Automated and Electric Vehicles Act 2018

Category: Legislation and regulation · Reviewed by the Apex broking team · Last reviewed 2026-08-22 · ~4 min read

Definition

The Automated and Electric Vehicles Act 2018 (2018 c. 18) is a UK statute in two parts. Part 1 (sections 1 to 8) creates a liability and insurance regime for automated vehicles. Part 2 deals with electric vehicle charging infrastructure and is regulatory rather than insurance legislation. For insurance purposes it is Part 1 that matters, and Part 1 came into force on 21 April 2021 by the Automated and Electric Vehicles Act 2018 (Commencement No. 1) Regulations 2021 (S.I. 2021/396, regulation 3(a)).

Which vehicles are caught

Part 1 does not apply to every vehicle with driver assistance features. Under section 1 the Secretary of State prepares, keeps up to date and publishes a list of motor vehicles that are, in the Secretary of State’s opinion, capable in at least some circumstances or situations of safely driving themselves and that may lawfully be used when driving themselves on roads or other public places in Great Britain. “Automated vehicle’ for the purposes of the Act means a vehicle on that list. A vehicle that is not listed remains an ordinary vehicle for insurance and liability purposes, however capable its driver-assistance systems may be.

Section 2: the insurer’s primary liability

Section 2(1) provides that where an accident is caused by an automated vehicle when driving itself on a road or other public place in Great Britain, the vehicle is insured at the time of the accident, and an insured person or any other person suffers damage as a result of the accident, the insurer is liable for that damage. Section 2(2) puts the owner in the insurer’s place where the vehicle is not insured but is exempt from the compulsory insurance requirement. “Damage” is defined in section 2(3) as death or personal injury, and any damage to property other than the automated vehicle itself, goods carried for hire or reward in or on it, and property in the custody or control of the insured person or the person in charge of the vehicle. Property damage liability is subject to the limit in section 2(4), which picks up the amount specified in the Road Traffic Act 1988. Section 2(6) is the point that most changes market practice: the section 2 liability may not be limited or excluded by a term of an insurance policy or in any other way, except as provided by section 4.

Sections 3 to 5: the balancing provisions

Section 3 preserves contributory negligence and deals with the case where the accident is wholly due to the injured person’s allowing the vehicle to drive itself when it was not appropriate to do so. Section 4 is the software provision, dealt with separately below. Section 5 preserves the insurer’s right, having satisfied a section 2 liability, to bring a claim against any other person who is liable to the injured party in respect of the same damage — in practice, the route by which a motor insurer’s recovery team pursues a manufacturer, software supplier or maintainer. Section 6 applies existing enactments to the new regime, and section 7 requires the Secretary of State to report on the operation of Part 1.

Section 4: software alterations and updates

Section 4 is the only permitted inroad into section 2. A policy may exclude or limit the insurer’s liability for damage suffered by an insured person arising from an accident occurring as a direct result of software alterations made by the insured person, or with the insured person’s knowledge, that are prohibited under the policy; or as a direct result of a failure to install safety-critical software updates that the insured person knows, or ought reasonably to know, are safety-critical. Where the insured person is not the policyholder, section 4(2) narrows this to alterations that the insured person knew were prohibited under the policy. Sections 4(3) to (5) give the insurer, having paid a third party, a recovery against the insured person responsible on the same footing. Section 4(6) defines the terms: an update is safety-critical if it would be unsafe to use the vehicle in automated mode without it.

What section 4 means for a fleet operator

The Act creates a compliance obligation with an insurance consequence attached. If a business runs listed automated vehicles, the policy will normally prohibit unauthorised modification of vehicle software and require safety-critical updates to be installed. Those obligations then need an owner inside the business, an audit trail of when updates were released and applied, and a rule about who may connect anything to a vehicle. The exposure is not the third-party injury claim — the injured party is protected by section 2 regardless — but the insurer’s recovery against the operator under section 4, and the loss of cover for the operator’s own damage.

The Automated Vehicles Act 2024 and what has changed since

The Automated Vehicles Act 2024 (2024 c. 10) received Royal Assent and builds a much fuller authorisation and regulatory framework for self-driving vehicles. It also amends Part 1 of the 2018 Act, including omitting the section 1 listing mechanism in favour of the new authorisation regime. As at August 2026 those amendments to Part 1 have not all been brought into force, and the legislation.gov.uk record for the 2018 Act still shows changes that may be brought into force at a future date. Anyone advising on automated vehicle exposure should check the commencement position on the day rather than relying on a general statement about it.

Why it matters

For a commercial buyer the practical points are narrow. Confirm whether any vehicle in the fleet is actually a listed automated vehicle, because Part 1 does nothing otherwise. If it is, expect the motor policy to carry software conditions written to section 4, and treat those as operational obligations rather than boilerplate. And expect insurers to look upstream after a loss, because section 5 preserves the recovery route against manufacturers and suppliers.

Frequently asked questions

Does the Act mean nobody has to prove negligence after an automated vehicle accident?

For the section 2 claim, the injured party does not have to establish fault against a driver. Section 2 makes the insurer liable where the accident is caused by the automated vehicle when driving itself and the vehicle is insured. Negligence still matters further back, because section 5 preserves the insurer’s claim against anyone else liable for the same damage.

Can our motor policy exclude liability for an automated vehicle accident?

Not generally. Section 2(6) says the section 2 liability may not be limited or excluded by a term of the policy or in any other way, except as section 4 allows. Section 4 permits exclusions only for prohibited software alterations and for failures to install safety-critical updates, and only against the insured person concerned.

Is the whole Act in force?

Part 1, sections 1 to 8, came into force on 21 April 2021 under S.I. 2021/396. The Automated Vehicles Act 2024 amends Part 1, and as at August 2026 not all of those amendments have been commenced, so the position should be checked against the current legislation record.

Related entries

• Autonomous vehicle insurance
• Road Traffic Act 1988
• Compulsory motor insurance
• Motor insurance
• Commercial insurance UK

This entry is part of the Apex Insurance Wiki. Last reviewed 2026-08-22. Next review: 2027-02-22. It is insurance information, not legal advice, and it states the position as at August 2026.

Apex Insurance Brokers Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 724952). This page is general information, not advice on a specific policy.