QBE has teamed up with Armidale Regional Council to provide compulsory third-party (CTP) cover for the first open-traffic driverless-vehicle trial in Australia.

The Armidale Regional Driverless Initiative (ARDi) trial will operate a level-four (driverless on specific routes) fully-automated EasyMile EZ10 shuttle inside the University of New England’s Armidale campus. The trial will run for 12 months starting February 21.

Colleen Chapman, general manager of CTP at QBE Australia, said the trial will provide the insurer insights about data and risk fields associated with the technology to determine the role insurance will play in future mobility.

“Statistics show that between 90% and 95% of vehicle accidents today are largely caused by human error,” Chapman said. “As such, QBE seeks to understand how vehicle autonomy can create safer roads and reduce injuries to counteract the high economic and devastating social impact costs of road trauma. With a view to reducing road related deaths and injuries, we hope this trial will contribute to efforts to quantify improved road safety outcomes, including understanding how the availability of data can inform on traffic incidents. Crucially, this trial will also provide information about the new risk exposures presented by driverless vehicles, informing the development of future insurance products.”