A legal parallel illustrating my concerns about the burden of insurance, the decidedly non-robotic ride-sharing sector; The Economist, "All eyes on the sharing economy - Collaborative consumption: Technology makes it easier for people to rent items to each other. But as it grows, the “sharing economy” is hitting roadblocks":

...Peer-to-peer car-rental services also provide insurance as part of the deal. Mr Clark says it took RelayRides 18 months to find an underwriter for the $1m policy that backs each driver during rentals. (Much of the 40% commission RelayRides takes on each rental goes towards insurance.) But the question of whether a car-owner’s insurer is liable in the event of an accident remains untested. Three states (California, Oregon and Washington) have passed laws relating to car-sharing, placing liability squarely on the shoulders of the car-sharing service and its own insurers, just as if it owned the car during the rental period. The laws also prohibit insurers from cancelling owners’ policies. One insurer, GEICO, rewrote its policies in 2012 to withdraw accident coverage for cars that have been rented to others in states that permit it. A fatal accident involving a RelayRides driver in Boston in 2012 may test the limits of existing policies in Massachusetts.

Insurance is just one example of how peer-rental services are running into regulatory barriers. In many cases they also find themselves in conflict with the complex rules that govern some industries. In an effort to avoid such difficulties Lyft, SideCar and other peer-to-peer taxi services do not set a price for a given journey and do not handle billing. Instead, passengers are prompted to give drivers a voluntary “donation” of a particular amount—and they know that failure to do so will lead to negative reviews, making it difficult to find a ride in future.

But regulators are unimpressed. In November 2012 the California Public Utilities Commission issued $20,000 fines against Lyft, SideCar and Uber for “operating as passenger carriers without evidence of public liability and property damage insurance coverage” and “engaging employee-drivers without evidence of workers’ compensation insurance”. All three firms appealed against the fines, arguing that outdated regulations should not be applied to peer-rental services. In January the city of San Francisco agreed to allow Lyft and Uber to continue operating while it devises new rules, due by July. Uber has also won permission to operate its service in Washington, DC. But in many other cities it faces bans, fines and court battles.