Lemonade, the insurtech powerhouse that first brought us a digital-first approach to insurance, is debuting an equally as thrilling new product. Look forward to their “TNC Commercial Policy” next! This new and innovative program begins in Arizona on January 26. They’re looking to expand to Oregon next month. The product is designed to serve enterprise customers, primarily those leveraging Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) technology.
The launch of the Autonomous Car Insurance product is major step forward for the insurance industry. Through a technical collaboration with Tesla, Lemonade is tapping into vehicle telemetry data that’s never been accessible before. Lemonade declined to provide further specifics on this partnership. In response, Tesla continues to categorically reject any allegations tied to the partnership.
Currently, Lemonade’s existing auto insurance is offered for most popular cars across several states including Arizona, California, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, and Washington. This new product is particularly noteworthy as it is one of the first designed to price insurance based on how software systems handle driving.
Sharing the stage with Ryan, Shai Wininger co-founder and president of Lemonade noted the remarkable powers of AVs. He stated, “Traditional insurers treat a Tesla like any other car, and AI like any other driver. A driver who can see 360 degrees, never gets drowsy, and reacts in milliseconds isn’t like any other driver.” This point of view marks an important change. Over the long term, as autonomous and semi-autonomous driving increase in prevalence, insurance companies will need to adapt their models.
Knowing that as the technology behind FSD continues to improve so too will pricing models for their insurance products, Lemonade is forward-looking. “The safer FSD software becomes, the more our prices will drop,” the company noted. This strategy foreshadows the potential for multidimensional change of the insurance landscape driven by rapid developments in automated vehicle technologies.
The introduction of Autonomous Car Insurance is indicative of a bigger industry trend. Businesses are keen to capitalize as partial autonomy and full autonomy eventually come to the automotive market.
Sean is a veteran reporter who’s covered the transportation industry and Tesla specifically for more than a decade. In today’s episode, he provides incredible context around this transition and what it means for legacy insurance models.