Leading international insurance group for business-to-business (B2B) services in mobility and automotive markets, Allianz Worldwide Partners, and autonomous vehicle developer EasyMile have revealed that they have signed an International Framework Agreement to establish insurance solutions for EasyMile’s shared driverless transportation projects from the start of this year.
Since the start of the worldwide cooperation, the first projects have already been launched in Germany, Norway and the USA. Allianz Worldwide Partners offers third party liability and motor own damage insurance cover for EasyMile’s EZ10 driverless electric vehicles. Capable of transporting up to 12 passengers, the EZ10 provides shared driverless and fully electric transportation for ‘first-mile, last-mile’ situations, such as transporting people from their houses to the nearest public transportation hub, or smart mobility within confined sites. In-depth exchanges between Allianz’s Automotive Innovation Center (AIC) and EasyMile’s expert development team aim to gain real-life self-driving experiences, to enhance technological progress, and to incorporate the insurance perspective, which is seen as being crucial to the widespread introduction of autonomous mobility concepts.
Allianz Global Automotive is the group’s specialized brand of Allianz’s automotive business, and is well known for being a strategic partner of car manufacturers for insurance and mobility services. Automotive manufacturers and mobility providers can choose from a broad portfolio of customized products and solutions in the field of motor insurance, warranty, assistance, and ancillary products. The company’s Automotive Innovation Center (AIC) is a developer of insurance and assistance solutions that conceptualizes, tests and implements innovative business models, products and processes.
Headquartered in Toulouse, France, and with offices in Singapore and Denver, Colorado, EasyMile’s EZ10 driverless and electrical shuttle has already been deployed in more than 50 sites in Asia, North America, the Middle-East and Europe.
The company, along with Capital Metro and RATP Dev, recently demonstrated the EZ10 electric driverless shuttle during the South by Southwest (SXSW) Festival 2017 (top) at The University of Texas at Austin. The public were given free rides that helped to illustrate how the two public transportation providers, Capital Metro and RATP Dev, are working together to provide new and innovative ways for people to move around Austin, with the additional aim of gathering feedback from passengers on this new service, as well as suggestions for improvements.
“Autonomous driving will be a key paradigm shift for automotive insurers, and we have the ambition to be at the leading edge of this topic,” noted Matthias Wuensche (right), board member of Global Automotive at Allianz Worldwide Partners.
“The partnership with EasyMile is the consequent result of our Automotive Innovation Center translating technological advancements into innovative insurance solutions. In the upcoming months, we will be able to broadly test, learn and further develop products and services in this emerging business segment.”
EasyMile’s CEO, Gilbert Gagnaire (above), added, “We believe that our sustained partnership with leading insurance firms such as Allianz Worldwide Partners is likely to make our deployment process even better, and reinforce our expertise, as well as confidence among the community of future users toward autonomous vehicles-based transport services.”
