More and more car manufacturers are working to develop autonomous cars, including Google parent Alphabet Inc., Tesla, Mercedes-Benz, and Infiniti. Uber recently launched its autonomous car project in Pittsburgh and purchased Otto, a San Francisco based trucking company, to focus on trucking and the commercial transportation industry.

The commercialization of the autonomous vehicles is rapidly increasing, but the existing automobile laws are taking some time to catch up.  What will this do to the insurance industry and auto claims?

1. A Decrease in Tort and Accident Benefits Claims

With the increase in autonomous cars, we should expect a decrease in the number of claims filed.  AVs are designed to react faster than humans resulting in fewer accidents each year.  Current technology, like lane keep assist or front collision prevention, has resulted in 7-15 percent fewer claims than vehicles without these features, so it is likely that less claims will be filed as a result of the increase in technology.

2. An Increase in Product Liability Claims

Insurance companies will have to choose who or what to insure.  If an accident occurs, do they insure the person in the vehicle, the manufacturers, or the technology company.  Since human error will likely decrease, litigation events will arise out of discovering what liability caused the "glitch".

3. Increase in Costs Associated with Trial

AVs and their technology can be incredibly complex.  After accidents to ensure these vehicles and the technology are safe for the road, litigation will take longer and result in higher costs.  New questions will arise and have to be answered on a case-by-case basis creating more billable hours and days in court.