In five years time, if driverless vehicles become a common feature on our roads, ‘bad driving’ could be eliminated and car insurance may therefore drop considerably, according to industry experts.
Driverless cars are expected to reduce the number of injuries and deaths caused by accidents almost completely, as well as significantly reducing the number of valid whiplash claims which will be made. This will mean that car insurance premiums decrease, by an average of £265, as the insurance will generally only need to deal with theft, and damage not caused by a traffic accident.
Over the last 12 months, the cost of car insurance has decreased almost 6 per cent, with the average premium for fully-comprehensive cover now being £530.
Cars which have driverless technology can already receive a 10 per cent discount on their insurance. An example of this technology is an emergency braking system, with the cost of installing it being between £300 and £1,000.
Some industry experts expect that 90 per cent of the cars in Britain will be fully automated in the next five years, which should therefore greatly reduce the number of accidents on the roads, especially on motorways. This will also mean that generally any blame for accidents will be shifted to manufacturers rather than drivers.
“Insurance premiums could halve once vehicles which communicate with each other and an ‘autopilot mode’ when driving on the motorway are developed,” said John Leech, of KPMG. “This is likely to happen by approximately 2020.”
Mercedes, Tesla and Volvo have said that they expect driverless cars to be on the roads between 2018 and 2020.