Manufacturers of autonomous vehicles should be making a SPLASh to manage risk

The route to a fully autonomous vehicle market seems long and fitful in the eyes of many. But it is likely to become a reality faster than many are prepared to accept. Like IBM, Kodak, and many other companies once confronted with a rapidly changing market, we, too, are now faced with disruptions in the auto market, perhaps unlike any since the invention of the auto. As liability increasingly shifts from the human driver to systems and software – a trend highlighted by recent reports of the first autonomous fatality – original equipment manufacturers (OEM) will come to the forefront as primary holders of automobile-related insurance risk. How they manage this risk will help determine the success and acceptance of the autonomous vehicle market in the years to come.