Abstract:
Self-driving technology will disruptively transform the motor insurance sector, which has for too long been rooted in conventional insurance practices that must now be urgently reconsidered with the advent of autonomous vehicles (“AVs”). This article analyses how traditional insurance law doctrines are likely to interface with the introduction of AV technology. It makes the case that while certain doctrines will wane in importance, others are likely to take on heightened significance. This article then considers the implications of this analysis for the Singapore landscape. The liability regime that Singapore will adopt for AVs is highly likely to be based on the existing motor insurance framework already in place for conventional vehicle collision victims. Given that this existing framework is based on traditional insurance doctrines, it follows that policymakers, legislators and various stakeholders in the insurance industry will have to grapple with the issues analysed in this article and consider how to reformulate these traditional doctrines to render them more relevant in the age of AVs.