By CRM Staff
Toronto, Ontario – November 15, 2018 – Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) is looking to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to the future of insurance and ownership of data.
Today, during its annual Regulatory Affairs Symposium, IBC released a paper titled Auto Insurance for Automated Vehilces: Preparing for the Future of Mobility. The paper, which was created over the past two years by auto insurance experts, lists three recommendations for updating both provincial insurance laws and federal vehicle safety standards.
The recommendations are as follows:
1.) Establish a single insurance policy that covers driver negligence and automated technology malfunctions to facilitate liability claims;
2.) Establish a legislated data-sharing arrangement between vehicle manufacturers and vehicle owners and/or insurers to help determine the cause of a collision; and
3.) Update the federal vehicle safety standards to address new technology and cyber security standards.
“Automated vehicles are coming to Canada’s roads, and the laws that govern insurance and vehicle safety need to be updated to reflect this reality,” said Don Forgeron, president and CEO, IBC.
“We need changes to the provincial insurance laws across the country to ensure that collision victims continue to be compensated in a timely manner.”
Currently, provincial auto insurance policy and supporting laws are built on the notion of human error being responsible for the majority of collisions. With the influx of technology entering the market, and the transition into automated vehicles, policies and laws must be rewritten to reflect new realities. As humans begin to give up control of their vehicles to onboard technology, there will inevitably be a shift in responsibility being placed on product malfunctions. In order to avoid uncertainty, new policies must be created to address these changes, otherwise motorists will risk both delayed treatment and claim payouts for collisions involving automated vehicles.
Several major car manufacturers are expected to be selling automated vehicles within the early 2020’s. IBC is asking governments across Canada to update any relevant laws, in order to be prepared for the time when these vehicles enter the market.
