Waymo and Swiss Re share AV study results

Last year, Waymo , the autonomous vehicle subsidiary of Alphabet, joined forces with Swiss Re , a global reinsurance company, to tackle an impending question: How should we assess the risks associated with self-driving cars? This collaboration aimed to reinvent insurance models, as autonomous vehicles are expected to significantly reduce the number of road accidents and, consequently, insurance claims.

The companies have now released a study comparing the safety of Waymo One’s autonomous service with human drivers, using comprehensive insurance claims data.

The joint study employed insurance claims data to compare the safety record of Waymo’s autonomous vehicles against human-driven cars. The findings are: In over 3.8 million miles driven by Waymo, there were zero bodily injury claims. Human drivers, in contrast, had 1.11 claims per million miles. Waymo vehicles also demonstrated fewer property damage claims compared to human drivers.

These metrics are notable as insurance claims data is often considered a more reliable indicator of road safety than police reports.