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2020 | OriginalPaper | Buchkapitel

The Internet of Things and Insurance

verfasst von : Alkistis Christofilou, Viktoria Chatzara

Erschienen in: InsurTech: A Legal and Regulatory View

Verlag: Springer International Publishing

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Abstract

The Internet of Things (“IoT”) is one of the major Internet-driven technological evolutions of our times. It is a network of devices, sensors, appliances, people connected to the Internet and to each other. IoT solutions are already being extensively used in numerous consumer, commercial, industrial and infrastructure applications, opening up new product and service opportunities across economy sectors, while at the same time creating new regulatory and business challenges. In this context, IoT has entered into the insurance industry as a significant disruption. This chapter aims to provide an overview of the ways in which IoT applications are affecting the insurance value chain and the insurer–customer relationship, as well as some thoughts on the possible interplay between IoT solutions and the applicable insurance law provisions (Sect. 2). Particular reference is made to IoT implications on the notion of the insurance risk, which is crucial and fundamental to the industry (Sect. 3), as well as to its effects on the civil liability model, where the allocation of liability and the ensuing obligations of the insurer shall have to be considered (Sect. 4).

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Fußnoten
1
See a compilation of definitions by Rod Freeman–Cooley, and Brigitte Acoca in OECD’s recent publication “Product Safety in the Internet of Things”, OECD Secretariat, OECD Digital Economy Papers, March 2018 No. 267, available at: https://​www.​oecd-ilibrary.​org/​deliver/​7c45fa66-en.​pdf?​itemId=​%2Fcontent%2Fpaper%2F7c45fa66-en&​mimeType=​pdf.
 
2
OECD (2016), “The Internet of Things: Seizing the Benefits and Addressing the Challenges”, OECD Digital Economy Papers, No. 252, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://​doi.​org/​10.​1787/​5jlwvzz8td0n-en.
 
3
EU Commission Staff Working Document on the free flow of data and emerging issues of the European data economy, Accompanying the document Communication Building a European data economy {COM(2017) 9 final} 10.1.2017, p. 41, available at: https://​ec.​europa.​eu/​digital-single-market/​en/​news/​staff-working-document-free-flow-data-and-emerging-issues-european-data-economy.
 
5
OECD (2015), OECD Digital Economy Outlook 2015, OECD Publishing, Paris, available at: https://​doi.​org/​10.​1787/​9789264232440-en.
 
6
Commission Staff Working Document “Advancing the Internet of Things in Europe” {COM(2016) 180 final} 19.4.2016, p. 4, available at: https://​ec.​europa.​eu/​digital-single-market/​en/​news/​staff-working-document-advancing-internet-things-europe.
 
7
See Sect. 1.4 of this chapter.
 
8
Source: Consumer Product Safety in the Internet of Things, OECD Digital Economy Papers, March 2018 No. 267, p. 14, with numerous references to sources.
 
9
See Thomas Hoppner/Anastasia Gubanova, Regulatory challenges of the internet of things, Computer and Telecommunications Law Review (C.T.L.R.), 2015, referring to Europol, “The Internet Organized Crime Threat Assessment (iOCTA)” (2014), p. 61, available at: https://​www.​europol.​europa.​eu/​content/​internet-organised-crime-threat-assesment-iocta.
 
10
By Eric Schmidt, then Executive Chairperson of Google Inc., in the World Economic Forum in Davos, January 2015.
 
11
See Commission Staff Working Document SWD(2016)110 final “Advancing the Internet of Things in Europe” {COM(2016) 180 final} 19.4.2016, p. 17.
 
12
See Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2018/637 of 20 April 2018 amending Decision 2009/766/EC on the harmonisation of the 900 and 1800 MHz frequency bands for terrestrial systems capable of providing pan-European electronic communications services in the Community as regards relevant technical conditions for the Internet of Things, available at: https://​eur-lex.​europa.​eu/​legal-content/​EN/​TXT/​?​uri=​uriserv%3AOJ.​L_​.​2018.​105.​01.​0027.​01.​ENG&​toc=​OJ%3AL%3A2018%3A105%3ATOC.
 
13
See Commission Staff Working Document “Advancing the Internet of Things in Europe” {COM(2016) 180 final} 19.4.2016, p. 15.
 
14
Fausto Parente, Executive Director of the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA): “Calibrating the Regulatory Approach on New Technologies”, 7th AIDA Europe Conference, “De-Mystifying InsurTech: a Legal and Regulatory Approach”, 12 April 2018 Warsaw, Poland, available at: http://​www.​aida.​org.​uk/​docs/​2018-04-12%20​7thAIDAEuropeCon​ferenceEIOPAsIns​urTechActivities​FaustoParente.​pdf.
 
