Self-driving technology is gradually working its way into consumer cars in the form of driver-assistance technology. Fully autonomous, self-driving cars are estimated to hit the roads by the year 2020, leading one automotive expert to predict that the result will be a lot more sex behind the wheel. However, car owners can also look forward to lower auto insurance rates.

Increased Safety

You can get a lower insurance rate today on a standard car that has high safety rating and low risk for accidents. While control freaks might beg to differ, self-driving cars will remove the human error that causes most accidents and insurance claims. According to the chief executive of one research firm, there's no doubt that there will be significantly fewer crashes once self-driving cars are on the roads. There's already a reduction in accidents since automatic emergency braking technology has been installed in many new cars. This means that insurance rates could drop dramatically for people using self-driving vehicles. It may even cause a ripple effect that lowers the rates for individuals driving non-autonomous cars simply because they're sharing the road with the safer high-tech vehicles.

The End of Auto Insurance?

Billionaire Warren Buffet has predicted that self-driving cars will be the end of the automotive insurance industry as we know it. However, until the day that self-driving cars take to the road and lower our insurance rates, here are some other ways to pay less for insurance. Every insurance company has its own formula for figuring your premium, but in general, minivans and SUVs are among the cheapest vehicles to insure. They tend to have excellent crash ratings and affordable repair costs. Also, since they tend to be family vehicles with children on board, the drivers are more careful on the road than a single driver in a hot rod might be.

Maintain a perfect driving record to keep your rates down. Also, consider taking a defensive driving course for safety on the road and money savings. If you're willing to give up a little privacy, letting the insurance company watch your driving via an OBD wireless device is another way to save on auto insurance.

Even if you plan to never own a self-driving car, the odds are you'll drive a car with some autonomous technology; automatic braking systems are on the way to becoming a standard feature in new cars. The braking technology uses sensors to detect if your car is about to rear-end a vehicle in front of it, and if so, it automatically slams on the brakes to either minimize the impact or avoid a collision altogether. That braking technology may also result in lower insurance rates for drivers.