Autonomous Vehicles

Last Updated: 12/17/2024 

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA),"autonomous" or "self-driving" vehicles are those in which operation of the vehicle occurs without direct driver input to control the steering, acceleration, and braking and are designed so that the driver is not expected to constantly monitor the roadway while operating in self-driving mode. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety expects there to be 4.5 million self-driving vehicles on U.S. roads by 2030. The institute, though, explains that these vehicles aren’t expected to be fully autonomous but have autonomous capabilities within certain conditions. Additionally, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers predicts that 75% of cars on the roads in the world will be autonomous by 2040. 

Google is the pioneer in autonomous driving technology. In 2005, Google established a team of engineers, led by Sebastian Thrun, who developed a robotic vehicle that won a contest sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). Since 2009, Google (now Waymo), has been test-driving autonomous vehicles on public roads, traveling more than 22 million miles in over 25 U.S. cities.  

Waymo continues to be the industry leader in driverless technology. In December of 2018, the company officially launched Waymo One, the nation’s first autonomous vehicle taxi service, in Phoenix, Arizona. Waymo expanded in 2022, testing driverless cars in San Francisco.  In 2024, Waymo began operating fully autonomous vehicles, in San Francisco and Los Angeles, California to anyone through the Waymo One app. 

Google believes that self-driving cars can make driving more efficient and safer by eliminating distracted driving and other human errors. According to NHTSA, 3,308142 fatalities in 202219 were crashes involving distracted drivers, while an additional 13,5240,142 fatalities involved an alcohol-impaired driver. A KMPG report predicts that by 2050, the adoption of autonomous vehicle technology could reduce the frequency of accidents by almost 90%. 

As excitement and momentum for self-driving cars grows, there are numerous insurance questions that will need to be addressed before such vehicles take the road. For example: What happens if a self-driving car gets into an accident? Who is liable for the damages? Will the human "copilot" be at fault or will the car's manufacturer? Will the 'driver' have to maintain a constant vigil on the road ahead at all times? What are they allowed to do inside the vehicle…can they nap, read a book or text message while the car does all the navigating? Will they even need a driver's license? A 2017 KMPG report highlights the "chaotic middle" the auto insurance industry is facing in this new period. 

NHTSA continues to promote the Safe System Approach for roadway safety, ensuring the inclusion of all users and utilizing vehicle safety technologies to mitigate traffic fatalities, injuries, and damages. In 2021, NHTSA mandated a Standing General Order crash reporting from manufacturers and operators of automated driving systems and SAE Level 2 advanced driver assistance systems. In January 2021, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) updated the Comprehensive Management Plan for Automated Vehicle Initiatives as a response to the requirements in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018 (Omnibus Bill) signed into law on March 23, 2018, directing the (DOT) to conduct research on the development of Automated Vehicles (AV). 

 Currently, forty-two states and Washington D.C. have enacted legislation related to autonomous vehicles. Getting the technology to make the vehicles is only half the challenge; the other half will be creating a legal, liability and regulatory framework to govern their use on public streets. 

Status: The Innovation, Cybersecurity, and Technology (H) Committee provides a forum for state insurance regulators to discuss cybersecurity, innovation, data security, privacy protections, and emerging technologies like autonomous vehicles.  The committee is also charged with monitoring developments impacting state insurance regulation, understand evolving practices and innovative technologies in the insurance industry and recommend and develop regulatory, statutory, or guidance updates as needed.   Additionally, the NAIC Center for Insurance Policy and Research (CIPR) hosted a webinar, The Road Ahead for Autonomous Vehicles and Auto Insurance in December 2019.  This event provided insights on the future of insurance in the autonomous vehicle industry.