Drone insurance: do you need it? If you want to protect your own gear in the event of a crash, as well as protect yourself from liability in the event of crashing into something else (or someone else), then you do.
After all, drones offer a unique perspective for photography, videography, and various other applications. But operating a drone comes with inherent risks. A crash can damage your drone, injure someone, or cause property loss. Drone insurance helps mitigate these risks by providing financial protection.
Unlike car insurance, drone insurance is not a legal requirement in the U.S. But, having it could save you a lot of headache later, should you be on the hook for something like your drone downing power lines, or just getting reimbursed for your own drone crashing into your pool. And while you almost certainly want insurance for your business, hobby pilots should consider getting it too.
How to insure your drone
Understand drone insurance coverage
There are two main types of drone insurance coverage:
- Liability Insurance: This covers you in case your drone causes injury or property damage to others.
- Hull Coverage: This covers damage to your drone itself, regardless of who is at fault.
When picking drone insurance coverage providers, weigh factors including:
- Frequency of Use: If you fly infrequently, on-demand insurance might be a better option than a monthly policy.
- Value of Your Drone: For expensive drones, hull coverage becomes more important. But, for cheaper drones under $600, the cost of hull coverage might not actually be worth it.
- Your specific flying situation: If you’re just flying in your own backyard, your coverage needs will be much different than, say, flying over a packed audience at a festival.
Get the best drone insurance
Here are 6 options for drone insurance:
1. Skywatch.ai drone insurance
SkyWatch.ai offers a suite of aviation insurance products including Drone Insurance, Aircraft Renters Insurance, and Aircraft Owners. Powered by InsurTech company VOOM, SkyWatch offers hourly, monthly and on-demand insurance, available to both recreational and commercial flyers.
With SkyWatch, you can choose liability and/or hull coverage, and they offer nice discounts if you have a history of safe piloting.
It’s free to get a quote from Skywatch.ai, though click through to enter your address to get a more exact estimate, as prices can vary based on specifics such as the state you’re operating in.
2. Hourly, on-demand drone insurance
Don’t want to purchase an expensive liability policy if you aren’t flying frequently? SkyWatch offers a monthly policy, as well as an on-demand option.
On-demand drone insurance can be handy for pilots who don’t want to pay a huge fee upfront or fly less frequently. Verifly is another well-known provider of on-demand drone insurance, offering up to $5 million in drone insurance starting at $10/hour. To use it, pilots just log their flight on Verifly’s mobile app, pay, and go fly. Note that Verifly offers liability — not hull — insurance. If you need hull coverage, Skywatch.ai is your best bet.
3. Equipment insurance through the manufacturer
Manufactures including DJI and Yuneec offer equipment insurance for an additional fee, beyond the standard warranty. DJI’s drone protection plan, DJI Care Refresh, covers accidental damage for an annual fee. Fees vary by drone, but typically starts at around $100. Yuneec offers a similar warranty program called Yuneec Extended Service.
4. Homeowners insurance
If you own a home, your drone may actually already be covered under your homeowners insurance policy. Homeowners insurance policies typically cover liability, no-fault medical coverage and theft or loss. If your policy includes the words ‘RC or model aircraft,’ then your drone is covered in case your drone crashes and injures someone on your property, or if your property is otherwise damaged.
5. IDRA
The International Drone Racing Association (IDRA) offers liability insurance for drone pilots that has no drone limit, no deductibles, and worldwide coverage. The $1 million policy costs $265 annually and activates within 24 hours of purchase. The policy is valid for 1 year, covering all potential liabilities from recreational flying, racing, and training.
6. Organizational insurance such as through the AMA
You may already have drone insurance if you belong to a drone organization. The Academy of Model Aeronautics, which has an $85 annual membership fee, says its insurance plan covers a $2.5 million liability, $25,000 in medical coverage and $1,000 in fire and theft coverage.
Do you have an insurance plan for your drone? Would you recommend one? Leave a comment with your recommendations below!