THE FUTURE OF THE CAR

Management asked Adam Heath, executive general manager, portfolio and products for Suncorp NZ, which includes the Vero brand, whether the insurer was looking into what the future of driverless or automated cars might mean for its business.

He says driverless cars have the potential to impact not just the insurance industry, but a lot of industries – for example, motor repairs, taxis, the healthcare system.

“We are definitely thinking about the impact they might have on our customers, but there’s a lot of misinformation around about them. In the medium term, all driverless cars will still need someone in the vehicle who can manually take over the controls if something goes wrong – which means there still needs to be someone in the vehicle who is licensed and sober.

“They also still need to be insured. Until all the cars on the road are driverless, there’s still the possibility of your car getting hit by another vehicle, and driverless cars can still be damaged in a storm, have broken windscreens or get stolen.

“Another important aspect of motor insurance is liability cover, for any damage you do to other people or property while you’re driving. That may be something that becomes more important as driverless cars become the norm. It’s not yet clear where the responsibility for any system failures will lie.”

Heath says that as driverless technology matures, what we might see is a shift in focus for motor insurance – for example, people might need a lot less cover for damage to their cars caused by accidents, but a lot more cover for their liability in case anything goes wrong.