This post continues from previous post and covers risks from toxic substances, mobility, DIY Trends, and robotics.
TOXIC SUBSTANCES AND WORKPLACE (MEDIUM IMPACT, 1-3 YEARS)
1. Workplace safety in the western world has increased significantly during the last decades. However, new hazards are still developing. Workplace exposure to organic solvents, for instance, has recently been linked to heart defects in new-borns. The synthetic chemical PFOA, for instance, which is used in products such as lubricants or paper coatings may increase the likelihood of heart disease and stroke.
2. Regulatory changes may also change the risk exposure. In the case of lead, for example, recent studies have shown that blood lead levels below the threshold deemed safe could already cause various health problems. Furthermore, liability may generally become easier to establish for various substances with increased scientific evidence and decreased legal barriers.
3. Demographic shifts also create increasing pressure towards prolonging individuals‘ work life, which may also increase the detrimental health impacts of toxic substances at the workplace.
4. These developments could have an impact on product liability, workers‘ compensation and pollution liability covers.
MOBILITY (MEDIUM IMPACT, >10 YEARS)
1. The looming energy crisis in combination with rising environmental awareness means that intelligent green vehicles will be the future of transportation. We will eventually see hybrids, electrics, fuel cell cars and intelligent vehicles using telematics, collision avoidance and automated traffic law enforcement entering mainstream use on our roads. The progress of enabling technologies such as advanced IT systems, artificial intelligence and speech recognition will ultimately give rise to a mass production of smart cars that drive themselve.
2. Pilotless civil aircraft might also soon become reality, possibly even before the widespread adoption of self-driving cars. Already now, pilotless aircraft are widely used by the armed forces – albeit only in restricted airspace and conflict zones. Pilotless aircraft are potentially a huge new market as they could carry out many jobs at lower cost than manned aircraft and helicopters and could operate in conditions which would be hazardous for pilots.
3. The increased spread of intelligent vehicles is likely to substantially reduce traffic accidents and insured automobile losses. Consequently, property/casualty insurers might see a major reduction in their auto insurance premiums revenue. The testing and roll-out of driverless cars could also expose manufacturers to new risks and may result in high litigation costs. With regard to air travel, pilot-less air travel could prolong the downward trend in air traffic accidents, putting further pressure on insurance prices.
DO IT YOURSELF TRENDS (LOW IMPACT, 1-3 YEARS)
1. On the manufacturing side, 3D printing – the process of additive manufacturing of three-dimensional parts by using a computer-controlled printer – is one of the key enablers for this trend. The use of this technique is rapidly spreading across various industries (e.g. automotive, aerospace, construction and prosthetics). It is also being used increasingly by individuals as desktop 3D printers become more affordable.
2. 3D printing raises a number of questions regarding liability issues (mainly with regard to product liability&recall, but potentially also affecting other lines such as worker‘s compensation) as well as intellectual property rights. Ultimately, even the marine business could be affected due to disruptive impacts on the global logistics value chain.
ROBOTICS (LOW IMPACT, >10 YEARS)
1. Developments in the field of robotics and artificial intelligence are progressing rapidly. This momentum will continue and even increase as improvements are leveraged to create further improvements.
2. Having been successfully used in various manufacturing processes, robots are now increasingly entering the private domain and may eventually take over more and more tasks of our daily lives. Before long, autonomous machines will be our work colleagues, house cleaners and tour guides; they will keep our cities clean and teach our children; they will carry out surgeries and support and entertain us when we get old.
3. The increasing prevalence of `intelligent‘ autonomous machines capable of self-learning has already given rise to concerns about robot abuse and other ethical dilemmas. In a similar vein, lawyers have begun contemplating if and how robots themselves could potentially be held liable for their actions.
4. This trend could have significant implications for the insurance industry, and liability cases are already cropping up. Currently, most of these involve car manufacturers and similar industrial producers, but over the long run this will likely decline compared to cases involving robots purchased by consumers. Ultimately, this may even open up a field for a whole new type of liability insurance cover for insuring both the actions and the performance of robots.
(Source: SwissRe)
