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Tag Archives: drones

Drones? Let’s talk drone insurance.

Posted on December 20, 2017 by Scott Smith

Let’s talk drones.

Drones, now that you have one what do you do with it? There are only so many videos of your yard or your roof you can take. So you start taking videos for other people, making money by making videos.

Being Paid.  Good idea, but if you are being paid to fly your drone you will be considered commercial by the FAA and the insurance underwriters.

No liability coverage. That means the liability that is included with your home owners insurance or any liability coverage you may have as a member of the Academy of Model Aeronautics will not cover your commercial flying.

That’s where we come in.  We have been specializing in the aviation insurance business for over 30 years.

Aviation Insurance Companies. And many of the aviation insurance underwriters are providing coverage for the drone industry (and have been for a number of years).

The basics of drone insurance.

Most important coverage you will need is the liability coverage for property damage and bodily injury.

What is liability? If you cause an accident, or have an accident that damages a third parties property or injures someone, liability is the coverage you will need.

Why do you need it? Often a company that hires you will require you to have liability insurance.

Premiums

Premium averages around $700 for 1 million dollar policy for property damage and/or bodily injury. Lower and higher liability limits are available.

Drone hull coverage. If you need the drone itself insured, I would call that drone hull coverage. As a guideline, drone hull coverage rates average 5% of the equipment’s value with 5% deductibles.

Example – a $3,000 hull value for the drone and camera would be about $150 in premium (plus the liability of $700) for a total annual premium of $850.

Should you buy hull coverage? Whether you buy hull coverage kind of depends on the value of your equipment and what you are willing to risk.  Many opt for the liability only option.

Premiums are average and can change based on the pilots experience, type of drone and how it is used.

Do you need a 333 No you don’t need the 333 Exemption, Part 107 or a pilot license to buy insurance. Although each company has different requirements and those requirements could include additional training, naming a licensed pilot (107 or other), copy of your 333 filing, etc.

Check out my YouTube video here.

drones

Posted in drone insurance, drones | Tags: Aircraft insurance, ama, aviation insurance, drones, model aircraft |

Drones – New engine

Posted on April 22, 2016 by Scott Smith

Drones – new engine

Drones – new engine – Check out @atlantahobby’s Tweet: https://twitter.com/atlantahobby/status./722938109747425280?s=09

Posted in drones | Tags: drones |

Using the FAA B4UFLY drone app

Posted on April 19, 2016 by Scott Smith
B4Uflyscreen

Using the FAA B4UFLY drone app.

First off, if you are not using the FAA B4UFLY drone app (https://www.faa.gov/uas/b4ufly/) on your smart phone or tablet, go download it. I understand that the app is not definitive answer to where you can fly, but it is a nice way to get a quick reference.

A friend of ours asked if we could take aerial video of a small gathering of people she is organizing. Since we do not have our 333 Exemption yet (should be soon…), we can’t do anything for hire but thought it would be a great way to get more experience.

In our case I entered the address of the field our friend wanted the video taken and let the system pick out the location and overlaid the nearest airports.  In this case we were outside the five-mile radius for a commercial airport but inside the five miles for a small private field, although, that small field doesn’t exist anymore. So the data might be a bit behind, but at least it reminded us where we should be concerned.

FYI, I looked at a couple other airports that I knew were gone and they were still on the map, so it is important to know your area. Don’t rely just on this application.

The next step was to get permission from the facility owner and potentially the city.  I called the city and they informed me that they are relatively unprepared for drone activity, but they have attended a few conventions and training programs where drones have been discussed. At this time the city has a few model aircraft rules in place which will cover the operation of drones for the time being.  Those rules do not allow models on public city land or parks.

But since we were flying on private ground we would need to talk to the owners. Will let you know how the whole thing goes, weather permitting.

Take a look at the screen short for the B4UFLY app. The purple pin is where the address put us compared the two airports. Kind of cool

Posted in aircraft, aircraft insurance, drones | Tags: airports, B4UFLY, drones, FAA |
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