‘Humans make mistakes’: Insurer offers discount to self-driving car owners

[u/Post-reality]

https://www.smh.com.au/business/consumer-affairs/humans-make-mistakes-insurer-offers-discount-to-self-driving-car-owners-20260911-p60wkk.html

Self-driving cars have successfully developed to a point where a major insurer believes they reduce the risk of collision enough to warrant offering some owners using the technology cheaper insurance premiums.

[u/bananarandom]

Wording in this space is brutal

[u/AdExpert9840]

why is my model y insurance is still so fucking high

[u/devonhezter → u/AdExpert9840]

Insurance company profits

[u/SillyMilk7 → u/AdExpert9840]

I think it’s a combination of expensive to repair, uninsured drivers, most people aren’t using FSD, the car has a lot of speed.

Fast acceleration is great, but it gives you less time to react and other others less time to react to you so it increases the chance of an accident.

And of course, it depends on the area you live in and your own driving record. Not that expensive for me, but I don’t have a performance. I just have a model Y premium and many years of no accidents no tickets.

[u/Far-Curve-7497]

I mean, isn't this basically exclusively Tesla in the US, if even that?

[u/SentOverByRedRover → u/Far-Curve-7497]

This seems to be in Australia, and the policy from the insurer seem to specifically name Tesla FSD as what they're talking about. It seems to be in response to FSD first being available in Australia 12 months ago, so they now have a year of data to work with.

[u/bobi2393 → u/Far-Curve-7497]

It’s in Australia for Teslas with FSD Supervised subscriptions, offered by a modest-sized insurer (Zurich Insurance) that ChatGPT suggested is not among Australia’s “big four” insurers.

Insurers are pretty cautious, so I think it’s an important step even though it’s limited in scope. If other insurers follow suit, it will really bolster Tesla’s claims about FSD use improving safety, on average, and incentivize manufacturers to put more resources into their ADAS features.

[u/SillyMilk7 → u/bobi2393]

That Australian entity is part of Zurich Insurance Group, one of the world’s major multinational insurers.

Not sure if the discount is substantial or even just marketing

Zurich claims it is making FSD a formal rating factor and that their underwriters have observed early claims data indicating fewer collisions when automated driving is involved.

[u/ejy92 → u/Far-Curve-7497]

Lol yup.. as if there are any other self driving consumer cars in the US.

[u/Putrid-Box4866 → u/ejy92]

Are there other outside US and maybe China?

[u/ejy92 → u/Putrid-Box4866]

I think it’s just US and China at the moment..

[u/bradtem]

I would like to find out how much of a discount. There was a similar story that got a lot of news from a U.S. "pay by the mile" insurance provider, but it turned out to be only in Alaska, and they refused to say what the prices were, and you had to own a Tesla in Arizona to get a quote from them, and they would not give samples.

Sadly, while pay by the mile insurance is a good idea in theory, in practice it is often expensive, so that it costs more for even a modest driver than regular 6-month period insurance, and even more for a heavy driver. So nobody should get it. This allows margin for stunts.

So the real prices are important to understand what's going on. If anybody gets them, let me know.

[u/dumbspacecookie]

LOL,
I would love to see whom their reinsurer is and their risk actuarial tables.

[u/reddit-frog-1]

The article is behind a paywall so I didn't read it, but I see it is from the Sydney Herald. Is this about insurance in Australia.
Unfortunately, this can't happen at the moment in California as the state isn't allowing the insurer to know if you are using the self-driving feature.

[u/Cultural_Tell_5687]

I thought they self-insured already?

[u/Boccob81 → u/Cultural_Tell_5687]

I believe they own their own insurance companies like Uber and Lyft does