Insurance and New Technology

December 21, 2017, Kitchener, Ontario

Posted by: Robert Deutschmann, Personal Injury Lawyer

Insurance companies have been examining the new technologies available for a while. Several years ago many companies were offering to lower the rates of drivers who agreed to have monitors put in their car for speed and braking. Presumably, the less you sped and the gentler you braked the less likely an accident was to occur. Cars are equipped now with monitors that record all of our driving actions, and the data are used to reconstruct fatal accidents sometimes. Our smart phones have telemetry capabilities, and depending on what aps you are using they may be collecting the information. Many phones automatically block use while in a moving car.

Tech developers are now consulting with insurance companies though to determine what information they want collected, which in turn should save them money. In turn, the insurance companies are being forced to keep up with the evolution of technology. Concerns with technology from an insurer’s point of view include everything from ‘smart’ car technology being hacked and control of vehicles being taken over, to tracking how much individuals drivers actually use the car.

Accident scenes and damage can be examined remotely using drones or other technology, saving people and companies time, and making payout times much quicker for property claims - particularly in large disasters like the Fort MacMurray fires, or widespread flooding claims.

Other issues include insurance on autonomous vehicles. Why would individuals buy insurance when the car manufacturer is responsible for the software that controls the car? Manufacturers are working with insurance companies already to include the insurance cost in the cost of the car purchase. These changes also apply to car sharing – who pays for what component of the use and liability.

The evolution of AI technology also poses interesting insurance questions. Instead of relying on self reporting by individuals of their location and habits, AI could take their names and do a complete search of all databases to customize the insurance plan quickly and much more accurately than relying on people who may be gaming the system by claiming the children aren’t driving the car for example, when in fact the car is in a different city 90% of the time.

These are challenging times for insurers and consumers. Keep posted for more updates!

About Deutschmann Law

Deutschmann Law serves South-Western Ontario with offices in Kitchener-Waterloo, Cambridge, Woodstock, Brantford, Stratford and Ayr. The law practice of Robert Deutschmann focuses almost exclusively in personal injury and disability insurance matters. For more information, please visit www.deutschmannlaw.com or call us at 1-519-742-7774.

It is important that you review your accident benefit file with one of our experienced personal injury / car accident lawyers to ensure that you obtain access to all your benefits which include, but are limited to, things like physiotherapy, income replacement benefits, vocational retraining and home modifications.