Drones used to be a niche piece of equipment, but many photographers and videographers now have one in their kit bag. You might purchase a drone thinking it’s just another piece of equipment to help you do your job, but drones are considered an aviation risk.
Aviation risks are often excluded from general public liability policies. The policy we arrange explicitly says:
What we do not cover. Aviation. The ownership, maintenance, possession, use of or entrustment to others of any aircraft, Motor Vehicle or watercraft owned or operated by or rented or loaned to You. Use includes operation and Loading or Unloading.
Because of this, specialist cover for drones should be sought in addition to a general public liability policy.
Can With Jack cover this?
We do have an unmanned aerial vehicle endorsement we can add to your policy for an additional premium.
When buying insurance you will be asked if you perform any work over 5 metres in height. You’d disclose your drone usage at this point and we’d collect some additional information.
The unmanned aerial vehicle endorsement extends the public liability policy to cover bodily injury and property damage caused by a drone. However, this endorsement does have specific conditions.
- coverage is limited to £250,000 even if your main liability is higher. Some venues ask for a higher level of cover. Our endorsement would not meet those requirements
- claims expenses are included within the £250,000 limit. This means the limit has to cover both the claim itself and the associated defence and claims costs
- you must have appropriate permissions from the Civil Aviation Authority and have the competency required to operate a drone
- a risk assessment must be carried out prior to every flight
There are also exclusions included in the endorsement. I’ll share a few of them below. A claim would be rejected if the drone is flown:
- within a radius of 50 meters of any person, vessel, vehicle or structure. This could be problematic for estate agent or property photographers who will by flying close to structures
- within 150 metres of any congested area or an organised open-air assembly of more than 1,000 persons. This could be an issue for those capturing festivals or sporting events
- outside of the operator’s visual line of sight during a flight
You might be thinking, “that’s a lot of exclusions!”. You’re not wrong. The insurer we work with isn’t a drone specialist so any add-on to accommodate aerial vehicles would be limited.
I need more comprehensive drone insurance
While we do highlight to customers that there is an endorsement available, our preferred method is to refer customers to a drone-specific insurer.
This is because coverage is more comprehensive, doesn’t include as many exclusions and could be more cost effective. Drone-specific insurers can offer broader cover, such as flying closer to people or structures.
We don’t receive any commission or affiliate payment for referrals, but we point customers towards Moonrock and Coverdrone.
The majority of our customers use drones at weddings, events or for estate agent promotional material meaning a commercial use policy would be suitable for the majority of freelancers.
You don’t need to run a drone business to need commercial drone insurance. It’s considered commercial use if using drones as part of paid work.
Do I still need general public liability insurance?
They’re two different things.
Drone insurance is for aviation-related risks, which your general public liability policy doesn’t cover. Your general public liability policy will continue to cover the non-aviation aspects of your work.
Think of things like a customer or member of the public tripping over your equipment, or accidentally damaging a venue’s property while you’re shooting there. Basically, the everyday non-aviation bodily injury and property damage risks that come with your work.
