Allianz Partners and Waymo have formed a collaboration to build insurance, claims and safety research solutions to support the latter company’s service expansion across Europe.
Waymo is planning a phased commercial deployment starting in Germany, with the possibility of extending the service to additional markets over time.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Access deeper industry intelligence
Experience unmatched clarity with a single platform that combines unique data, AI, and human expertise.
The arrangement brings together Waymo’s autonomous driving system, the Waymo Driver, with insurance, mobility assistance and vehicle safety research capabilities from Allianz Partners, Allianz Group’s business-to-business-to-consumer (B2B2C) insurance and assistance services arm.
It is also backed by other Allianz Group entities including the Allianz Center for Technology (AZT), Allianz Versicherungs, Allianz Commercial and Solvd Group.
Allianz Partners CEO Tomas Kunzmann said: “Waymo’s technology leadership, combined with Allianz’s global expertise in insurance, assistance and vehicle safety, allows us to build a comprehensive ecosystem that provides passengers peace of mind at every stage of the journey.”
The partnership is focused on four priority areas.
In insurance and risk, the companies will provide tailored cover and risk management for Waymo’s autonomous fleets.
This includes motor fleet insurance and general liability multinational insurance programmes for product liability protection, together with new insurance models for autonomous mobility platforms.
For claims, digital handling will be supported through Solvd Group, Allianz Partners’ digital claims management entity.
This is intended to support streamlined end-to-end claims processing in future.
In terms of research and safety, the companies will carry out joint research on autonomous vehicle safety, claims trends and risk modelling.
AZT will contribute crash analysis and vehicle safety expertise. The companies also said there is potential for joint publications as operational data becomes available.
On vehicle recovery, the companies said they will examine additional areas for collaboration over time, including operational solutions designed for autonomous fleets.
Waymo risk and insurance head Tilia Gode added: “Teaming up with Allianz Partners allows us to pair our proven US safety record and commercial experience with world-class European risk and claims expertise, ensuring we scale reliably and responsibly from day one.”
In July, Allianz agreed to buy Singapore life and health insurance business HSBC Life (Singapore) from HSBC Holdings for $2.09bn (S$2.7bn).
