UK insurance firm Adrian Flux has opened up the debate with its autonomous car insurance policy, intended for cars like the Tesla Model S.

The Adrian Flux policy outlines a few autonomous-specific scenarios that need to be addressed, the first of which concerns software. Although the driver might be forced to pay an increased excess, the policy says drivers of autonomous cars are still covered if they've failed to install a software update, but only within 24 hours of being notified of its availability. After that 24-hour grace period, there's no word on whether you're covered or not – so assume not.

Even when the software in a car is fully up to date, there is a risk that satellite failures or software issues will cause the car to have an accident. There is also, rather scarily, a risk of accidents or damage being caused by hackers when we cede control to software systems, so the policy covers these potential circumstances as well.