There is no questioning that drones, or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are super cool. They fly and spin and record videos, all super cool stuff. All of these cool features mean that it may not be an inexpensive purchase. And all these cool functions means that people are not only using them for fun. They are also using them for many business applications.
Insurance is made to protect the things you care about, the things you invest in, and things that are unpredictable. A drone can surely fall into the description of something worth insuring.
So can you insure your drone?
YES! You absolutely can insure your drone.
Why should you?
Picture it like this. Drones can cost anywhere from $100-$6,500 or more. You go out and purchase an awesome, high-end drone for $6,000. You take it to a park, fly it around, and sit to stop and eat lunch. While distracted, someone steals it. Your $6,000 is gone. How nice would it be if insurance would cover for the theft and reimburse you to get a new one?
Also, It’s possible your drone could malfunction and crash into someone’s property, causing damage to their home or their car. For that reason, many experts suggest purchasing drone liability insurance coverage at the bare minimum—even if you only fly a drone for fun.
Would it have its’ own policy?
First question is how do you use it. For fun or for business?
Hobby pilots: As cool as that would be to have a whole policy for just a drone, most of the time it can be covered under a home policy or a renters policy. Be careful, there may be maximum coverage amounts. And depending on the value of your drone, you may have to schedule it separately from your other belongings as you do with high-value jewelry and collectables. Be sure to discuss this with your agent!
For Business uses: There are two basic types of drone insurance that apply to small and midsize businesses – hull coverage and liability policies. Depending on the type of business and your needs, it’s important to choose the right drone insurance coverage for the exposure you’ll have from operation your drone.
What are the coverage choices?
Commercial drone insurance coverage varies depending on your policy and declared limits. But most of the time, it includes coverage for:
- Loss or damage to the drone itself or UAV along with associated equipment
- Protection for aircraft operators including on-ground crew and non-pilot personnel
- Third party legal liability
- Premises and fire legal liabilities
Hull Insurance: provides coverage for the damages to the drone or UAV itself. Typically separate from a liability policy, Certainly, you will probably want to insure the drone itself. Camera and drone insurance is available and is called Drone Hull insurance. It will provide coverage for your drone if it is damaged while being used for business. Most business owners tend to neglect hull insurance thinking that drones are cheap and easily replaceable. But if your drone is equipped with expensive cameras, top-class sensors, and onboard real-time kinematic or RTK GPS units, a hull policy should be a top priority.
Liability Insurance: offers protection for damages caused to third parties as a result of drone operation and generally includes coverage for bodily injury and property damage. General Liability is usually what you would purchase because if something goes wrong while it is in the air, property or even people can be damaged. Your business could be sued, and at the very least you will want to replace what you have damaged. Unfortunately, most General Liability policies exclude aircraft, so you will need to purchase a Commercial Drone Liability policy.Most companies and larger businesses require liability insurance before they allow drones to take off on their premises. The same applies to contractors who often lease drone services.
Additional coverages:
Cyber Liability is another policy to consider because hackers can take over a drone or camera attached to it and wreak havoc. Since it is your drone and being used for your business operations, you would be held liable regardless of whether or not it is your fault.
But, for fire or theft, you will want to have a Commercial Property policy.
If you plan to offer drone services to customers, be sure to purchase E&O insurance as well. Because if you make an error or omission and cause the customer to suffer a financial loss, you will be held liable.
Want to learn more?
In summary, there are a lot of options to protect you, your drone and others. It all depends on your usage and other policies you have in place. The best way to do get correctly insured is to talk to a licensed agent who can look at your situation holistically. We’d love to help. Feel free to contact us to speak with one of our licensed agents! Give us a call at (603) 273-0953 or visit our website at keslarinsurance.com.