15
Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC, available at: https://​eur-lex.​europa.​eu/​legal-content/​EN/​TXT/​?​qid=​1539081472490&​uri=​CELEX:​32016R0679.
 
16
According to the (EU) Commission Staff Working Document SWD(2017) 2 final of 10.01.2017 on the free flow of data and emerging issues of the European data economy, accompanying the Communication Building a European data economy {COM(2017) 9 final}, the market for financial markets data is expected to reach € 5.94bn by 2018 (p. 13).
 
17
Such as the DAWEX platform, Commission Staff Working Document as immediately above, p. 17.
 
18
E.g. the GDPR on protection of personal data and the e-Privacy Directive 2002/58/EC regarding electronic communications, the Database Directive 96/9/EC, which does not as such apply to machine-generated data, the Trade Secrets Protection Directive (2016/943), as well as unfair competition laws.
 
19
Regulation (EC) No 715/2007 as amended. The European Parliament only recently accepted new EU legislation on the free flow of non-personal data, referred to as “EU’s fifth freedom”; the new Regulation is due to be approved by the EU Council of Ministers on 6 November 2018—see in this relevance: http://​www.​europarl.​europa.​eu/​news/​el/​press-room/​20180926IPR14403​/​free-flow-of-non-personal-data-parliament-approves-eu-s-fifth-freedom.
 
20
Directive (EU) 2015/2366 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2015 on payment services in the internal market, amending Directives 2002/65/EC, 2009/110/EC and 2013/36/EU and Regulation (EU) No 1093/2010, and repealing Directive 2007/64/EC, available at: https://​eur-lex.​europa.​eu/​legal-content/​EN/​TXT/​?​uri=​celex%3A32015L2366.
 
21
See detailed presentation and other valuable relevant information in Commission Staff Working Document SWD(2017) 2 final of 10.01.2017, ibid.
 
22
Directive 2009/72/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 July 2009 concerning common rules for the internal market in electricity and repealing Directive 2003/54/EC, available at: https://​eur-lex.​europa.​eu/​legal-content/​EN/​TXT/​?​qid=​1539082041756&​uri=​CELEX:​32009L0072.
 
23
See in this relevance information included in the Key Note speech “Addressing International Change: The Agenda of the Global Insurance CEO” of Stephen T. O’Hearn, Leader of the PwC Global Insurance Practice, at 7th AIDA Europe Conference, “De-Mystifying InsurTech: a Legal and Regulatory Approach”, Warsaw, 12 April 2018, available at: http://​www.​aida.​org.​uk/​docs/​Agenda%20​of%20​The%20​CEO%20​March%20​2018_​Warsaw.​pdf.
 
24
Insurtech as a section of Fintech refers to the use of technology innovations designed to squeeze out savings and efficiency from the current insurance industry model. The belief driving InsurTech companies is that the insurance industry is ripe for innovation and disruption. InsurTech is exploring avenues that large insurance firms have less incentive to exploit, such as offering ultra-customised policies, social insurance, and using new streams of data from internet-enabled devices to dynamically price premiums according to observed behaviour. https://​www.​investopedia.​com/​terms/​i/​insurtech.​asp#ixzz5SavxNHkW.
 
25
See more detail in Fausto Parente, op. cit.
 
27
Offering such product-service bundles would also affect other stages in the insurance value chain, as the bundles would be used as a means to reduce the likelihood for the insured risk to occur and lower the overall risk for policyholders and insurers – see in this relevance Isabel Harner, Director of Marketing @ IoT for All, Leverage, How will IoT transform the insurance industry?, January 22, 2018, available at: https://​medium.​com/​iotforall/​how-will-iot-transform-the-insurance-industry-609f89a12bf1.
 
28
Directive (EU) 2016/97 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 January 2016 on insurance distribution (recast), available at: https://​eur-lex.​europa.​eu/​legal-content/​EN/​TXT/​?​qid=​1539082539478&​uri=​CELEX:​32016L0097 (IDD).
 
29
Article 23 of IDD on product oversight and governance requirements (POG) is of relevance, as well as the more detailed provisions of the Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/2358 of 21 September 2017 supplementing Directive (EU) 2016/97 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to product oversight and governance requirements for insurance undertakings and insurance distributors, available at: https://​eur-lex.​europa.​eu/​legal-content/​EN/​ALL/​?​uri=​CELEX%3A32017R2358.
 
