Page 22 - Insurance Times August 2018
P. 22
PIONEERING
INSURANCE
PROTECTION
FOR AN
AUTONOMOUS
WORLD
I s society ready for living in an autonomous world? of technology has been so pervasive that, in 2017, the North
Ready or not, it's here. In fact, it's been with us for a American Industry Classification System (NAICS) updated the
while. The better question for those of us in the industry classifications to incorporate the impact of industries
insurance industry to ask is whether we're ready for engaged in the production of advanced technologies. So not
it. While society is getting acquainted with the advantages 'new'; just new to us.
and the risks of piloting and adopting autonomy and its
implications, we need to be ready to address the risks and Shifts and challenges
liabilities associated with it.
There's no question that our clients are pioneering the use
As with all technological advances, before products and of advanced technologies such as robotics and autonomous
services hit the consumer market, they operate in some machines. But there's no denying that it presents a shift in
capacity in industry. The same is true with autonomous liability and a challenge to our legal systems, which have
machines, artificial intelligence and robotic technology, historically focused on causation - what caused a third party
which is already in play to varying degrees in logistics, injury, business interruption, etc., to occur and who is
construction, agriculture, professional services, responsible.
manufacturing transportation-and of course the most widely
talked about, self-driving vehicles. The rapid advancement Until recent times, machines have typically been built for a
specific reason with a defined deliverable - a tool for a person
About the author to use. The machine was a "dumb machine" that could not
learn from itself or from other machines. It had no level of
Nancy Bewlay personal accountability because it was incapable of any type
of autonomous action. When there was a defect, it could
Global Chief Underwriting Officer, generally be tracked back to either defective programming
Casualty, XL Catlin or incorrect operation of the machine. This allowed for an
22 The Insurance Times, August 2018
