How Much Is Drone Insurance

No matter how much you sweat in practice, or how well you prepare as a drone pilot, accidents happen. To get yourself and others secure, one must know how much drone insurance costs.

Professional drone pilots do lots of mission-specific training and exercises, just to get precision in their UAV flights. However, recreational pilots are not required for such training. However, they ought to know about safe flying.

In this article we are going to discuss drone insurance in a bit of detail, so don’t forget to read this article thoroughly.

Every Drone Owner Needs To Have Drone Insurance

The answer to this question is “NO”. If you are flying a less than $300 beginner drone in your backyard or at a model aircraft field, you don’t need to buy a $1 million drone insurance policy.

But, commercial drone pilots, who are conducting drone flights for business or some non-recreational purposes, ought to have drone insurance ASAP.

Does The Law Require Us To Get Drone Insurance?

Currently, if you are a United States resident, you are not required to get drone insurance for either commercial or non-recreational purposes. FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) however defines some limits for drone flying. For example, the FAA has defined how high a drone can fly, what are the rules of UAV flying, etc.

However, minimum liability insurance coverage is recommended in some instances. For example, when needing to have city film permits, or cooperating with large organizations that require insurance by all of its vendors.

But for non-recreational purposes, having drone insurance is not an economical option.

What Are The Types Of Drone Insurance?

There are 2 common types of drone insurance.

1. Drone Liability Insurance

Just like auto insurance, the drone insurance policy safeguards you from third-party claims of injury or damage, When you carve your drone in someone’s car or in a backyard.

But, policies vary from insurer to insurer. For that reason, try to consult the respective company’s policy fine print to check whether breaches like negligence or privacy issues are covered.

The drone liability insurance policy can range from  $500,000 to a maximum as negotiated by the companies, businesses, or clients. FYI, $10,000,000 per occurrence insurance is not unheard of in the drone industry.

2. Hull Drone Insurance

The hull insurance is about insuring your UAV/Drone.

Most of the drone users do know about the DJI brand. If you are flying the DJI drone, you can get Hull insurance directly through them. At the moment, they are offering 3 different plans., including:

• DJI Care: This plan is for old DJI Phantom or Inspire models. This covers the damages to your UAV, Camera, or gimble crushed during the flight. You will be reimbursed with the amount equal to the market price of repair services within a valid period. Plus, DJI Care does not limit the number of times your drone gets repaired until you remain within the coverage amount.
• DJI Care Refresh: It is the most sold plan, where you don’t need to assess your damage and quotation process. The company replacement center will deliver you the replacements as they get your damaged UAV.
• DJI Care Refresh+: It provides 2 replacement articles per annum. It also covers water and collision damage to your drones.

If you are seeking a Hull Insurance for a top tier drones, check with the DJI to see if they provide their in house coverage. Or, you can contact with UAV Insurance Brokers to check how much is drone insurance.

Additional Types Of Drone Insurance:

Apart from two common types of insurance i.e. Drone liability Insurance and Hull insurance. There is also PAYLOAD Insurance. Do you flying with expensive gimbal system, multispectral or thermal camera?

All of that payload can be insured under this plan.

How Much Is Drone Insurance?

If you have already gone through the above article, you have come to know about the different types of UAV insurance available in the market.

However, UAV Liability Insurance with an on demand policy can start from as low as $7/hr for a million dollar cover with the SKyWatch Company. The plan can be monthly as well as annually also.

But, if you want to deal with the insurance broker to get you a custom policy, drone liability policy can range from $600-$800/year.

It is obvious that you will need to do in depth research by contacting the different companies about the type of policy they are offering. Plus, do they provide full coverage or not. What are their annual rates and so on.

Place To Buy Drone Insurance?

For the On Demand Insurance Organization like SkyWatch is preferred mostly by the US drone pilots. SkyWatch policy for a limited liability can run from $7/hr. One can use their mobile app to purchase the policy by putting in the details.

As already mention, if you are flying DJI drones, you can opt for a manufacturer’s insurance policies. For example, DJI Care, DJI Refresh, DJI Refresh Plus for a hull coverage plans.

How To Deal With Drone Insurance Brokers?

You should have the below information ready before contacting a broker:

• You personal information, including address and mobile number
• What type of coverage do you need (hull. liability or payload)
• The price of every part of your rig and equipment
• All the information about your drone
• Where you will operate your drone
• How many hours you have flown
• What trainings did you get
• Did you had any drone accidents in past
• Part 107 certificate number or any relevant license number

List Of Drone Insurance Brokers In United States:

If you like to have custom drone insurance policy. You can discuss with below listed drone insurance brokers.

• Avalon Risk Management
• Avion Insurance
• Aerial Park
• Aviation Insurance Resources
• Bullock Agency.inc
• Droneinsurance.com
• Kinney Pike Insurance

List Of On Demand Insurers/Companies:

If you are hasitant to deal with the insurance broker, you can opt for these companies offering On Demand Drone Insurance. The names of the companies are:

• Droneinsurance.com
• SkyWatch
• Thimble (old name was Verifly)

Can You Lose Your Insurance Policy?

Due to the reasons listed below, you can get your drone insurance policy revoked.

• Not keeping flight logs, and able to prove the consequences of accident with the log file.
• Not putting your drone specific identification number on your UAV.
• Not keeping the logs of maintenance charges and battery cycles
• Not following the ethical flights, or infringing the privacy of others.