Reinsurance Giant Embraces Autonomous Car Tech
- Reinsurer to sell driver-assistance tech to commercial fleets
- Goal is to curb rising claims costs, gather data for future
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Auto insurers, faced with rising accident rates and the emergence of autonomous vehicles that could make them obsolete by removing human error, have reason to love and hate driverless technology. Munich Re, the world’s biggest reinsurer, has decided to embrace it.
The company -- which helps primary insurers shoulder risks in return for a share of the premiums -- will sell Mobileye’s driver-assistance tech as an aftermarket add-on to commercial fleets starting this month. It’s targeting a market of about 500,000 vehicles, from garbage trucks to ride-share cars, with a bid to curb collisions and collect valuable data in preparation for the rise of self-driving autos.