Smart driving insurance countdown has begun in Beijing, which has taken the lead. Initially applicable to new energy vehicles.

The Daily Economic News Reporter | Duan Siyao The Daily Economic News Editor | Pei Jianru

Last October, Zhang Ran (pseudonym) purchased a new energy vehicle equipped with advanced intelligent driving features. According to his recollection, on the day he took delivery of the vehicle, the sales consultant specifically introduced the intelligent driving insurance that came with the car. The sales pitch was that as long as an accident happened while the intelligent driving system was in an enabled state, the manufacturer would cover the matter. However, after half a year, the use of this intelligent driving insurance has proven far from as convenient as what the sales staff claimed.

“On highways, I often use the intelligent driving navigation feature. But once I enter urban roads, I almost never proactively turn on the intelligent driving function.” Zhang Ran told reporters from The Daily Economic News that he is not that he doesn’t trust the technology—rather, he is uncertain whether, if something really happens, that intelligent driving insurance will hold up and pay.

He dares to use it in highway scenarios but doesn’t dare to use it in urban scenarios; he trusts the technology side but isn’t reassured on the responsibility side. The root of this trust gap among people like “Zhang Ran” is the lack of intelligent driving responsibility determination and risk protection mechanisms. Now, this situation is gradually improving.

According to a March 30 report on the website of the Beijing Regulatory Bureau of the National Financial Regulatory Administration, on March 29, during the “Major Achievements Special Session” at the 2026 Zhongguancun Forum Annual Conference, the Beijing Financial Regulatory Bureau officially announced the launch of the development and application of commercial insurance for intelligent connected new energy vehicles. The new product generally follows the existing new energy commercial auto insurance framework. Under the principle of “overall stability and partial optimization,” it mainly provides risk protection for specific intelligent driving scenarios and losses of software and hardware that consumers and automakers care about. It can be uniformly adapted to intelligent connected new energy vehicles at all levels from L2 to L4.

Initial exclusive insurance products for new cars first

“Existing auto insurance products mainly define the driver based on basic human-driving scenarios, and they cannot fully apply to L3 and L4 levels of human-machine co-driving or machine-driving situations. In addition, for L2 level assisted driving vehicles, after consumers buy a new car, some upgrade the assisted driving system at their own expense, but existing auto insurance products do not cover these losses, so further optimization is needed.” a person in charge of the Beijing Financial Regulatory Bureau said at the aforementioned press briefing.

According to what the reporter learned, the exclusive insurance product for commercial insurance for intelligent connected new energy vehicles launched this time is designed under the leadership of financial regulators. It has a genuine insurance license and an actuarial pricing foundation, making it a compliant product that is included in the insurance regulatory system. Following the principle of “overall stability and partial optimization,” the new product is optimized and upgraded on the basis of existing new energy vehicle insurance, further covering intelligent driving across all levels and all scenarios.

Among them, for L2 level assisted driving vehicles, the exclusive product in its initial stage mainly applies to new energy new cars. After purchasing a new car in Beijing, buyers can independently choose to buy either the exclusive product or the existing auto insurance product. Following the principle of “maturing one batch, launching one batch,” the Beijing Insurance Industry Association will publish in batches the automakers and specific models to which the exclusive products apply.

For L3 and L4 level autonomous driving vehicles, vehicles that conduct tests in Beijing in accordance with laws and regulations or that have obtained official authorization to operate on public roads may apply to the exclusive product. As operational data for the exclusive products and underwriting and claims experience are accumulated, the coverage will be gradually expanded to more areas and more vehicles.

Regarding the pricing of commercial insurance for intelligent connected new energy vehicles, the Beijing Financial Regulatory Bureau clearly stated that compared with existing auto insurance, the price of the new product will generally remain stable overall, and will be adjusted appropriately based on changes in the scope of coverage responsibilities. Going forward, as experience data accumulates and technology advances, factors such as automakers’ intelligent driving technology capabilities will also be taken into account in the insurance pricing system.

“Intelligent driving insurance” on the market varies widely

In fact, more than 10 automakers currently use the form of intelligent driving insurance to provide a backstop for intelligent assisted driving. For example, the intelligent assisted driving “Peace of Mind Service” launched by XPeng Motors has a maximum payout amount of 1 million yuan. The coverage scenarios include all scenarios of intelligent driving and parking, and the annual premium is 239 yuan.

However, in order to actually receive a payout, the car owner needs to meet certain conditions. The reporter found that most automakers require that the policyholder is at fault, and that the accident must be caused by the intelligent driving system in order for a claim to be paid. One particularly prominent judgment condition is whether the intelligent driving system is in an enabled state at the time of the accident.

At present, in L2 level automated driving, the driver needs to be ready to take over the vehicle at any moment and is the first party responsible for an accident. In L3 level, the main host OEM or the intelligent driving supplier is the responsibility entity for intelligent driving accidents. Also, all intelligent driving systems currently sold domestically have not reached the L3 level. This means that if users do not comply with the instructions in the “User Manual” that explicitly emphasize the driver’s need to stay alert to road conditions and take over the vehicle control at any time—for example, “eyes off, hands off,” or failing to take over the vehicle promptly—the claim will be rejected.

“At this stage, intelligent driving insurance is more like a backstop solution provided by automakers or intelligent driving solution suppliers, rather than a truly insurance product. Essentially, it’s more like a company commitment. Once a major accident occurs or the company’s ability to bear pressure is insufficient, whether consumers can truly get paid remains uncertain.” an insider in the insurance industry told the reporter.

Zhu Huarong, Chairman of China Changan, believes that in the transition stage from traditional driving to autonomous driving, the insurance mechanism has an irreplaceable institutional value. It should make adaptive adjustments within the existing auto insurance framework, in order to effectively cover risks, protect the public interest, and support the development of the industry.

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Responsible Editor: Cao Ruitong