UAS (Drone) Insurance...Protect Your Bottom Line

Written by Contributing Writer Desiree Ekstein

With the growing popularity of UAS (aka Drones), it is important to think about insurance. It is particularly important if you are using your drone for business. If you fly as a hobby, the Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA) offers insurance as well as other benefits with their membership.  We recommend joining the AMA because the  programs and benefits they have are great. Both as a professional and as a hobbyist, insurance is something you will want to take serious. First you have to decide what your needs are.

A few questions you want to think about and discuss with an insurance agent:

What is the size of your company? Is it a large company with several high end UAS with sophisticated camera system or are you just starting your business with only one or two drones.

What coverage do you want? Liability only, or full coverage including the UAS and its features. I found most insurance companies will only offer liability insurance. But I did find a few that would cover the equipment if you had the more expensive style of UAS.

Do you need a policy for $500,000 or $1,000,000 limit of liability or more? $500,000 and $1,000,000 seem to be the two most common policy's, however; there are others, and you would want to analyze what fits your business needs and your spending plan. For example, the average cost for coverage for a small business starting with one Drone and $500,000 limit of liability would be approximately $60.00 per month. What I also found is that the premiums will increase dramatically with the quantity of drones insured, limit of liability amount, and if you plan to insure property as well.

Drone Diva Desiree Ekstein

Why do you even need insurance? Nobody wants a catastrophic loss. Insurance will help protect you, your business and other people as well. In our industry this could be caused from user error, product defects or mishap during normal business operations. The risks are high and so is your liability.

Of course... if you are doing commercial work with your UAS, you must have your FAA section 333 exemption, but it is nice to know there are also insurance companies that have been insuring drones long before an exemption was necessary. We did not find a company that would insure "per event." That doesn't mean there isn't a company that will offer it, but our search didn't find any.

If you fly as a professional, insurance is a necessity and there is a level of expectancy. Insurance should be part of your cost of doing business and added to the budget. How much insurance to carry will depend on your business structure and the risk level. Ask a reputable insurance agent what would be the right fit for you. Insurance can provide security for you, your business, and others. We are not trying to sell the insurance, we simply want to express the importance of insurance and the protection it provides. Feel free to comment or contact us if you would like to know more about insurance options and pricing that we found.