UAV Insurance Discussion

[Bendix]

Thank you for all this information, Joe. It is really helpful. Between my Homeowners Association looking to set rules and policies for onsite commercial UAV operations (real estate sales, property management, etc.) and a business of my own that I hope to start this year, it's all really good stuff.

Are there any resources online that discuss homeowners' insurance and UAV liability coverage for recreational use? I don't want to derail your thread so I'll take that question elsewhere if you don't want to address it.

Thanks again!

 

[Joe Ernster]

What is a "To Whom It May Concern" COI?

A TWIMC COI is a "general" Certificate of Insurance that is provided by aviation insurance companies. Instead of specifically listing one of your customers on the COI ( like when you add a customer as additional insured), it is a COI that is addressed to "To Whom It May Concern." This way, you can present it to a customer who wants to see proof of insurance but does not need to be added as Additional Insured. Think of it like an auto insurance ID card. If you want a TWIMC COI, your aviation insurance broker will be able to get that for you.

Thanks,

Joe Ernster
[email protected]

 

[BigAl07]

What is a "To Whom It May Concern" COI?

A TWIMC COI is a "general" Certificate of Insurance that is provided by aviation insurance companies. Instead of specifically listing one of your customers on the COI ( like when you add a customer as additional insured), it is a COI that is addressed to "To Whom It May Concern." This way, you can present it to a customer who wants to see proof of insurance but does not need to be added as Additional Insured. Think of it like an auto insurance ID card. If you want a TWIMC COI, your aviation insurance broker will be able to get that for you.

Thanks,

Joe Ernster
[email protected]

That's good information Joe. Thanks for keeping us up to date

 

[Joe Ernster]

My pleasure BigAl!

 

[Joe Ernster]

Hello,

Do you have something out of the ordinary that you would like to insure related to UAVs? If so, let you broker know what you would like to do in full detail. Due to the highly negotiable nature of aviation insurance, and the rapidly evolving UAV industry, you may be able to get coverage for your "crazy" idea. Many times, aviation insurance companies are willing to cover something that you would think is un-insurable.

Thanks,
Joe Ernster
[email protected]
Get an online UAV insurance quote

 

[Joe Ernster]

Hello,

Do you operate a large fleet of UAVs for commercial purposes? If so, a company called USSIC may be a good one to consider. Their new 2017 pricing structure is summarized below. Please note that they may have other limits available upon request.

Liability Only Rates From USSIC



1st UAV Unit

$500,000 (Liability Only) - $495 Total Annual Premium
$1,000,000 (Liability Only) - $875 Total Annual Premium
$2,000,000 (Liability Only) - $1250 Total Annual Premium
$3,000,000 (Liability Only) - $2200 Total Annual Premium
$4,000,000 (Liability Only) - $2850 Total Annual Premium
$5,000,000 (Liability Only) - $3500 Total Annual Premium


2nd UAV Unit

$500,000 (Liability Only) - $396 Total Annual Premium
$1,000,000 (Liability Only) - $700 Total Annual Premium
$2,000,000 (Liability Only) - $1000 Total Annual Premium
$3,000,000 (Liability Only) - $1760 Total Annual Premium
$4,000,000 (Liability Only) - $2280 Total Annual Premium
$5,000,000 (Liability Only) - $2800 Total Annual Premium


3rd UAV Unit

$500,000 (Liability Only) - $337 Total Annual Premium
$1,000,000 (Liability Only) - $595 Total Annual Premium
$2,000,000 (Liability Only) - $850 Total Annual Premium
$3,000,000 (Liability Only) - $1496 Total Annual Premium
$4,000,000 (Liability Only) - $1938 Total Annual Premium
$5,000,000 (Liability Only) - $2380 Total Annual Premium


4th UAV Unit

$500,000 (Liability Only) - $337 Total Annual Premium
$1,000,000 (Liability Only) - $595 Total Annual Premium
$2,000,000 (Liability Only) - $850 Total Annual Premium
$3,000,000 (Liability Only) - $1496 Total Annual Premium
$4,000,000 (Liability Only) - $1938 Total Annual Premium
$5,000,000 (Liability Only) - $2380 Total Annual Premium


5th UAV Unit

$500,000 (Liability Only) - $337 Total Annual Premium
$1,000,000 (Liability Only) - $595 Total Annual Premium
$2,000,000 (Liability Only) - $850 Total Annual Premium
$3,000,000 (Liability Only) - $1496 Total Annual Premium
$4,000,000 (Liability Only) - $1938 Total Annual Premium
$5,000,000 (Liability Only) - $2380 Total Annual Premium


The pricing remains the same for any additional units until unit #7.



