Avinew raises $5 million for car insurance that rewards you for using autonomous safety features

Image Credit: Tesla As the deployment of autonomous vehicles ramps up globally, it’s raising all sorts of prickly regulatory questions. Which parties should be held responsible if a self-driving car swerves off course and kills a pedestrian — the driver, the automaker, or the systems supplier? And which safeguards should be legislatively mandated to ensure there’s fallbacks in case something goes wrong?

Insurance is yet another briar thicket that’s been thoroughly picked at by pundits, but which remains far from settled issue; hazy liability in the event of an accident threatens lengthy litigation and a cascade of claims. But one startup — Avinew — is taking the optimistic view.

The Westlake Village, California-based insurtech company, which was founded by Dan Peate, the former assistant vice president at London financial services firm Aon, offers coverage to folks and fleet operators who own cars equipped with advanced safety features. It’s completed proof-of-concept pilots with two insurers ahead of a launch in select states this year, and it’s betting its model will bring in a sizeable chunk of the $81 billion in new premiums autonomous vehicles are expected to generate by the end of 2026.

Avinew today announced that it has raised $5 million in a seed financing round led by Crosscut, with participation from American Family Ventures, Crosscut, Draper Frontier, and RPM Ventures. Coinciding with the infusion of fresh capital, Avinew hired on Jeremy Snyder, who previously served as the Telsa’s head of global business development and special projects. He’ll assume the role of chief operating officer.

“The cars we drive are changing, and there’s a huge opportunity for auto insurance to change as technology helps our cars and roads become safer,” Peate said. “Our goal is to enable the safety, savings, and freedom that come with autonomous driving. We believe providing consumers with insurance […]

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