Autonomous vehicle insurance pricing and offering based upon accident risk
Methods and systems for monitoring use, determining risk, and pricing insurance policies for an autonomous vehicle having one or more autonomous operation features are provided. According to certain aspects, accident risk factors may be determined for autonomous operation features of the vehicle using information regarding the autonomous operation features of the vehicle or other accident related factors associated with the vehicle. The accident risk factors may indicate the ability of the autonomous operation features to avoid accidents during operation, particularly without vehicle operator intervention. The accident risk levels determined for a vehicle may further be used to determine or adjust aspects of an insurance policy associated with the vehicle.
1. A computer-implemented method of evaluating effectiveness of an autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle technology, the method comprising:
generating, by one or more computing systems configured to evaluate the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle technology operating within a virtual test environment configured to simultaneously test at least one additional autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle technologies, test results for the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle technology, wherein the computing systems generate the test results as hardware or software responses of the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle technology to virtual test sensor data that simulates sensor data for operating conditions associated with a plurality of test scenarios within the virtual test environment;
receiving, at one or more processors, information regarding the test results;
determining, by one or more processors, an indication of reliability of the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle technology based upon the test results, including compatibility of the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle technology with the at least one additional autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle technologies tested;
determining, by one or more processors, an accident risk factor based upon the received information regarding the test results and the indication of reliability by analyzing an effect on a risk associated with a potential vehicle accident of the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle technology, wherein the accident risk factor is determined based upon an ability of a version of artificial intelligence of the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle technology to avoid collisions without human interaction;
determining, by one or more processors, one or more vehicle insurance policy premiums for one or more vehicles based at least in part upon the determined accident risk factor; and
causing, by one or more processors, information regarding the one or more vehicle insurance policies to be presented to one or more customers for review.
2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle technology includes at least one of a fully autonomous vehicle feature or a limited human driver control feature.
3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle technology performs at least one of the following functions:
steering;
accelerating;
braking;
monitoring blind spots;
presenting a collision warning;
adaptive cruise control; or
parking.
4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle technology is related to at least one of the following:
driver alertness monitoring;
driver responsiveness monitoring;
pedestrian detection;
artificial intelligence;
a back-up system;
a navigation system;
a positioning system;
a security system;
an anti-hacking measure;
a theft prevention system; or
remote vehicle location determination.
5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising receiving, at one or more processors, an accident-related factor, wherein:
the accident risk factor is further determined based in part upon the received accident-related factor, and
the accident-related factor is related to at least one of the following:
a point of impact;
a type of road;
a time of day;
a weather condition;
a type of a trip;
a length of a trip;
a vehicle style;
a vehicle-to-vehicle communication; or
a vehicle-to-infrastructure communication.
6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the accident risk factor is further determined for the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle technology based upon at least one of the following: (1) a type of the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle technology, (2) a version of computer instructions of the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle technology, (3) an update to computer instructions of the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle technology, or (4) an update to the artificial intelligence associated with the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle technology.
7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the method further includes determining at least one of a discount, a refund, or a reward associated with the one or more vehicle insurance policies based upon the accident risk factor determined for the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle technology.
8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the received information further includes at least one of a database or a model of accident risk assessment based upon information regarding past vehicle accident information.
9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein causing information regarding the one or more vehicle insurance policies to be presented to the one or more customers for review includes communicating to each customer an insurance premium for automobile insurance coverage.
10. A computer system for evaluating effectiveness of an autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle technology, comprising:
one or more processors;
one or more communication modules adapted to communicate data;
one or more computing systems configured to evaluate the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle technology operating within a virtual test environment configured to simultaneously test at least one additional autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle technologies to generate test results for the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle technology, wherein the computing systems generate the test results as hardware or software responses of the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle technology to virtual test sensor data that simulates sensor data for operating conditions associated with a plurality of test scenarios within the virtual test environment, and wherein the test results are communicated to the one or more processors via the one or more communication modules; and
a program memory coupled to the one or more processors and storing executable instructions that when executed by the one or more processors cause the computer system to:
receive information regarding the test results;
determine an indication of reliability of the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle technology based upon the test results, including compatibility of the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle technology with the at least one additional autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle technologies tested;
determine an accident risk factor based upon the received information regarding the test results and the indication of reliability by analyzing an effect on a risk associated with a potential vehicle accident of the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle technology, wherein the accident risk factor is determined based upon an ability of a version of artificial intelligence of the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle technology to avoid collisions without human interaction;
determine one or more vehicle insurance policy premiums for one or more vehicles based at least in part upon the determined accident risk factor;
and cause information regarding the one or more vehicle insurance policies to be presented to one or more customers for review.