31
Currently, nine of the top 10 insurers are offering UBI motor vehicle insurance commercially or in various stages of pilot, where customers purchase insurance only for the time they use their vehicles or for the miles they have driven, according to in-vehicle sensors.
 
32
Ernst&Young, The Internet of Things in insurance: Shaping the right strategy, managing the biggest risks, op. cit.
 
33
See Article 8 of the Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/2358.
 
34
See Article 10 of the Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/2358.
 
35
Such as the GDPR.
 
36
Julianne Callaway (2017), The Internet of Things: Key considerations for Life Insurers – Five Questions with RGA’s Julianne Callaway, December 20, 2017 available at: https://​www.​rgare.​com/​knowledge-center/​media/​articles/​the-internet-of-things-key-considerations-for-life-insurers.
 
37
Isabel Harner, How will IoT transform the Insurance Industry?, op. cit.
 
38
Namely the provisions of Article 3 thereof.
 
39
One of the many examples in motor vehicle insurance industry is the TrueMotion company, which provides smartphone telematics to insurers, for them to identify the best drivers and, thus, price them more profitably. Smartphone applications such as accelerometers, gyroscopes, GPS and other sensors, may be used by insurers to provide insight on driving habits and result in more accurate pricing methods.
 
40
Stephen T. O’ Hearn, Key Note speech: Addressing International Change: The Agenda of the Global Insurance CEO, op. cit.
 
41
John Hancock is one characteristic example, as it incentives customers to stay fit, thus reducing the likelihood of them filing a claim, by offering entertainment, shopping and travel rewards and discounts. See more details on its “Vitality Program” at: https://​www.​johnhancockinsur​ance.​com/​vitality-program.​html?​cid=​US_​JH_​BR_​IR_​JohnHancock_​Other_​LifeInsurance_​SV_​CS_​LK_​00_​BF_​00_​00_​AW_​00_​20180925_​LifeInsuranceWit​hVitality_​HowItWorks-CTA.
 
43
The integration of such embedded sensors and the relevant utilities connecting them with emergency centres are obligatory in the EU.
 
44
Such IoT solutions are already being used, for example, by the US insurer Liberty Mutual, which in cooperation with Google’s Nest implements smoke alarms in homes, free of charge, and reduces the insurance premiums upon the installment of the Nests. Nest informs the customers of any smoke or carbon monoxide, see: https://​www.​libertymutualgro​up.​com/​about-lm/​news/​news-release-archive/​articles/​liberty-mutual-insurance-and-nest-partner-to-reward-customers-for-protecting-their-homes-with-innovative-technology.
 
45
See Article 7 par. 1 and 2 of the Greek ICA.
 
46
See Ioannis Rokas, in I.Rokas, Commentary on Insurance Contract Act (ICA), op.cit., p. 132 et seq.
 
47
Doug Drinkwater, 10 real-life examples of IoT in insurance, May 24, 2016, available at: https://​internetofbusine​ss.​com/​10-examples-iot-insurance/​.
 
49
See for example Article 7 par. 3 of the Greek Insurance Contract Act Law 2496/1997.
 
50
Directive 2009/138/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2009 on the taking-up and pursuit of the business of Insurance and Reinsurance (Solvency II) (recast).
 
51
Solvency II Directive, Article 76.
 
52
Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/35 of 10 October 2014 supplementing Directive 2009/138/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the taking-up and pursuit of the business of Insurance and Reinsurance (Solvency II), Article 27.
 
53
Solvency II Directive, Article 77.
 
54
For example, segmentation and sub-segmentation could involve males under the age of 25, people with a family history of certain illnesses, single women who fall into a particular income bracket, et. al. http://​www.​insurancecompani​es.​com/​insider-information-how-insurance-companies-measure-risk/​. Economic forecasting, wage and industry trending and market stability assessments all are part of the data that is ultimately used to calculate the insurance premium.
 
55
Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/35, Articles 34–36. To be noted, that the risk margin for the entire portfolio of the insurance undertaking shall be calculated on the assumption that it is taken over by another insurer as set in Article 38.
 
56
EIOPA defines the SCR of an insurance or reinsurance company as the value-at-risk (VaR) of the basic own funds subject to a confidence level of 99.5% on a 1-year period.
 
