Alphabet Inc.’s Waymo self-driving car group today announced a deal with Trov Inc., a venture-backed insurance startup, to provide some reassurance against unexpected events for riders who will be testing its upcoming autonomous shuttle service. The technology giant plans to make driverless taxis available to the public in Arizona starting early next year. According to Waymo, the fleet will operate within the Phoenix metropolitan area and cover a region larger than Greater London. The vehicles won’t need a human safety driver (which was a requirement until November) thanks to the advanced navigation capabilities that the Alphabet subsidiary recently demonstrated at its California test track. As part of the new partnership, Trov is set to provide passengers who hail Waymo’s shuttles with free insurance coverage for the duration of their rides. A press release stated that the plan will offer reimbursement for medical expenses and lost or damaged property, along with unspecified “trip interruption benefits.” The reason why Waymo chose Trov over the many rival providers out there probably has a lot to do with convenience. The startup, whose main focus is enabling consumers to insure their electronics, has a mobile app that makes it fairly straightforward to file claims. A user seeking reimbursement only needs to answer a few questions about their item via a built-in chat interface. The insurance that Trov will provide for Waymo passengers is set to be underwritten by an affiliate of Munich Re Group. The German insurance giant is one of the startup’s main partners and a key investor, having led its $45 million Series B fundraising earlier this year. Waymo’s deal with Trov comes a few weeks after it tapped AutoNation Inc., the largest car dealer in the U.S., to service its autonomous vehicle fleet. The Alphabet subsidiary earlier signed a similar agreement with Avis Budget Group Inc. that will see the latter company’s car rental locations used for carrying out repairs. The fact that Waymo is now busy sorting out maintenance contracts and other nitty-gritty practical details is a positive sign for the autonomous vehicle ecosystem. It means that the technology is starting to move beyond the lab and into the real world. Another player helping to advance the trend is Lyft Inc., which recently began testing its own self-driving taxi service in Boston. Show your support for our mission with our one-click subscription to our YouTube channel (below). The more subscribers we have, the more YouTube will suggest relevant enterprise and emerging technology content to you. Thanks! Support our mission: >>>>>> SUBSCRIBE NOW >>>>>> to our YouTube channel. … We’d also like to tell you about our mission and how you can help us fulfill it. SiliconANGLE Media Inc.’s business model is based on the intrinsic value of the content, not advertising. Unlike many online publications, we don’t have a paywall or run banner advertising, because we want to keep our journalism open, without influence or the need to chase traffic.The journalism, reporting and commentary on SiliconANGLE — along with live, unscripted video from our Silicon Valley studio and globe-trotting video teams at theCUBE — take a lot of hard work, time and money. Keeping the quality high requires the support of sponsors who are aligned with our vision of ad-free journalism content. If you like the reporting, video interviews and other ad-free content here, please take a moment to check out a sample of the video content supported by our sponsors, tweet your support, and keep coming back to SiliconANGLE.
Alphabet 's self - financing vehicle company compass is partnering with insurance technology start - up Trov to provide cover for parts of its autonomous vehicle fleet , which is about to begin tests in Phoenix . Trov has previously focused on improving consumer electronics , developing a mobile app to simplify claims for customers . The new policies will be underwritten by an affiliate of the Munich Re group , one of the company 's main investors .