Swiss Re and Chinese technology heavyweight Baidu have formed a partnership that will see the former provide its insurance and risk management expertise to the latter’s autonomous driving business.
The partnership will advance risk management research and insurance protection for autonomous vehicles. This, the companies said, is an important step forward in building a comprehensive network of mobility services.
The first product of this partnership is coverage for Baidu’s Apollo Valet Parking technology, which automates the parking process. The two firms will continue to work together and conduct risk management research and insurance innovation for autonomous driving computing platforms, intelligent cockpits, robotaxis (driverless taxis) and other automated driving products. These seek to cover the entire value chain of autonomous driving, including the selection of risk factors, product pricing, claims and underwriting data standards.
“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,” said Russell Higginbotham, Swiss Re CEO for reinsurance, Asia and regional president, Asia. “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.“
According to Swiss Re, this latest move is part of its long history of working closely with global leading technology companies, manufacturers and testing centres to obtain a deeper understanding of vehicle behaviour and performance and to build customised insurance products for advanced vehicle technology.