57
The insurer’s calculation and monitoring of risk and capital must be reflected in its so-called “Own Risk and Solvency Assessment” (ORSA), which is a self-assessment exercise lying at the heart of the Solvency II approach. This approach as a framework has also been incorporated into the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) list of Insurance Core Principles, which in practice shows a global endorsement of the ORSA method. In few words, ORSA is an internal assessment of the risks associated with an insurer’s strategic business plan that determines whether it has the capital resources to support these risks. The board and senior management are required to take responsibility for ORSA, which must encompass all reasonably foreseeable and relevant material risks. It is very much like an enterprise risk management framework because an ORSA must be forward-looking and must assess risk and capital resources. It is expected by certain analysts that most major jurisdictions will have an ORSA-like approach implemented by the end of the decade, https://​risk.​thomsonreuters.​com/​en/​risk-solutions/​solvency-ii.​html#request-details.
 
59
See Commission Staff Working Document on the free flow of data and emerging issues of the European data economy Accompanying the document Communication Building a European data economy, SWD/2017/02 final, op. cit.
 
60
Brent Rieth, Aon Risk Solutions at RIMS 2017 conference, accessible at https://​www.​rims.​org/​RIMS2017/​Attendee/​Pages/​Sessions-Events-By-Day.​aspx.
 
61
E.g. Implantable drug infusion pumps have been recalled over multiple occasions as allegedly a malfunction in their software could lead to imbalance the medicine doses, see https://​www.​fda.​gov/​medicaldevices/​safety/​listofrecalls/​ucm546558.​htm.
 
64
Current research on software reliability does not provide sufficiently apt tools to quantitatively assess the risk posed by a piece of life-critical software such as a medical device. For example, black-box software reliability models are too general and make too many assumptions to be applied on confidently to assess the risk of life-critical software, see Jeffrey M. Voas, Larry K. Voas and Keith W. Miller, A Model for Assessing the Liability of Seemingly Correct Software, accessible at https://​www.​cigital.​com/​papers/​download/​iasted92.​pdf.
 
65
See Danny Yadron and Dan Tynan at The Guardian, Tesla Driver dies in first fatal crash while using autopilot mode, 01.07.2016, https://​www.​theguardian.​com/​technology/​2016/​jun/​30/​tesla-autopilot-death-self-driving-car-elon-musk.
 
66
See in this relevance the example of an accident in Greece: Philip Chrysopoulos, First Tesla 3 Road Accident in Greece, 28.03.2018, available at: https://​greece.​greekreporter.​com/​2018/​05/​28/​first-tesla-3-road-accident-in-greece/​.
 
67
Andreas Haas, Markus Haas, Markus Weinert, The Internet of Things is already here, but who bears the risks?, Working Paper for Presentation at the World Risk and Insurance Economics Congress (WRIEC), July 2015, available at http://​www.​wriec.​net/​wp-content/​uploads/​2015/​07/​6J3_​Haas.​pdf, with a multitude of examples of risks affecting consumer and industrial applications, including industrial plants, transportation and smart cities.
 
68
See relevant examples mentioned by Robert Reiss, 5 Ways the IoT will transform the insurance industry, op. cit.
 
69
For example, Songdo IBD has been designed and created to be such a “ubiquitous” or “smart” city in South Korea. See more information at: See https://​en.​wikipedia.​org/​wiki/​Songdo_​International_​Business_​District; http://​bginvestors.​com/​master-plan/​songdo-ibd/​.
 
70
To be noted in this regard, that the preparedness of the producer to install such measures not only depends on cost, but is also commensurate to the producer’s own alertness and endorsement of the potential risks, the relevant legal and social environment, its mentality, and the degree to which it shall be faced with sanctions if it fails to take the measures. So is also the purchase of insurance. This is especially the case with respect to startup producers of innovative products or services, and has the consequence that the risk is transferred to third parties, i.e. their customers.
 
71
E&Y, The Internet of Things in Insurance. Shaping the right strategy, managing the biggest risks, 2016, op.cit.
 
73
Erik Sandquist QA: The impact of the Internet of Things on insurance, Accenture, 2018, available at: https://​www.​accenture.​com/​gr-en/​insight-perspectives-insurance-internet-things-transform.
 
74
See as an example for such a liability structure the EU Directive on Defective Products Liability - Council Directive 85/374/EEC of 25 July 1985 on the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States concerning liability for defective products, as modified by Directive 1999/34/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 May 1999.
 
75
For example, the fund created by the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL), which is the main international convention covering prevention of pollution of the marine environment by ships from operational or accidental causes.
 
76
See the description of the law and the analysis by Prof. Dr. Robert Koch, Verteilung des Haftpflichtversicherungs-/Regressrisikos bei Kfz-Unfällen während der Fahrzeugführung im Autopilot-Modus gem § 1 a Abs. 2 StVG (in English: “Distribution of liability insurance risk and third party liability risk in accidents of cars driving in autopilot-mode according to par. 1 a el. 2 StVG”), VersR 69/2018, pp 901 et. seq.).
 
