Marsh partners with specialty insurer on autonomous vehicle facility for Uber

Marsh Risk and specialty insurer Apollo have partnered to created a new autonomous vehicle (AV) insurance facility for Uber Technologies.

The new autonomous vehicle insurance programme (Avip) will accelerate the deployment of AVs across Uber’s global platform.

Underwritten by Apollo’s ibott division, the programme exclusively provides Uber with capacity to provide AV partners with comprehensive primary and excess liability coverage at preferred rates.

Melissa Daly, autonomous, mobility and platform risk practice leader at Marsh Risk, said: “Marsh is committed to enabling the growth of the AV sector through tailored risk and insurance solutions.

”Our work with ibott and Uber represents a meaningful step forward in delivering a scalable, cost-effective framework for AV risk management and accelerating the responsible deployment of autonomous technology.” 

Chris Moore, president of commercial at Apollo ibott, added: “AVs demand a fundamentally different approach to risk and insurance.

”With more than 10 years of proven success in AV risk solutions, ibott is a market leader in designing coverage tailored to this evolving ecosystem. Our collaboration with Marsh and Uber to develop this proprietary programme reflects a new underwriting mindset.

”By consolidating coverage and aligning interests across the value chain, this solution reduces uncertainty and provides the protection required for large-scale deployment.”

Supporting vehicle partners

The new facility is among Uber’s recently announced autonomous solutions designed to support its AV partners.

Its partners include developers, fleet operators, vehicle manufacturers or owners and original equipment manufacturers.

Andy Parr, vice president of insurance at Uber, said: “We understand the challenges and evolving landscape of the AV space and we’re excited to offer a comprehensive insurance solution that is exclusively available to our partners.

“Uber’s Avip is a critical part of a comprehensive suite of unique services and capabilities that is helping partners to build and successfully commercialise AVs in multiple markets around the world.”