7th UAV Unit

$500,000 (Liability Only) - $297 Total Annual Premium
$1,000,000 (Liability Only) - $525 Total Annual Premium
$2,000,000 (Liability Only) - $750 Total Annual Premium
$3,000,000 (Liability Only) - $1320 Total Annual Premium
$4,000,000 (Liability Only) - $1710 Total Annual Premium
$5,000,000 (Liability Only) - $2100 Total Annual Premium


The pricing structure continues the same as the 7th UAV all the way up to 25 units.

Sincerely,

Joe Ernster
[email protected]

 

[eeire54]

Hello,

I have started this thread in order to generally discuss UAV insurance. Many commercial UAV operators think that a "standard" commercial general liability policy will protect them and their business. However, 99% of "standard" insurance polices exclude everything related to aviation. So, to begin this thread, I have elected to post the basics of UAV insurance. Feel free to add input or ask questions.


Are you thinking about becoming a commercial UAV pilot under FAA part 107? If so, UAV insurance should be a main concern of your new business. A vast majority of "standard" liability insurance policies exclude anything that has to do with aircraft. Since UAVs are under the purview of the FAA, they are considered to be aircraft by most insurers. So how do you get your new UAV operation insured? Easy, contact an aviation specific insurance broker (I happen to be one). If this sounds intimating, you are not alone. However, once you understand the basics of insuring an aircraft, you will be an aviation insurance wizard.

The base policy in the aviation insurance industry is liability only. The limits on liability only policies range from $500,000 each occurrence all the way up to $5,000,000 each occurrence. However, if higher limits are needed, they can be negotiated. This liability coverage will protect you from any Bodily Injury or Property Damage claims that may arise from your operation of your insured UAV(s). Fly through a window while shooting a real estate video and land on somebody's grand piano? Covered. Hit a passerby and cut their finger? Covered. After you have purchased liability coverage, and are looking for more protection, you can then add "hull" coverage to your policy with some of the aviation insurance companies.

Hull coverage is physical damage to your UAV itself. This is a "Stated" or "Agreed" value. Let us say you have a basic DJI Phantom 3 Professional that you have insured for $1000. You slam this aircraft into a tree and completely destroy it. The insurance company takes a look, sees that it will not be feasible to repair it, and they deem it a total loss. In this scenario, you would get a check for $1000 minus any applicable deductibles ( UAV deductibles are usually 5% - 10% of the insured value of the aircraft). Same logic applies to any other UAV. However, if you have an inspire 1, with a very expensive upgraded camera, you would want to "schedule" the aircraft and the camera separately. The upgraded camera can be added to most UAV insurance policies as "payload" equipment.

Liability and Hull coverage are the main coverages that you should be concerned with as a commercial UAV operator. There are some other "ancillary" coverages that I will address in future posts.

Thanks,

Joe Ernster
Bullock Agency, Inc.
[email protected]

Can a hoppyist get insurance. Does the insurance from AMA cover individual flying in safe area?



Sent from my A1-850 using PhantomPilots mobile app

 

[Joe Ernster]

eeire54,

I have not found a company that will offer coverage to hobbyists, yet. I fell that it is coming. The amount of UAVs registered in the USA eclipsed the amount of manned aircraft a while ago. I feel that is too much premium for insurance companies to ignore. As soon as that happens, I will let everyone know.

Unfortunately, I do not know anything about AMA coverage. My apologies.

Sincerely,

Joe Ernster
[email protected]

 

[Joe Ernster]

My UAV insurance premium is more expensive than I thought! Do I have to pay the whole premium upfront?

While aviation insurance premiums are usually paid in one lump sum upfront, most aviation insurance brokers can offer you a financing plan. These financing agreements allow you to put 20% - 25% down and break the rest of the premium up into installments. However, please beware that this option will cost you a little bit extra on top of the quoted annual premium. If you do not want to pay your premium all at once, ask your broker about financing options.

Thanks,
Joe Ernster
[email protected]
Get an Online UAV Insurance Quote Now

 

[AyeYo]

Why are polices per UAV? Is that per UAV in the air at one time or per physical UAV you own and use commercially? It makes no sense to me that number of owned UAVs would matter if I'm only ever flying one at at time.

 

[Joe Ernster]

AyeYo!

There are several reasons for that. One reason is that the UAV insurance policies have Open Pilot Warranties. Due to that, it is very possible to have more that one UAV in the air at a time. I insure several people who have fleets of UAVs and they are all in the air everyday. Also, if you paid for the insurance on a Phantom, but crashed an Inspire, wouldn't you rather get an insurance payout to replace the Inspire (hull coverage)?

Think of it like car insurance. I personally own two cars, I can only physically drive one at a time, however, I must purchase insurance for both of the cars based on the VINs.


Thanks,

Joe Ernster
[email protected]
Get an Online UAV Insurance Quote Now

 

[AyeYo]

But what if someone is only concerned with liability and is the sole pilot in the business? I can't possibly fly more than one at at time and without hull coverage it doesn't matter to me what I crash - as long as I'm liability insured.