11. The computer system of claim 10 , wherein the accident risk factor is further determined for the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle technology based upon at least one of the following: (1) a type of the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle technology, (2) a version of computer instructions of the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle technology, (3) an update to computer instructions of the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle technology, or (4) an update to the artificial intelligence associated with the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle technology.
12. The computer system of claim 10 , wherein the received information further includes at least one of a database or a model of accident risk assessment based upon information regarding past vehicle accident information.
13. The computer system of claim 10 , wherein the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle technology includes at least one of a fully autonomous vehicle feature or a limited human driver control feature.
14. The computer system of claim 10 , wherein the executable instructions that cause the computer system to cause information regarding the one or more vehicle insurance policies to be presented to the one or more customers for review include instructions that cause the computer system to communicate to each customer an insurance premium for automobile insurance coverage.
15. A computer-implemented method of evaluating effectiveness of an autonomous or semi-autonomous driving package of computer instructions, the method comprising:
generating, by one or more computing systems configured to evaluate the autonomous or semi-autonomous driving package operating within a virtual test environment configured to simultaneously test at least one additional autonomous or semi-autonomous driving packages of computer instructions, test results for the autonomous or semi-autonomous driving package of computer instructions in the virtual test environment, wherein the computing systems generate the test results as responses of the computer instructions implemented within the virtual test environment to virtual test sensor data that simulates sensor data for operating conditions associated with a plurality of test scenarios within the virtual test environment;
determining, by one or more processors, an indication of reliability of the autonomous or semi-autonomous driving package based upon the test results, including compatibility of the autonomous or semi-autonomous driving package with the at least one additional autonomous or semi-autonomous driving packages tested;
analyzing, by one or more processors, loss experience associated with the computer instructions to determine effectiveness in actual driving situations;
determining, by one or more processors, a relative accident risk factor for artificial intelligence of the computer instructions based upon the ability of the computer instructions to make automated or semi-automated driving decisions for a vehicle that avoid collisions using the test results, the indication of reliability, and analysis of loss experience;
determining, by one or more processors, one or more vehicle insurance policy premiums for one or more vehicles based at least in part upon the relative risk factor assigned to the artificial intelligence of the autonomous or semi-autonomous driving package of computer instructions; and
causing, by one or more processors, information regarding the one or more vehicle insurance policies to be presented to one or more customers for review.
16. The computer-implemented method of claim 15 , wherein the autonomous or semi-autonomous driving package of computer instructions are stored on a non-transitory computer readable medium and direct autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle functionality related to at least one of the following functions:
steering;
accelerating;
braking;
monitoring blind spots;
presenting a collision warning;
adaptive cruise control; or
parking.
17. The computer-implemented method of claim 15 , wherein the autonomous or semi-autonomous driving package of computer instructions are stored on a non-transitory computer readable medium and direct autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle functionality related to at least one of the following:
driver alertness monitoring;
driver responsiveness monitoring;
pedestrian detection;
artificial intelligence;
a back-up system;
a navigation system;
a positioning system;
a security system;
an anti-hacking measure;
a theft prevention system; or
remote vehicle location determination.
18. The computer-implemented method of claim 15 , wherein the relative accident factor is based upon, at least in part, at least one accident-related factor, including:
a point of impact;
a type of road;
a time of day;
a weather condition;
a type of a trip;
a length of a trip;
a vehicle style;
a vehicle-to-vehicle communication; or
a vehicle-to-infrastructure communication.
19. The computer-implemented method of claim 15 , the method further comprising adjusting at least one of an insurance premium, a discount, a refund, or a reward associated with the one or more vehicle insurance policies based upon the relative accident risk factor.
20. The computer-implemented method of claim 15 , wherein causing information regarding the one or more vehicle insurance policies to be presented to the one or more customers for review by the one or more customers includes communicating to each customer a cost of automobile insurance coverage.