Over half of commercial users of drones in Canada have said that they have used their equipment to take photos and videos for their insurance business, a report found.
The report was prepared and released by independent full service insurance broerkage Shaw Sabey and Associates Ltd.
“As an emerging market, drones have only begun to realize their full potential,” Shaw Sabey Vice President Digital Strategy Jeffrey McCann remarked. “Clearly, drones are being taken advantage of primarily for their capacity to capture visuals otherwise only attainable through highly expensive means, or not at all – pointing out the new opportunities of this technology.”
The report noted that while drone usage for insurance applications has its merits, there are two barriers to legally operating a drone commercially, according to the regulations set by Transport Canada: a minimum of $100,000 worth of liability insurance, and a special flight permit issued by the agency.
According to data collected by the report, only 9% of the operators surveyed held a pilot’s license. On the other hand, 48% of the surveyed commercial drone users said that they had a minimum of $100,000 in liability insurance for their equipment.
“Although hobby drone insurance isn’t mandated by government, every day in the news we are seeing examples of the risks of hobby flying, for instance interfering with wildfire fighting and injuries that have occurred by these seemingly innocuous toys,” said McCann, who underlined the importance of drone operator liability.
McCann also clarified that most homeowner and business policies will not cover for drones.
“Aviation is a standard exclusion in most homeowner’s and business policies, and there is going to be a continual learning curve as this market evolves for both the insurance industry and drone pilots,” he explained.