 

[Joe Ernster]

AyeYo,

There is no insurance product, that I am aware of, that works in that way. I will definitely keep an eye out for that and post on here if I find anything. For now, it works like a car owner with multiple cars. Manned aircraft insurance works this way as well. If you want the craft insured, it must be scheduled on the policy.

 

[drumbum675]

I'm surprised that insurance companies do not appear to take into account other pilot certificates when quoting for UAV insurance. I'm fairly new to commercial UAS flying, but I'm not new to aviation. I hold Comm/Multi/CFII, you would think people like myself would be able to get better rates than someone with only a Remote Pilot Certificate. Not that flying a jet makes you a better UAV pilot, but typically someone with other certificates will have a better general understanding of Airspace, Weather, Aeromedical Factors, CRM, etc. Is that not the case?

 

[Joe Ernster]

drumbum675,

I agree with you on that point. A couple years ago when the aviation insurance companies first started insuring commercial UAS, they did take manned aircraft certificates and experience into account. However, with the release of Part 107, it does not seem to matter as much. This especially applies to "run of the mill" commercial UAV operations (agriculture, real estate, survey, construction progress, etc.). But once you get into some out of the out of the ordinary operations (eg. underground sewer mapping), or operations with very high end UAVs (eg. Pulse Aero Vapor 35), I believe they do take those items into account. It may not get you a better rate per se, but it will allow you to get insurance. If you only had a Part 107 ticket, they may not offer you a quote for the out of the ordinary type ops. You must keep in mind that aviation insurance risks are still reviewed by actual human underwriters (not a piece of software like auto insurance). Due to that, brokers are able to negotiate on the behalf of our clients. For example, I recently had to get on a conference call with the executives at one of the insurance companies in order to get coverage for a VERY unique operation. If I simply submitted an application and waited for a response, it would have been declined by the insurance underwriters. Part of the case that I made for the insured was that he was an experienced manned aircraft pilot. I believe that helped his case in getting insurance.

Sincerely,

Joe Ernster
[email protected]
Get an Online UAV Insurance Quote Now

 

[Joe Ernster]

Hello!

I am back and I am now an Approved Vendor on this site!

Just a little update for you guys on the commercial UAV insurance market. Global Aerospace launched their Online UAS Portal a couple months ago and it has been doing extremely well. In addition to getting great aviation coverage from a well known insurance company, they are also offering their insureds a Visual Line of Sight Standard Operating Procedures Manual and an Introductory Guide to UAS Emergency Response. These are two documents that will come with your UAV insurance policy as "perks" and are unique to Global Aerospace. If you are interested in getting an online UAV insurance quote from Global Aerospace, please follow the link below. Also, please note that I work with several other companies aside from Global. So, if they do not have what you are looking for, we have several other options for you.

Get an Online Commercial UAV Insurance Quote Now!

Sincerely,

Joe Ernster
[email protected]
Get an Online UAV Insurance Quote Now

 

[Joe Ernster]

What are the typical deductibles on a UAV insurance policy provided by an aviation insurance company?

In aviation insurance, deductibles typically do not apply to liability only policies. So, if you have a liability only commercial UAV insurance policy, you will most likely not have a deductible.

However, if you elect to purchase hull coverage, payload coverage, or any other type of physical damage coverage for your equipment, you should expect to have some sort of deductible. The deductibles usually range from 5% to 10% of the insured value of the equipment. However, if you are doing something out of the ordinary with your UAV, the insurance company may place a higher deductible on your policy.

Sincerely,

Joe Ernster
[email protected]
Get an Online UAV Insurance Quote Now

 

[Joe Ernster]

Hello,

I am in the process of writing a "White Paper" (or guide) of sorts for insurance on commercial UAS operations. I have attached a copy of what I am working on. Do you think that this is helpful? Also, if you have any suggestions/corrections on the content or grammar, please let me know. If you find it helpful, and not riddled with errors, please feel free to disseminate it!

I hope you at leaset find it interesting.

Sincerely,

Joe Ernster
Bullock Agency, Inc.
[email protected]

 

[Joe Ernster]

Hello All,

Some of my commercial UAV insurance content was recently featured on uavcoach.com! Please take a look if you are interested.

Drone Insurance Guide: How to Get Liability Coverage

Thanks,

Joe Ernster
[email protected]

 

[Joe Ernster]

Hello,

Just a little commercial UAS insurance update for you all. One of the leading UAS insurance providers, Global Aerospace, is now taking a "softer stance" on indoor operations and operations at events. In the past, they would want to restrict or even exclude both of these uses. In the past weeks they have definitely been more open to quoting risks with this type of exposure. However, if you have operations at indoor events, they will shy away from insuring you or have some follow up questions.

Get an Online UAS Insurance Quote From Global Aerospace Now!

Sincerely,

Joe Ernster
[email protected]