Despite Safety Advances, Insurers Are Still Not Offering Discounts for Autonomous Braking

After hearing good things about the latest in crash-prevention technology, you decided to add automatic emergency braking to your new car. The feature costs about $2,000 on most vehicles. Yet, even though data shows it can prevent crashes, the discount from your insurer is likely to be zero.

Most insurers are not ready to cut rates for car owners who invest in automatic braking or other new technologies, such as lane departure warnings or blind spot detection. Many companies are still compiling their own data to confirm the long-term impact of these technologies. Out of the 11 biggest auto insurers in the United States, only two (Hartford Insurance Group and Liberty Mutual Insurance) offer discounts for automatic braking, which uses cameras and radar to spot objects in the way or slow or stop the vehicle if the driver doesn’t react.

An Insurance Institute for Highway Safety study found that 40 percent of all rear-end collisions last year would have been prevented with autonomous braking. That equates to about 700,000 automobile crashes being subverted. The government and most major automakers have agreed to make autonomous braking standard on most cars by 2022.

One reason why not all insurers offer discounts is that automatic braking is still not on many vehicles. By the end of 2016, approximately 21 percent of all vehicles will have the feature. Another reason discounts are still not offered is because insurers are trying to determine whether the radar sensors and cameras used in automatic braking will drive up repair costs.

Still, of the insurance companies that offer discounts for the technology, they cut up to three percent of the annual premium. However, the discounts could grow as more vehicles get automatic braking as standard equipment and insurance companies see in claims data that it reduces crashes.

The Law Firm of Hoskins, Turco, Lloyd & Lloyd specializes in automobile accidents, and studies show that hiring a car accident attorney will get you 3.5 times more compensation than dealing with insurance companies on your own. Attorney Steve Hoskins has the distinction of being a Board Certified Civil Trial Lawyer—a distinction that less than 10% of all Florida attorneys possess. He has the experience, resources, and reputation to not only get you the compensation you deserve but handle every facet of your case so you can focus on recovering and returning to normalcy.

We don’t get paid unless we win your case, and we offer free appointments to discuss your case. Don’t delay in calling our offices today, as time is of the essence in making accident claims. Call 1-866-460-1990.