Global reinsurance giant Swiss Re and Chinese tech giant Baidu have partnered to advance insurance and risk management for autonomous driving and autonomous vehicles.
The companies announced this morning that Swiss Re will work with the technology firm to provide risk management expertise and innovative insurance products for Baidu’s autonomous driving business.
The goal is to further develop the autonomous driving industry and create a new industry paradigm for insurance protection.
Which is expected to enable reinsurers, such as Swiss Re, to create and tailor autonomous driving insurance products to meet the needs of technology firms, like Baidu.
It’s seen as an important step forward in building a comprehensive ecosystem of mobility services, which is expected to advance risk management research and insurance protection for autonomous vehicles.
Russell Higginbotham, CEO Reinsurance Asia & Regional President Asia, commented, “Our partnership with Baidu is a milestone in Swiss Re’s efforts to access new risk pools and close the protection gap through Swiss Re’s risk management expertise and innovation capabilities. By combining our respective risk knowledge and insights, we hope to jointly explore and develop innovative products and solutions, catalyse the transformation of the autonomous driving value chain and further advance the mobility ecosystem.“
Initially, the partnership is focusing on the launch of autonomous valet parking insurance, the industry’s first ever insurance solution for Apollo Valet Parking (AVP), which is an automated valet parking product designed by Baidu Apollo.
Next, the partnership will look to focus on risk management research and insurance innovation for autonomous driving computing platforms, intelligent cockpits, robotaxi (driverless taxis) and other automated driving products.
Andrea Keller, Head of Automotive & Mobility Solutions at Swiss Re, explained “Together with our partner Baidu, we analyse how automated cars perceive their surroundings and how they process that information and respond to it. Our goal is to understand how such vehicles behave differently than human- driven ones and quantify these differences. Ultimately, we aim to bring motor insurance products to the next level of innovation.“
