There's three stages in the evolution of self driving cars and insurance coverage
1) where we are now, in which manual drivers carry insurance because the overwhelming majority of auto accidents are directly a result of the human operator. The insurance models we have now are fine.
2) the "near future" in which Self driving cars are a not insignificant number of the vehicles on the road. I suspect that many, if not the vast majority of the accidents will still be cause by human operators in non-AI controlled vehicles, either directly, or indirectly. The insurance models we have now will for the most part be adequate, and mostly unaffected. I suspect we'll see some litigation over the role the computers played in the accidents pop up which will set the stage for the next iteration
3) All, or the overwhelming majority of cars are "self drive" - If the human operator is no longer at fault when an accident occurs, then who is? Insurance companies are going to need to become data analisys experts - Road conditions, vehicle maintenance I think are going to be the big drivers (no pun intended) of accidents. Road condition type accidents will still rely heavily on the owner to carry personal incident insurance, and maintenance issues (bad/worn tires, brakes, etc) would necessitate liability coverage, as it does now. The real question will be when it comes down to self-drive behavior. Is one brand of vehicle more "aggressive" in it's avoidance or drive behavior. Did the software malfunction, was there a flaw in the program?. The owner of the vehicle can't address any of these, only the manufacturer can. I suspect we'll see insurance companies (and individuals) holding them far more liable than they are now when these kinds of things occur.
[–] Simsim ago
Pretty simple for me since I'll never own or ride in one.