As autonomous cars hit the road, insurers must navigate complicated future

A hybrid minivan equipped with Waymo's driverless technology takes to the streets. When autonomous vehicles join the traffic flow, however, ultimate responsibility for car accidents could fall on a number of different parties. Waymo is one of seven companies that California has permitted to test fully autonomous driverless vehicles on public roads as of April 12. In commercial applications of driverless vehicles, such as robotaxi services, liability will more clearly rest with the manufacturer, Sarzen said. Even though the mainstreaming of fully autonomous vehicles is still years away, liability issues are being fought in court now.