By Deok-je Yoon, Green Economy News
Hyundai Motor Co. and Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance have been selected to join the government’s K-Autonomous Driving Cooperation Model, a program designed to support pilot cities for autonomous driving.
On March 10, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) said it chose Hyundai and Samsung Fire to participate in the cooperation model, which brings together automakers, mobility platforms and insurers to back the autonomous-driving pilot-city initiative.
The insurance component attracted strong interest from major South Korean non-life insurers — including Hyundai Marine & Fire, DB Insurance, KB Insurance and Hanwha General Insurance — turning the government selection into a competitive race among large carriers.
An industry source at an insurer said advances in connected and autonomous-vehicle technology are set to reshape traditional auto insurance underwriting and claims handling, and competition is heating up to capture market share in the autonomous era.
MOLIT plans to bundle vehicle supply, dedicated insurance products and service operations into a unified framework so autonomous-vehicle companies can focus on technology development and accelerate commercial deployment of services.
Developing autonomous driving requires coordinated collaboration across vehicle platforms, data, insurance and operations — areas autonomous-vehicle firms have had to manage separately until now.
Until recently, companies retrofitted production vehicles to host autonomous systems, which limited precise vehicle control. Operating defined routes and zones also exposed developers to compensation liabilities after accidents, constraining technical progress.
Under the cooperation model, firms will receive integrated support — including test-vehicle supply, dedicated insurance coverage and an operating framework — so they can prioritize development. The model will be centered on the autonomous-driving pilot cities to strengthen the international competitiveness of autonomous AI technologies and services.
As the selected automaker, Hyundai Motor will develop and supply a dedicated autonomous test vehicle (SDV) optimized for validation and provide on-site maintenance and development staff.
Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance, selected as the insurance partner, proposed coverage limits of KRW 10 billion (approximately $7.5 million) per autonomous-vehicle accident and KRW 30 billion (approximately $22.5 million) annually, establishing what officials describe as a stable compensation framework for incidents that may occur during testing.
The insurer will also operate a dedicated autonomous-insurance call center and customer service desk, offering one-stop support from policy enrollment to accident response and claims. It will provide specialized services to autonomous-vehicle companies, including event data recorder (EDR) analysis, accident-prevention consulting and IT security consulting.
MOLIT said that once it completes the call for pilot-city participants at the end of April, the selected autonomous-vehicle operators will join the cooperation model and begin full-scale technical collaboration.
An official at MOLIT said the ministry will work to build an autonomous-driving industry ecosystem that links vehicles, systems, services and insurance, and develop the K-Autonomous Driving Cooperation Model into a national flagship program.
