Recently, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology unveiled the first batch of access permits for L3-level vehicle models in China. Chongqing and Beijing, serving as pilot cities, have also issued dedicated license plates one after another. This marks a significant leap forward in the commercialization of L3-level autonomous driving.

Under the L3-level “conditional autonomous driving” mode, “human-machine co-driving” has undergone a further enhancement. In contrast to the prevalent L2-level “assisted driving” currently in use, L3-level achieves, for the first time, the “human-machine handover” of driving responsibilities. The core risks now pivot towards factors such as system reliability, algorithmic decision-making, and sensor performance.

When it comes to the novel risks emerging from intelligent driving, the “determination of accident liability” has emerged as a key area of market concern. Recently, reporters have gathered insights from market participants, including automakers and insurance companies. They have found that the “intelligent driving insurance” products that have surfaced in the market over the past two years are, in essence, contingency measures offered by automakers or intelligent driving solution providers, rather than bona fide insurance products.

Industry experts highlight that as intelligent driving scenarios continue to diversify, truly adaptive (and suitable) intelligent driving insurance should expedite innovation. This involves dismantling data silos, clarifying the division of responsibilities between humans and machines, and ultimately providing robust safety assurances for intelligent driving.