Nobody can know all of the downstream implications of driverless cars. However, a simple fender bender will put the entire industry under a microscope. Clearly insurance companies – not generally known for their ability to innovate and pivot quickly – have both an opportunity and a risk. So, what should insurance companies be doing? As Alan Kay said, “the best way to predict the future is to invent it.”
So far, the discussions around driverless cars have involved Google, Audi, Mercedes, Toyota, and even Intel, Qualcomm, Navstar and Boeing. If driverless cars are to really become a mass-market reality, companies like Progressive, Aetna, Allstate and Geico better get into the conversation quickly.