Drone accidents, mystery sightings spark insurance concerns

The event happened on the heels of several “mystery drone sightings” around the eastern U.S. that caused fear and worry about where they came from, who controlled them, and their purpose. Officials received more than 5,000 tips about these sightings. Of those tips, only 100 were reportedly under investigation. Most were airplanes, either commercial or private, and there are many that were also commercial, hobbyist, or even law enforcement drones. No anomalies were identified.

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However, the occurrences raised questions: If a drone goes out of control and injures a person or damages property, whether it’s a hobby drone or a drone used commercially, is there any coverage?

Drone insurance update

Several years ago, drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), were the hot new technology. It took a bit to determine how to ensure drones were being used safely, and that the general public wasn’t at risk from errant drones falling from the sky, running into people or taking unauthorized videos on the sly. We have a variety of articles that we’d written as drones were coming into vogue listed below.

Since then, the FAA has solidified regulations for drone users, and there are over 1 million registered drones in the United States alone. Drones may be used for strictly recreational purposes, or they may be used for non-recreational flight such as roof inspections, real estate sales, taking photos for a nonprofit agency, or taking pictures of a school team to post on the school website, and others. Recreational flying is considered flying the drone for your own personal enjoyment. Commercial flying is allowed for drones under 55 pounds and the rules of 14 CFR Part 107 apply.

Over the past several years a number of endorsements have been created for the commercial liability forms, commercial property forms, the inland marine forms, and the homeowners forms. These endorsements outline what is and isn’t covered regarding unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones.

First, “unmanned aircraft” must be defined. The CG 00 01, CA 00 01, and CP 00 10, all use this definition:
“Unmanned aircraft” means an aircraft that is not:
1. Designed;
2. Manufactured; or
3. Modified after manufacture; to be controlled directly by a person from within or on the aircraft.

Neither the homeowners policy nor the personal auto policy provide a definition of unmanned aircraft, although the homeowners policy does provide for model or hobby aircraft not used or designed to carry people or cargo as follows: “Aircraft means any contrivance used or designed for flight except model or hobby aircraft not used or designed to carry people or cargo.”

The slideshow above provides an overview of the insurance coverages, waivers and exclusions that apply to drones.