Avinew a Calif.based Insurtech startup specializing in insuring autonomous and semi-autonomous vehicles has announced the raising of $5M in seed funding.
Avinew is designing insurance programs based on the differentiated risk characteristics of vehicles equipped with advanced active safety features, including partial and full autonomy. The company's insurance solutions both autonomous and semi-autonomous capability owners will have access to insurance that will reward them for using their vehicle’s safety features, and provide them with more value and superior customer experience.
Avinew recognizes the safety benefits of new auto tech and is designing its insurance programs around vehicles equipped with advanced active safety features. Currently, select vehicles from Tesla, Mercedes, Ford, GM, Nissan, Audi, Volvo are eligible for Avinew’s insurance program
Avninew uses AI and telematics to detect and measure when semi-autonomous or autonomous features are responsibly engaged to determine premium discount eligibility. It has also completed proof-of-concept pilots with two insurers and a pilot in Tesla has resulted in high driver satisfaction.
According to Donald Light, a Director in Celent’s Property/Casualty Insurance Practice – “Avinew has a great hypothesis—that cars with advanced driver assistance systems, such as Tesla’s AutoPilot or Nissan’s ProPILOT Assist ought to have fewer at-fault accidents, and therefore should be insurable for lower premiums..Avinew intends not only to verify the existence of these features but will also access data about their deployment and utilization. In doing so, it will accumulate a great deal of information, which via AI/machine learning could potentially be cycled back into improved product design, pricing, or underwriting.”
According to research, by 2026 insurance coverage for autonomous vehicles will bring $81B in new premiums to the US. Avinew’s insurance solution will be an answer to this demand and it will recreate the actuarial framework, redefine the partner ecosystem and reinvent the business model for success in a driverless world.
