Self-driving cars to be covered by insurance

Everything you need to know about the new measures

Insurance on self-driving cars must cover for the both times a person is in control as well as when the vehicle is in charge, this is according to new proposals from the UK government.

The new measures are outlined in the the Vehicle Technology and Aviation Bill.

Ministers have said they would like to make sure it is easy for victims of accidents to claim compensation if a collision occurs in a vehicle that’s driving in automatic mode.

Insurers may still try to recover their costs from the vehicle makers.

The bill applies to England, Wales and Scotland but does not affect Northern Ireland.

The new measures come with two exemptions, these are if an owner makes changes to the car they are not authorised to do so or if an owner does not install an update to the software which is required by their policy.

The Department for Transport will determine which cars will be classed as self-driving, the vehicles will then become subject to the new requirements.

Ben Howarth, senior policy adviser at the Association of British Insurers, said: “It demonstrates the government’s clear commitment to moving forward when it comes to automated vehicles,”

“As an industry, we want to keep insurance as straightforward as possible, which is why insurers proposed the simple approach which the government is now taking forward.”