Do you need drone insurance?
You own a drone and you fly it on a regular basis. You capture some incredible footage and create some amazing images and videos – your Instagram following is huge because your followers love the quality content you create.
What if something were to happen to your drone? What if one day it simply didn’t return back to you? Could you afford to buy another?
With consumer camera drones ranging from $500 – $3,000 and professional camera drones ranging anywhere between $5,000 and $20,000, they’re not exactly an impulse purchase. So, this begs the question: Do you need drone insurance?
Drone Insurance – do you need it?
When it comes to Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), also known as drones, you don’t need insurance at all – at least according to the law. If you are using a drone for commercial purposes, you must be licensed and certified by the government to operate that drone to avoid getting fined.
Just because it’s not a legal requirement though, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t consider insurance for your drone.
Is your drone covered under your Home and Contents Insurance?
The good news is that most insurance company policy wordings would cover a drone in the same way they could cover your personal property or contents, that is if your drone is used for personal use only. It’s important to check the wording very carefully though and ask your insurance broker first.
The bad news is that some insurance companies will not cover drones under your home and contents insurance policy (even if it used for personal use). It’s not all bad though, because you have other options if your home insurer doesn’t agree to insure the liability of your drone, such as Public Liability insurance.
What about Travel Insurance for your drone?
Chances are you take your drone travelling, to capture all that incredible footage. Wouldn’t your travel insurance cover it then?
In many cases, no, travel insurance will not cover your drone. Some wording in travel insurance policies state that: “Liability arising out of the use or ownership by you of any aircraft, drone, firearm, waterborne craft or mechanically propelled vehicle is not covered.”
Some Travel Insurance policies do though, so talk to your broker to find out more.
Drone accidents happen
You may have been really lucky with your drone so far, but the truth is, drone accidents happen, a lot.
Many of them involve accidents when the drone runs out of power and plummets down to earth or incidents where the operator loses control of the drone. These are not all situations caused by reckless operation. Not only could you lose your drone. Some of these accidents may even injure you, others, or their property.
Public Liability and Personal Accident for drones
Can’t get your drone covered by your Home and Contents or Travel Insurance policies?
Then you may want to consider the following:
- Public Liability – coverage for third-party bodily injury or property damage as a result of a drone activity related accident.
- Personal Accident – covering you if you are injured by paying out either a lump sum or weekly benefits for temporary total disablement arising from the injury.
Drone accidents happen. Don’t risk yours not being insured.
Contact Grace Insurance in Joondalup, Malaga, Wangara, Whitfords and in the Perth northern suburbs today, to find out if your drone could be covered and which insurance you might need. We also have an office in Bondi, Sydney in New South Wales. Your local insurance broker.
If you looking for Drone Accessories Australia, please feel free to get in touch with them HERE.
