The Sensor: Legal Insights Into Autonomous Vehicles-July 2018

While auto insurance is compulsory in all provinces across Canada, in Ontario, it became compulsory some thirty- eight years ¹ ry framework requiring that all operators carry insurance.

In the United Kingdom, however, a similar requirement was first instituted over 88 years ago and is currently being updated to address the use of autonomous vehicles. This is being done through the Automated and Electric Vehicles Act 2018 (the "Act"), which received royal assent on July 19, 2018. In addition to providing a regulatory framework for the deployment of automated and electric vehicles, the Act extends auto insurance coverage to the operator of an automated vehicle even when the vehicle is in automated mode. This particular model of insurance coverage is sometimes referred to as a "one-policy" approach, meaning that there is only one policy to respond to an accident whether the vehicle is being operated by a human driver or by itself, i.e., in fully automated mode.