The FAA has finally indicated it will be opening up the sky to commercial drones but, before you go out and start an aerial business, you may want to consider drone insurance. To be clear, you really only need drone insurance if you intend to use your drone for commercial purposes. If you are planning on flying around your house or local park just for fun, your homeowners insurance will probably cover you. It’s best to check and make sure, like we did, but you should be safe.
At least, for now.
“Homeowner’s insurance has always covered radio controlled aircraft and so far, drones are falling under this classification,” Skyward CEO Jonathan Evans told Dronelife. “But underwriters are beginning to rethink this policy.”
“In this era of aerial robotics -so many of them are flying in urban environments- the underwriters’ thinking is evolving. It’s becoming an open question,” Evans said.
At the moment, insurance companies equate your drone crashing into someone to your dog biting a stranger. But due to the rising popularity of drones, insurance companies may be changing their policies rather quickly.
“Look for underwriters to get much more specific. They will come up with caveats and standards, like always having the latest firmware… they will require you to not be a negligent drone owner.”
So, if you are considering getting a drone in the future, make sure you understand responsible drone ownership.
(Incidentally, why not start practicing now? Head over to Dronelife’s product configurator and let us help you find you first drone!)
If, on the other hand, you are planning on using your drone as part of your business, you are going to want to look into aviation liability insurance.
Terry Miller is the President of Unmanned Risk Management, the largest underwriter of aviation insurance in the world. He told Dronelife his company has insured drones in all 50 U.S. states and in countries all over the world. Most notably,Unmanned Risk Management has insured the seven film operators that received a Section 333 exemption from the FAA to use drone on Hollywood movie sets.
“UAV insurance is a natural extension of manned aircraft insurance that goes back decades,” Miller said. “By and large, we have the same policy for drones as we do helicopters that, for example, do power line inspection. It’s just tweaked a little for drones.”
The drones Unmanned Risk Management insures have an average value of $50,000-$70,000, though Miller says he has insured plenty of smaller drones like DJI’s S100 and Phantom drones.
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A commercial insurance policy for a Phantom covering liability up to $1 million and hull damage up to $1,500 can run as little as $1,350 a year (with a 10-15% deductible).
All of those number can change of course, based on who you are and why you are flying. But Miller says the most important stipulation for getting good drone insurance is that you can demonstrate your willingness to fly responsibly.
“We want to see people who want to train or have been trained… people who want to become better fliers,” Miller said. “We want them to have operating manuals, maintenance logs -incidentally, we see a drop in the rate of lost drones for people who have these in place- and a record of any parts or add-ons they may have bought online. In other words, we require them to jump through some hoops.”
At the end of the day, it’s up to the underwriters discretion whether or not to sell insurance to a pilot. So, if you are considering flying a drone for your business, be prepared to demonstrate intimate knowledge of your system and the environment in which you will be flying.
The only use case Miller said would be turn off for Unmanned Risk Management is indoor flights.
“We do not insure commercial drones for indoor use… At a concert or trade show or something,” he said.
Though later he backtracked a bit, saying “Well maybe with a record of training to fly indoors, maybe that would be ok… It’s really all about training for us. We think if we require pilots to be diligent and responsible, eventually everyone will catch on.”
Alan is serial entrepreneur, active angel investor, and a drone enthusiast. He co-founded DRONELIFE.com to address the emerging commercial market for drones and drone technology. Prior to DRONELIFE.com, Alan co-founded Where.com, ThinkingScreen Media, and Nurse.com. Recently, Alan has co-founded Crowditz.com, a leader in Equity Crowdfunding Data, Analytics, and Insights. Alan can be reached at alan(at)dronelife.com
I NEED INSURANCE LIABILITY FOR MY DRONE BUSINESS AND I ALREADY HAVE A CONTRATOR LIABILITY INSURANCE AND I AM WONDERING IF WITH THE PRESENT POLICY I CAN ADD AN ADDENDUM FOR DRONE OPERATION
Just an FYI we currently don’t offer Hull Coverage but we do have Fantastic Liability Rates that start at $595 for $500,000 Liability, $995 for $1,000,000 Liability, all the way up to 5 Mil, we also offer HUGE Discounts for Multiple Drones!!
I AM LOOKING FOR DRONE OPERATION INSURANCE
ONE DRONE YUNEEC TYPHOON Q500 4K FOR COMMERCIAL OPERAtION UNDER FAA APPROVAL
Hello . I need hull coverage and liability coverage please for a dji inspire 1 pro . I also have a FAA exemption #
And 6 years of helicopter Rc experience and 3 yrs drone exp see website
Hi Don,
We would be happy to provide a quotation but will need a completed application prior to providing the quote. You can find the application at http://www.UAVAssure.com
I am looking to sell drone insurance on my website. anybody have any suggestions
I’m Terry Miller with Transport Risk Management, Inc. and Unmanned Risk Management. I would like to clarify what we do and costs associated with drone insurance.
