Swiss Re, Chinese tech giant Baidu team up in autonomous driving business

GENEVA, Nov. 19 (Xinhua) -- Global reinsurance company Swiss Re and China's technology company and internet search provider Baidu said on Friday they had entered into a partnership to provide risk management expertise and innovative insurance products for Baidu's autonomous driving business.

The partnership aims to create a new industry paradigm, according to a press release, and allows reinsurers, such as Swiss Re, to tailor autonomous driving insurance products to meet the needs of technology companies.

Their partnership seeks to further advance risk management research and insurance protection for autonomous vehicles, representing an important step forward in building a comprehensive ecosystem of mobility services, the companies said.

"Our partnership with Baidu is a milestone in Swiss Re's efforts to access new risk pools and close the protection gap through Swiss Re's risk management expertise and innovation capabilities," said Russell Higginbotham, Swiss Re's chief executive officer (CEO) reinsurance Asia and regional president Asia.

"By combining our respective risk knowledge and insights, we hope to jointly explore and develop innovative products and solutions, catalyze the transformation of the autonomous driving value chain and further advance the mobility ecosystem," he said.

According to the companies, the first focus of this partnership would be the launch of autonomous valet parking insurance, an automated valet parking product designed by Baidu's autonomous driving platform Baidu Apollo.

Future collaboration between Swiss Re and Baidu would cover risk management research and insurance innovation for autonomous driving computing platforms, intelligent cockpits, robotaxis (driverless taxis) and other automated driving products.

Autonomous driving poses new challenges to the insurance industry, including rapid technological upgrades, increasingly diversified risks and limitation of data availability, Swiss Re said.

"Together with our partner Baidu, we analyze how automated cars perceive their surroundings and how they process that information and respond to it," said Andrea Keller, head of automotive and mobility solutions at Swiss Re.

"Our goal is to understand how such vehicles behave differently than human-driven ones and quantify these differences. Ultimately, we aim to bring motor insurance products to the next level of innovation."

The Swiss Re Group, headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, is one of the world's largest providers of reinsurance, insurance and other forms of insurance-based risk transfer.

It was founded in 1863 and operates through a network of around 80 offices globally. Enditem GENEVA, Nov. 19 (Xinhua) -- Switzerland's reinsurance company Swiss Re and China's technology company and Internet search provider Baidu said on Friday they entered into a partnership to provide risk management expertise and innovative insurance products for Baidu's autonomous driving business.

The partnership between Swiss Re and Baidu aims to further develop the autonomous driving industry and create a new industry paradigm, according to a press release, and allows reinsurers such as Swiss Re to tailor autonomous driving insurance products to meet the needs of technology companies.

Their partnership seeks to further advance risk management research and insurance protection for autonomous vehicles, representing an important step forward in building a comprehensive ecosystem of mobility services, the companies announced.

"Our partnership with Baidu is a milestone in Swiss Re's efforts to access new risk pools and close the protection gap through Swiss Re's risk management expertise and innovation capabilities," said Russell Higginbotham, Swiss Re's CEO Reinsurance Asia and Regional President Asia.

"By combining our respective risk knowledge and insights, we hope to jointly explore and develop innovative products and solutions, catalyse the transformation of the autonomous driving value chain and further advance the mobility ecosystem," he continued.

The statement said that the first focus of this partnership would be the launch of autonomous valet parking insurance, an automated valet parking product designed by Baidu Apollo.

Future collaboration between Swiss Re and Baidu would cover risk management research and insurance innovation for autonomous driving computing platforms, intelligent cockpits, robotaxi (driverless taxis) and other automated driving products.

Autonomous driving poses new challenges to the insurance industry, including rapid technological upgrades, increasingly diversified risks and limitation of data availability, Swiss Re said.

"Together with our partner Baidu, we analyse how automated cars perceive their surroundings and how they process that information and respond to it," said Andrea Keller, Head of Automotive and Mobility Solutions at Swiss Re.

"Our goal is to understand how such vehicles behave differently than human-driven ones and quantify these differences. Ultimately, we aim to bring motor insurance products to the next level of innovation."

The Swiss Re Group, headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, is one of the world's largest providers of reinsurance, insurance and other forms of insurance-based risk transfer.

It was founded in 1863 and operates through a network of around 80 offices globally.