In Law360 Article, Akin Gump Lawyers Analyze House Hearing on Insuring Autonomous Vehicles

Law360 has published “House Hearing Stirs Debate On Insuring Autonomous Vehicles,” written by Akin Gump partners Susan Lent, Kevin Cadwell and Alice Hsu and senior counsel Greg Guice. The article recounts a hearing by the House Committee on Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance pertaining to autonomous vehicle insurance and liability, the first such congressional hearing on the topic.

The authors detail several of the issues that came up at the hearing. The first was access to data, which, they write, the panelists agreed was necessary for insurance companies to have. Next, was the authority of states to regulate insurance companies. The panelists again agreed this was needed, since the states “have a long history of regulating the insurance industry, and that state liability and tort laws will evolve with the advent of new vehicle technologies.”

A final topic at the hearing, according to the article, was liability for incidents involving autonomous vehicles. On this point, the panelists varied in their views, with one insurance industry panelist predicting “that manufacturers, component suppliers and technology companies will assume more liability for incidents involving autonomous vehicles,” while another “predicted that commercial liability insurance will become more prevalent.” The authors, meanwhile, said they expect liability to shift more to the company and away from the individual driver. They also predict that companies will likely enter into indemnification agreements defining liability.

Finally, subcommittee members “expressed willingness to work with insurance companies and consumer advocacy groups to address barriers to developing an efficient insurance framework that responds to the rise of advanced technology.” Questions remain, however, concerning the proper framework for ensuring the safe operation of autonomous vehicles on public roads. Lent, Cadwell, Hsu and Guice say Congress will likely “continue to review the issues of liability and insurance coverage, as well as data sharing, as more highly and fully automated vehicles become commercially available and operate alongside driver-controlled vehicles.”