You may apply for coverage at http://unmannedrisk.com
Transport Risk Management, Inc. is a licensed aviation and aerospace specialist insurance broker that works with 18 insurance companies. All of those companies require that you use an agent or a broker to access quotes from them.
Transport Risk Management does place liability coverage up to $500,000,000 per occurrence
Transport Risk Management does place hull physical damage coverage up to $50,000,000
Transport Risk Management does place insurance for small UAS / Drones
Transport Risk Management does place insurance more than 4,000 individual UAS / Drones for all uses worldwide
Transport Risk Management does place insurance for 18 UAS / Drone manufacturers
Transport Risk Management does include CGL coverage in the aircraft policies.
Transport Risk Management is licensed in 50 states.
Annual premiums range from $800 to $1,300 per year for $1,000,000 depending on risk and number of aircraft insured.
Hulls are covered at a rate of 6.5% to 13% depending on risk and value.
Deductibles are 2.5% to 5% of the insured value.
Aggregate limits are a limitation that Transport Risk Management policies do not contain. An aggregate limit of $2,000,000 would limit maximum claims per year to $2,000,000. Transport Risk Management policies have no such limitation. Our policies contain only a per-occurrence limit.
Please let us know if we can assist with any additional questions.
Kind regards,
Terry
MY COMPANY IS( FLORIDA SKYVIEW DRONE VIDEO SERVICES) AND I DO HAVE THE FAA 333 EXEMPTION AND ALSO PILOT CERTIFICATE ON US OVER 25 YEARS AND ONE IN CANADA OVER 40 YEARS +
i AM A MEMBER OF EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT AND BUILDED SEVERAL EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT AND FLY TEST AND FLOWN OVER 1500 HRS
i NEED A QUOTATION AS INSURANCE PROTECTION WITH DEFERENT COVERAGE AND PRICE.
I DO HAVE FOR NOW ONLY ONE DRONE AS YUNEEC TYPHOON Q500 4K BUT I WILL AD MORE DRONES TO MY BUSINESS SHORTLY.
I AM THE SOLE OPERATOR
MEMBER OF THE AMA #1092578
BWI offers and is now writing Drone Insurance!
Get a quote online http://www.insurancebwi.com!
Do you insure per job also not just annual???
thanks
Don we typically write annual policies but can also do per job policies as well!
Thanks
Matt
http://www.insurancebwi.com
Just wanted to clarify BWI does not offer Per Term Insurance Policies. All of our UAV policies are 1 year full term policies – thanks.
I have the ability to insure drones for commercial purposes. I am in Canada.
Don’t be to quick to think your home policy covers. Not all do.
Bob, that appears to be correct they dont actually insure drones however a company called Roborei are very trusted in the industry and offer drone insurance. I would recommend checking them out here:
http://www.roborei.com/drone-insurance/
PHYSICAL DAMAGE $30,000 FOR ALL THE EQUIPMENT INCLUDING THE DRONE AND LOSS OF INCOME $50,000 MAY BE SECURED FOR LESS THN $900.00 ANNUAL PREMIUM..
t the $1,575.00 ANNUAL PREMIUM IS FOR: $1MIL/$2,MIL COMPREHENSIVE GENERAL LIABILITY
INCLUDING PROUCTS, ADVERTISING, AND ALL OPERATIONS WITH INSIDE AND OUTSIDE BUILDING COVERAGE.
So nic. Show me where you got quote for 900 And is that per year. And per loss of your drone
. What kind of drone. Hex Octo quad ? Dji ?
$1500? Rip off… I can get coverage on $30,000 of professional camera gear for about $900 a year.. Why so much?
And that including $1,000,000 coverage…
I’d love to know what company you use. Can you send me a link or company name? Thanks!
DRONELIFE
John, I was wondering if Nic ever got back with you regarding the $900. insurance(company name or Link)
If not, who did you end up going with.
Thanks
is the $1500 hull coverage on a per year basis? What about if you lose the drone? Details for this?
Yes, it is on a per year basis.
Loss of a drone would have to be worked into your individual policy.
We encourage you to reach out to Skyward or Unmanned Risked Management if you want specifics!
The $1.575.00 annual premium is !Mil/2MIl General Liability coverage outside and inside buildings.
We can also obtain Hull Physical Damage including loss of use.
Julian Rodriguez
408-717-3147
Julian,
email me please sg@jexan.com
interested in your coverage, for sure.
You are asking yourself who has time to think about insurance for my business?
You do!!! Take a few minuites now and check you risk factors, choosing the right insurance coverages
for you business is very important. Insurance can protect you from the loss of critical tools, property
and liability exposures to others.
We have excellent Insurance Markets to cover your Drone Liability exposures.
Need liabilIty insurance to cover you while you film inside any building?
Need Additional insureds added to your policy like Real Estate Broker, Agents,
Homeowners and contractor?
Youi can transfer the risks you face to us abd
Unmanned Risk (aka Transport Risk) does not insure, they hook up buyers with sellers of insurance. They do not insure “hull” of sUAS, UAV, little drones, they only provide liability insurance, for sUAS, UAVs, little drones.