15 May 2019

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

  • Insurance and Legal 2019 report recommends 10 data principles for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CAVs)
  • Third and final report by insurer AXA and 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.

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 Burges Salmon have published 10 data principles (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 day, which is the equivalent of streaming 4,000 hours of movies online.

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.

Chris Jackson, head of the Transport sector group at Burges Salmon, says: “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.”

Click here to read 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.

Key contact

Chris Jackson

Chris Jackson Partner

  • Infrastructure
  • Procurement and State Aid
  • Transport

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