A Study on Automotive Insurance Systems in Preparation for the Autonomous Vehicle Industry

On May 7, 2016, in the state of Florida, USA, a fatal accident occurred involving an autonomous vehicle and a large truck, leading to the death of the driver. This incident heightened interest in autonomous vehicles and sparked discussions on their implications, including the challenges and liability issues in the event of accidents during autonomous operation. The application of existing legal frameworks, such as Article 750 of the Civil Code on tort liability and Article 3 of the Automobile Damage Compensation Guarantee Act on operator liability, to accidents involving autonomous vehicles raises questions about identifying responsible parties and compensating victims. This study examines the applicability of these legal principles to accidents occurring during autonomous driving and proposes the introduction of a No-Fault insurance system as a novel automotive insurance mechanism to address these issues. The analysis revealed that the No-Fault insurance system, a solution to the problems posed by the current fault-based liability system and already implemented in several advanced countries since the early 2000s, was considered but ultimately not adopted in South Korea due to challenges in amending existing legislation, limitations in calculating insurance rates, and concerns over moral hazard, among other issues. However, as autonomous vehicles are poised to integrate into our lives more rapidly than anticipated, and the social concerns regarding traffic accidents during autonomous operation deepen, it is imperative to form a task force comprising the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport, the Financial Supervisory Service, the General Insurance Association, among others, before it's too late. This task force should engage in research and discussions, while building a consensus among the public, to prepare for the new automotive market driven by the autonomous vehicle industry.