Insurance

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) played their part in the relief effort in areas affected by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma.

Drones are starting to make their presence felt in the insurance sector. Leading drone manufacturer Kespry has been making great strides in this area, providing both the hardware and software for a “full-stack solution” in a competitive market as drones are increasingly being utilised.

A partner at one of the UK’s first law firms to develop a specialism in drones and autonomous technologies has sounded a warning about the development of drone countermeasures, with the first of its kind set to be installed at a Channel Islands prison.

On 12th January, MEPs voted for a set of regulations to be drafted to govern the use and creation of robots and artificial intelligence, hot off the back of the UK government setting up a commission to look at the issues surrounding artificial intelligence. Across continents, the law is unclear and differing and is likely to evolve in this area.

Craig Kirk, General Manager of Delta Insurance New Zealand Limited discusses the new UAV insurance they are offering, the country’s most comprehensive UAV solution launched in February this year. Sam Jennings, legal expert and director of aviation consulting firm Jennings Consulting Ltd also provides insights to insurance and regulation of UAVs in New Zealand and what the future has to offer.

Both nuTonomy and the mayor of Boston confirmed at the end of November 2015 that nuTonomy driverless cars will be on the roads before the end of the year. While the headlines about autonomous vehicles often go to Google and Tesla, and recently Uber, nuTonomy is establishing itself in this growing market. The startup, based in the US and Singapore, is a leading developer of self-driving software for vehicles, developing a complete solution for point-to-point mobility.

Fabrizio Cugia di Sant’Orsola, founding partner of the Cugia Cuomo & Associati Law Firm in Rome, examines the potential implications of new regulations on embedded SIM cards in cars.

Transport Secretary Chris Grayling has claimed that the UK will become a “world leader” of driverless cars after the drafting of new laws concerning the attribution of blame in the event of a crash.

Patrick Fair, a partner at Baker & Mackenzie in Sydney, speaks to the Robotics Law Journal about the impact of driverless cars on the legal sector, both in Australia and globally.

An examination of some of the main issues surrounding the use of Automated Vehicle Technologies (AVTs) by global insurance law firm Kennedys.

Transport Canada looks to be laying down stricter regulation of UAVs in the country by 2017.

Insurance is a sector able to make good use of UAVs. One startup from LA is utilising the technology to good effect, to create a new type of streaming service for the use of insurers.

Transportation authorities in California have made significant amendments to their policy on driverless cars.

Dropin is a startup based in LA and provides a drone-powered video streaming service for the insurance sector.

Driverless cars are presenting themselves as a challenge for the insurance industry and is calling for clarity and a legal right to claim damages from manufacturers.

Tesla is being investigated by US authorities following a series of crashes. Under particular scrutiny is the car’s autopilot feature, which failed to detect the white side of a tractor in the next lane in the brightly-lit conditions in May’s fatal crash in Florida.