Impactos da automação veicular no modelo de negócios das seguradoras de automóveis: um estudo de caso

Abstract

Autonomous vehicles (AVs), those that travel without the aid of a human operator through intelligent algorithms, will bring many social, political, economic and legal changes. Especially vehicles of level 4 (high automation) and level 5 (complete automation), will be able to impact several business segments, among them, that of car insurers. This is because the ethical and safety issues of autonomous vehicles have raised questions about the current business model of these insurers, as they will have the potential to change the nature of the vehicle's exposure to risk, as we know it today. In this way, some existing risks will currently be transformed and new ones will emerge in the era of AVs. In this context, this dissertation aimed to understand how vehicle automation will impact the business model of an auto insurance company. To this end, qualitative, exploratory and descriptive research was used, based on literature review procedures, participant observation, documentary research and a case study with a car insurance company, SURA Insurance. In the context of the results, we sought to describe and discuss the businesses that will undergo changes in their business models with the insertion of autonomous vehicles, as well as describing all the blocks that make up the current business model of the investigated auto insurance company, discussing the impacts of automation on this business model. It is concluded that 20 existing business models will undergo changes with AVs and another 7 new business models may emerge. Regarding the current car insurance business model, it was possible to conclude that the composition of some blocks confirms what was raised and adapted from the academic literature on the subject. However, three blocks that are part of the business model, namely, value proposition, relationship with customers and main partnerships, presented some divergence. Finally, the results show that all blocks of the car insurance business model will be impacted by vehicle automation, with the exception of the “channels” block, with a new risk to be insured. This work provides theoretical contributions, filling gaps in academic research on autonomous driving technology, car insurance and business model, as well as managerial contributions, since it provides identified businesses with the need for strategic realignment of their business model, in particular, that of car insurers.