Following Waymo’s announcement in November that it would launch a commercial ride-hailing service in 2018, Waymo has partnered with a startup to provide the proper insurance.
Waymo currently operates a beta ride-hailing service to the public in Phoenix, Ariz., and will be work with Danville, Calif.-based Trov to provide on-demand trip insurance customized for passengers of Waymo’s soon-to-be-launched service.
“As self-driving cars unleash new forms of shared mobility, the future of transportation will expand beyond personal car ownership, providing opportunities to explore new trip-based insurance models,” according to a joint company statement.
Trip-based insurance has been garnering more attention over the past few years with the rise of ride-hailing and other mobility services. However, insurance companies have been slow to adapt because of the murkiness surrounding liability and premiums, especially when it comes to autonomous vehicles. Fair, a startup that allows customers to shop, get approved, and pay for a car all on a phone, also recently partnered with Assurant to protect users and their Fair vehicle for as long as they have the car.
But as vehicles continue to enter into full autonomy, there will be a “tipping point” in the insurance industry in which policies will go from being personal to being commercial, Mariel Devesa, head of product innovation at Farmers Insurance, said previously.
“It’s no longer going to be a personal policy — which is human error,” Devesa said. “It shifts over to a commercial policy as you add technical failures [of the vehicle].”
Trov, a licensed insurance broker is underwritten by a non-admitted affiliate of Munich Re. In April 2017, Trov closed $56 million in Series D funding led by Munich Re and HSB Ventures, bringing its total funding to just over $97 million.
