehicles as a new way to help solve transport and safety problems for our customers is critical for the future.
That's why we saw insuring the new 15-seater electric shuttle bus at Christchurch Airport as an opportunity to get behind innovation that will eventually become mainstream. As insurers, we have a key role to play in the adoption of such vehicles to ensure customer trust, protection and safety on our roads.
The shuttle bus is powered by electricity and has no driving controls whatsoever. It is expected to operate at around 25kph although it can travel at speeds up to 45kph.
HMI Technologies purchased the vehicle from Navya in France to conduct trials in New Zealand - which could lead to more of these vehicles transporting passengers in the future. The trial will be confined to the airport grounds behind fences and won't be operating within the restricted area. There will also be no exposure to other vehicles at this stage.
In the future, we anticipate a mix of autonomous, semi-autonomous and traditional vehicles on the roads and we'll be evolving our insurance model to make sure our customers are protected, regardless of the type of vehicle they choose to travel in.
The problem with hi-tech equipment is always the cost of replacement if something goes wrong. So it required some critical thinking on our part from the NZI underwriting team.
In the end, minimal changes to our standard policy wording were required and the vehicle doesn't actually have to be driven in order to be insured.
We all know cars are increasingly being designed with advanced driv
er assistance systems (ADAS) to help make the driving experience safer and more enjoyable. It's inevitable there's a natural progression to a fully autonomous situation - where the driver becomes a passenger and the vehicle the driver.
It will lead to some significant changes in the insurance industry and how we insure vehicles for unexpected events in the future - which is why we've been focused on this for some time now.
Through our research centre in Australia, we've been exploring and testing the impact certain vehicle technologies have on safety and risk. We're encouraging the uptake of new autonomous technology to improve the safety of our customers by offering price discounts on things like Autonomous Emergency Braking.
By partnering with external industry and research groups, we are also working to deepen our understanding of the impact this new technology will have on our roads and customers.
There's no denying the advantage of these connected vehicles. They're able to generate data with a range of potential applications - from helping drivers better navigate their journeys to vehicle servicing alerts and trip-based products, not to mentioned increased safety.
It really is a new world, and I for one embrace it.
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