77
Variations of the knock-for-knock concept apply in several jurisdictions. The Greek private pool of motor third party liability claims management is an example, where the pool works as a facilitator for the rapid settlement of disputes in favour of the customer: the customer is indemnified by its insurer, and then the insurers settle the claims among them in the pool. The difference to the knock-for-knock model described above is that there is still recourse and subrogation of the indemnifying insurer against the liable party and, principally, its insurer. In this sense, the downsides of knock-for-knock agreements described in this section are eliminated.
 
78
See for example LeRoy Lambert, Knock-for-knock contracts are enforceable in the US, Standard Bulletin October 2011, p. 10, where mention is made to the ‘Anti-indemnity’ statutes passed by the states of Texas and Louisiana, the home of much of the offshore oil exploration industry in the US, following the Deepwater Horizon incident in the Gulf of Mexico, as a consequence of attempts by major oil companies to contractually require local providers of supplies and services in the oil industry to assume all liabilities, even if caused by the fault of the oil company. In effect, the local suppliers would indemnify the oil company even if the oil company’s fault caused the damage.
 
79
Ugwuanyi (2012), pp. 136–146.
 
80
cf. Caledonia North Sea Ltd v London Bridge Engineering Ltd [2002] UKHL 4.
 
81
cf. E E Caledonia Ltd v Orbit Valve Co plc [1994] 1 WLR 1515; Lord W. Douglas Cullen, The Public Inquiry into the Piper Alpha Disaster (1990), Vol 1 (November 1990, HMSO Publications Centre).
 
82
cf. HIH Casualty and General Insurance Ltd & Ors v Chase Manhattan Bank & Ors [2003] UKHL 6.
 
83
A Turtle Offshore SA v Superior Trading Inc [2008] EWHC 3034; Smedvig Ltd v Elf Exploration UK Plc(The Super Scorpio II) [1998] 2 Lloyd’s Rep 659.
 
84
See for example Egbochue (2013).
 
Literatur
Zurück zum Zitat Egbochue C (2013) Reviewing ‘Knock for Knock’ indemnities following the Macondo Well Blowout. The Piper Alpha, Montara and Macondo oil rig disasters. Const Law Int 7(4):7 Egbochue C (2013) Reviewing ‘Knock for Knock’ indemnities following the Macondo Well Blowout. The Piper Alpha, Montara and Macondo oil rig disasters. Const Law Int 7(4):7
Zurück zum Zitat Koch R (2018) V erteilung des Haftpflichtversicherungs-/Regressrisikos bei Kfz-Unfällen während der Fahrzeugführung im Autopilot-Modus gem § 1 a Abs. 2 StVG (in English: “Distribution of liability insurance risk and third party liability risk in accidents of cars driving in autopilot-mode according to par. 1 a el. 2 StVG”), VersR 69/2018 Koch R (2018) V erteilung des Haftpflichtversicherungs-/Regressrisikos bei Kfz-Unfällen während der Fahrzeugführung im Autopilot-Modus gem § 1 a Abs. 2 StVG (in English: “Distribution of liability insurance risk and third party liability risk in accidents of cars driving in autopilot-mode according to par. 1 a el. 2 StVG”), VersR 69/2018
Zurück zum Zitat Lampbert R (2011) Knock-for-knock contracts are enforceable in the US. Standard Bulleting, October 2011 Lampbert R (2011) Knock-for-knock contracts are enforceable in the US. Standard Bulleting, October 2011
Zurück zum Zitat Rokas I (2014) Collective work, Commentary on Insurance Contract Act (ICA). Nomiki Bibliothiki, 2014 Rokas I (2014) Collective work, Commentary on Insurance Contract Act (ICA). Nomiki Bibliothiki, 2014
Zurück zum Zitat Schmidt E (2015) In the World Economic Forum in Davos, January 2015 Schmidt E (2015) In the World Economic Forum in Davos, January 2015
Zurück zum Zitat Ugwuanyi CS (2012) Examining the exclusionary nature of oil and gas contract mutual indemnity hold harmless clauses. Int Energy Law Rev 4:136–146 Ugwuanyi CS (2012) Examining the exclusionary nature of oil and gas contract mutual indemnity hold harmless clauses. Int Energy Law Rev 4:136–146
Metadaten
Titel
The Internet of Things and Insurance
verfasst von
Alkistis Christofilou
Viktoria Chatzara
Copyright-Jahr
2020
Verlag
Springer International Publishing
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-27386-6_3

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