Call for government-led data regs on driverless cars

Insurance and Legal 2019 report recommends 10 data principles for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CAVs).
Third and final report by insurer AXA and law firm Burges Salmon as part of the government’s FLOURISH consortium.
An animated video for consumers highlighting the huge amount of data driverless cars will produce has also been published online.

AXA UK and Burges Salmon have published their Insurance and Legal 2019 report, stressing the importance of government and industry stakeholders implementing a ‘data-map’ for driverless vehicles.

As part of the FLOURISH consortium, whose members include AXA UK, Atkins – a member of the SNC-Lavalin group, University of Bristol and Age UK to name a few, the insurer and law firm have published 10 data principles¹ – the first of their kind in the Connected and Autonomous Vehicle (CAV) industry.

These data principles issue guidelines for the protection of data in the CAV ecosystem and elaborate on current GDPR legislation. The aim is to support and guide government and industry stakeholders as they develop CAV products and services.

Some of the key principles include:

Data Mapping: Organisations will need to carry out a full data mapping exercise to identify any data that will be processed during the lifecycle of a CAV and to be transparent with customers, gaining user trust in the CAV ecosystem.
Build privacy by design: CAV technology should be developed to only collect data that is needed and is proportionate to requirements. As far as possible data should be anonymised or pseudonymised to protect individual’s rights.
Follow cyber security best practice: All systems and services in the CAV ecosystem should have appropriate technical and organisational measures in place to protect personal data.
Collaboration: There will need to be ongoing conversations between CAV stakeholders regarding what data should be collected and what should be shared; channels of communication (between governments, OEMs, communication network providers and all other stakeholders in the CAV sphere) will be needed to ensure that communication is kept open and ongoing.

An accompanying video showcasing the sheer mass of data driverless cars will create and the need to protect this data has also been published. The animation explores predictions that a single driverless car will produce around 4,000 gigabytes of data per day², which is the equivalent of streaming 4,000 hours of movies online³.

Types of data include information on surrounding cars and vehicles, passenger routes and preferences, local infrastructure, vehicle performance and more. A data map will help ensure this data is used wisely and determine which stakeholders require access to this data, when and why.

The Insurance and Legal 2019 report also emphasises that without proper management of driverless data, information from driverless vehicles, their passengers and local infrastructure could be vulnerable to misuse.

“This is the third and final Insurance and Legal report AXA and Burges Salmon have created in conjunction with the FLOURISH consortium, and I think it’s safe to say that the project has achieved its goal of creating clear and concise recommendations for data sharing in relation to CAVs. Without data, driverless cars will not exist, so it’s up to us to prove to consumers that their data will remain safe and secure while providing all the benefits of driverless technology.”

— David Williams, MD Underwriting & Technical Services, AXA Insurance

“Data is the new fuel. Developing the data legal/insurance framework in the CAV ecosystem - balancing protections and effectiveness for CAV users and other stakeholders - remains a priority. That will ensure the UK remains a leader in the global CAV market. Burges Salmon remains committed to help make this happen.”

— Chris Jackson, Head of Transport Sector, Burges Salmon

Read the Insurance and Legal Report 2019 in full

AXA and Burges Salmon are members of the FLOURISH consortium, alongside partners from large and small businesses, academia, the not-for-profit sector and local authorities.

¹Flourish Insurance & Legal Report 2019: https://www.axa.co.uk/newsroom/resources-and-publications/

²Brian Krzanich, "Data is the new oil in the future of automated driving”: https://newsroom.intel.com/editorials/krzanich-the-future-of-automated-driving/

³Netflix, “How can I control how much data Netflix uses?” https://help.netflix.com/en/node/87

Media contacts

Legal notes

About AXA UK

AXA Insurance UK plc registered in England and Wales under registered number 078950 and authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority and the Financial Conduct Authority under Financial Conduct Authority registration number 202312. Registered office is 20 Gracechurch Street, London, EC3V 0BG.

AXA UK is part of the AXA Group, a worldwide leader in insurance and asset management, with 147,000 employees serving 94 million clients in 50 countries. In 2023, IFRS revenues amounted to Euro 102.7 billion and underlying earnings to Euro 7.6 billion. AXA had Euro 844 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2023.

In the UK & Ireland, AXA operates through a number of business units including: AXA Insurance, AXA Health and AXA Ireland. AXA UK & Ireland employs around 10,000 staff.

Important legal information and cautionary statements concerning forward-looking statements

Certain statements contained herein may be forward-looking statements including, but not limited to, statements that are predictions of or indicate future events, trends, plans, expectations or objectives. Undue reliance should not be placed on such statements because, by their nature, they are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties and can be affected by other factors that could cause AXA’s actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward looking statements. Please refer to Part 5: “Risk Factors and Risk Management” of AXA’s Universal Registration Document 2022, for a description of certain important factors, risks and uncertainties that may affect AXA’s business and / or results of operations. AXA undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any of these forward-looking statements, whether to reflect new information, future events or circumstances or otherwise, except as required by applicable laws and regulations.

Driverless Insurance and Legal report calls for government-led data regulations