The arrival of self-driving cars will see motorists required to take out dual insurance policies in case their car spins out of control, the Government is due to announce.

The Department for Transport will unveil plans for new, two-in-one insurance products for automated vehicles, which cover both the motorist when they are driving and the car when it is in driver-less mode.

Under the plans self-driving vehicles will allow drivers to hand full control and responsibility to the car as soon as "driver-less mode" is turned on.

Claims made against cars which crash while in driver-less mode will be paid out by insurance companies who will then recover costs from the party responsible for the incident, which may be the manufacturer.

By introducing dual cover instead of separate driver-less car insurance policies, the Government is hoping to avoid confusion over whether victims of a collision need to claim against automated cars or their drivers.

It said the dual policies would give innocent victims involved in a collision with an automated vehicle "quick and easy access to compensation".