Because advances in auto technology are expected to have a significant impact on the U.S. insurance market, the House Financial Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance recently examined the development of autonomous vehicles.
Vehicle insurance represents 43% of total insurance premiums nationwide. Because advances in auto technology are expected to have a significant impact on the U.S. insurance market, a U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee recently examined the development of autonomous vehicles.
In a Wednesday hearing, “The Impact of Autonomous Vehicles on the Future of Insurance,” the House Financial Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance heard testimony from David T. Carlson, the U.S. manufacturing & automotive practice leader at Marsh & McLennan; Ryan D. Gammelgard, counsel at State Farm; Sam Geraci, vice president – strategy at American Family Mutual Insurance Company; Ian Adams, assistant vice president at R Street Institute; and Jack Gillis of the Consumer Federation of America.
When access to data—and who will have that access—came up during the hearing, the industry witnesses noted that it will be a key factor in developing rates and underwriting policies. The hearing also examined how autonomous vehicle development is expected to increase ridesharing, and what that means for the insurance industry.
Last fall, the House passed bipartisan autonomous vehicle legislation by voice vote. H.R. 3388, “The SELF DRIVE Act” by Reps. Bob Latta (R-Ohio) and Jan Schakowsky (D-Illinois), would require the federal government to make rules that preempt many state laws related to self-driving cars, although state insurance laws would not be directly preempted. The legislation would also allow auto manufactures to get exemptions from federal safety standards while rules are in development.
Soon after the House acted, the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation approved S. 1885, the “AV START Act,” by Sens. John Thune (R-South Dakota) and Gary Peters (D-Michigan). While the legislation passed committee, it has not yet been scheduled for a floor vote in the Senate.
The Senate version shares some similarities with the House bill but differs in some significant ways. For example, the Senate bill includes provisions regarding third-party access to data on highly automated vehicles, which is necessary for the insurance underwriting process. The Big “I” supports these provisions.
Wyatt Stewart is Big “I” senior director of federal government affairs.
