Darwin self-driving shuttle at ABI Conference 2024

The 2024 ABI Conference, organised by the Association of British Insurers, was held on 27 February in London. This annual event is a chance for insurers to network and discuss the challenges and opportunities facing the insurance industry.

Darwin was at the conference to introduce our new autonomous shuttle, the second vehicle to be added to the existing Darwin Autonomous Shuttle service, in collaboration with Aviva, the European Space Agency, the UK Space Agency and the University of Salford. We’re sharing data from the service with Aviva to help them develop insurance products for self-driving vehicles.

The event was a great opportunity to introduce Darwin’s work to the attendees and gain greater insight into the insurance industry. It was a particular pleasure to speak to Aviva’s passionate, friendly and knowledgeable team.

Our shuttle experts Paul and Irving were on hand to answer any questions people might have about the shuttle. The vehicle drew a lot of attention and had plenty of visitors over the course of the day, with the opportunity to look at the output from the shuttle’s LiDAR sensors on the on-board screen.

Many of the attendees were curious to know whether the shuttle was just a visual concept or an actual working autonomous vehicle. It’s a working vehicle, and you can see it driving itself around at Harwell Science and Innovation Campus!

Eventually, of course, self-driving vehicles will be a commonplace sight; the residents of Harwell Campus are already used to having the Darwin Autonomous Shuttle as a transport option. For now, though, they’re still a new and exciting thing, and it was great to see the interest from visitors. One of the pleasures of working with autonomous vehicles is getting the opportunity to see all the enthusiasm for the potential of this new technology.

Insurance is relevant to many different fields, so it’s no surprise that the panels at the conference tackled a wide variety of topics. The industry challenges that came up in discussion included:

• Sustainability and climate change. Mary Portas spoke about the futility of trying to prioritise the economy over the environment when the environment of our planet affects everything else on the planet, the economy included.
• The cost of living crisis and the affordability of insurance. Many speakers expressed concern that people, particularly young people, were finding it increasingly difficult to afford insurance. Tara Foley, CEO of AXA UK and Ireland, suggested that autonomous vehicles might have a role to play here by reducing risks on the road, which could result in premium decreases.
• Artificial intelligence. The increasing capability and prominence of AI presents both opportunities and concerns for many industries. David Crelley, data ethics lead at Admiral, spoke about how AI is ultimately a tool, and it needs to be understood and used correctly in order to be helpful. If users of AI are trained in what it is and isn’t capable of, they can benefit from its capabilities while also recognising and guarding against errors or data biases.
• Sam White, the founder of Stella Insurance, spoke about how creativity is important for finding new solutions, but the insurance industry has difficulty presenting itself as creative or exciting and therefore struggles to attract creative people. By reshaping its image, the industry might be able to attract a more diverse range of skills and break new ground.

The conference was an interesting look at the current landscape of the insurance industry, and we’re looking forward to seeing how that landscape changes as self-driving vehicles become more widespread.

For more about our work with insurers, take a look at our insurtech page.

Darwin Innovation Group is a UK-based company that provides services related to autonomous vehicles and communications. If you’re interested in working with us, take a look at our careers page. If you’d like to know how we can help your organisation make use of autonomous vehicles, contact us. You can also follow us on LinkedIn or Twitter.