Driverless trucks are now a reality, running on long-haul routes and changing how insurers think about risk in commercial transportation. Patrick Thomas, managing partner for the Southwest Region at Acrisure, says this shift brings new challenges and questions for the insurance industry.
One big concern is the quality and upkeep of the trucks themselves. While autonomous trucks can detect problems, they can’t fix them on their own. If the equipment isn’t kept to a high standard, it could cause trouble for the entire chain that relies on these vehicles.
Cybersecurity also plays a major role. Since driverless trucks depend on connectivity, protecting the digital systems and data is essential. Several parties are involved in securing this information, including manufacturers, software creators, and network providers. Responsibility for issues may be shared, but the exact details are still unclear.
Although these trucks are highly automated, human oversight won’t disappear just yet. Thomas compares it to conductors on trains or pilots on planes—people will likely remain ready to step in if the system encounters problems or unexpected situations.
Insurance underwriters face a steep learning curve. Traditional criteria like driver records won’t apply when no human is at the wheel. Instead, they’ll need to focus on the technology itself—hardware quality, software reliability, and route data. Over time, data on accidents and usage patterns could help tailor insurance costs more fairly, but right now, understanding how to assess software risk is still a work in progress.
Autonomous trucks come with a hefty price tag. The vehicles cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, and add-on costs like maintenance, insurance, and fuel make the overall business model challenging. Freight volumes are dropping, and revenue per mile is shrinking, so fleets have to think carefully about the financial side.
Insurers are dipping their toes in, but most have not fully embraced insurance solutions for driverless fleets. They expect businesses to share more of the financial risk upfront. Coverage limits may rise as insurers protect themselves against unknown dangers until the technology proves reliable.
Thomas emphasizes the need for teamwork among everyone involved—engineers, lawyers, insurers, manufacturers, and fleet owners. Each group brings a different view, and working together is key to making this new world of autonomous trucking work.
Automation is here, but for the insurance world, figuring out the risks and solutions is just getting started.