Self-Driving Cars Raise Questions About Who Carries Insurance

Autonomous car in Palo Alto. Image credit: Flickr

Autonomous vehicles are still in their infancy, but regulatory issues are beginning to move to the forefront of the discussion. After an incident with a car earlier this month, the question of who would pay for the insurance is springing up. There are questions about insuring cars running on technology, and not by humans. Currently, insurance is determined using existing information: claims history, driving records, and apps or devices that track speed among other things. If there is no driver, though, who is responsible? Additionally, human error will no longer be the leading cause of traffic incidents, meaning technology may be the cause - would this act as disincentive to invest in this technology if automakers are the ones who are deemed at fault.

To find out more about this discussion, read the article on NPR.