Need DJI Insurance if have State Farm?

[DSGDSG]

My bird is supposed to arrive tomorrow. In the meantime I'm trying to get all my ducks in a row. I see I can possibly get insurance through State Farm in my state but since I have to make the decision on the DJI program so soon after getting my product I'm curious if it's an unnecessary redundancy if I buy a policy through State Farm?

 

[skrrrr]

You'll be all good with just State Farm

 

[Former Member]

I have both State Farm and DJI. State Farm for flyaways and total loss. Refresh for repairs under $300.

 

[tcope]

It would be redundant. The SF Personal Article floater will pay for repairs or replacement for crashes, theft and other damages. It does not have a deductible and is about $60 year. Refresh is more expensive and less coverage.

Also, $60 buys about $2100 worth of coverage so you can add other things at no additional charge.

 

[TrayBoz]

I have both. Here's why:

What happens if my drone flies away or I crash it next month: State Farm buys me a new one for $0 deductible. They realize that they just spent $1000 on me for a one time payment of $60. They realize that this is a horrible business practice and cancel my policy and/or don't renew it. By then it's too late to get DJI refresh. I KNOW I'm going to crash or lose my drone SOMEDAY.

At least this way I get TWO get-out-of-jail free cards instead of just one. (THREE, if you count the 2 DJI Refresh replacements). State Farm will probably let me renew my policy EVERY YEAR unless or until I make a claim. DJI's coverage runs out after one year, period.

I will use DJI Refresh first, if I can recover the drone, and use State Farm as a last resort, or after my DJI Refresh has expired in a year.

I would bet my last set of props that State Farm is going to RAISE their insurance rates for drones SOON. Think about it, they've probably covered VERY FEW drones in the history of the company, and paid very few claims. You KNOW that they've suddenly had a mad rush on drone policies in the past year, and that's just going to continue increasing exponentially. And you know that suddenly they're probably shelling out $1000 left and right for lost/totaled drones. They almost HAVE to raise the rates soon. OR drop your coverage completely once you've made your first claim on a lost mavic.

Insurance companies are in business to MAKE money, not lose it. It won't be long until the math catches up to them.

 

[Former Member]

I have both. Here's why:

What happens if my drone flies away or I crash it next month: State Farm buys me a new one for $0 deductible. They realize that they just spent $1000 on me for a one time payment of $60. They realize that this is a horrible business practice and cancel my policy and/or don't renew it. By then it's too late to get DJI refresh. I KNOW I'm going to crash or lose my drone SOMEDAY.

At least this way I get TWO get-out-of-jail free cards instead of just one. (THREE, if you count the 2 DJI Refresh replacements). State Farm will probably let me renew my policy EVERY YEAR unless or until I make a claim. DJI's coverage runs out after one year, period.

I will use DJI Refresh first, if I can recover the drone, and use State Farm as a last resort, or after my DJI Refresh has expired in a year.

I would bet my last set of props that State Farm is going to RAISE their insurance rates for drones SOON. Think about it, they've probably covered VERY FEW drones in the history of the company, and paid very few claims. You KNOW that they've suddenly had a mad rush on drone policies in the past year, and that's just going to continue increasing exponentially. And you know that suddenly they're probably shelling out $1000 left and right for lost/totaled drones. They almost HAVE to raise the rates soon. OR drop your coverage completely once you've made your first claim on a lost mavic.

Insurance companies are in business to MAKE money, not lose it. It won't be long until the math catches up to them.

All very good points which is why I have both.

That being said, how much would the average Mavic owner be willing to pay if State Farm did raise the rates? In that case, i would buy State Farm only, even if it cost $300 to cover the drone, as long as they didnt cancel me after one claim. But since rates for both refresh and State Farm are low, why not take advantage of both?

 

[tcope]

I have both. Here's why:

What happens if my drone flies away or I crash it next month: State Farm buys me a new one for $0 deductible. They realize that they just spent $1000 on me for a one time payment of $60. They realize that this is a horrible business practice and cancel my policy and/or don't renew it. By then it's too late to get DJI refresh. I KNOW I'm going to crash or lose my drone SOMEDAY.

The policy with SF would be good for a year or until they paid out the policy limits within that year. Refresh from DJI is good for one year. The PAF from SF is $60. Refresh is $100.

If you have a claim under the PAF the fee is still just the $60
If you have a claim under Refresh your cost is $100 plus $80 or $180
Another claim under Refresh is going to cost you another $129 and you are done. No more coverage.

At least this way I get TWO get-out-of-jail free cards instead of just one. (THREE, if you count the 2 DJI Refresh replacements). State Farm will probably let me renew my policy EVERY YEAR unless or until I make a claim. DJI's coverage runs out after one year, period.

Simply get $2100 worth of PAF coverage for $60 and SF would need to replace the Mavic twice before they could end the policy before the year was up. If you had two claims with SF you cost would be $60. If you had two claims with DJI your cost would be $300

I would bet my last set of props that State Farm is going to RAISE their insurance rates for drones SOON. Think about it, they've probably covered VERY FEW drones in the history of the company, and paid very few claims. You KNOW that they've suddenly had a mad rush on drone policies in the past year, and that's just going to continue increasing exponentially. And you know that suddenly they're probably shelling out $1000 left and right for lost/totaled drones. They almost HAVE to raise the rates soon. OR drop your coverage completely once you've made your first claim on a lost mavic.

Very possible. It's also possible that SF does not know their agents are writing drones under PAFs and will stop offering this coverage on drones. However, insurance companies have been offering PAFs for hundreds of years. Look at the number of people with expensive cameras. I'm sure SF has seen a ton of claims on those.

Its also possible that DJI is _way_ over charging and making a lot of money off there policy. So SF is still able to offer to cover drones for $60.

[

Insurance companies are in business to MAKE money, not lose it. It won't be long until the math catches up to them.

Is DJI not in business to make money? If DJI was the only one you could go to to have your Mavic repaired they could afford to over-charge as much as they wanted.

You have some very good points.

 

[DSGDSG]

I have both. Here's why:

What happens if my drone flies away or I crash it next month: State Farm buys me a new one for $0 deductible. They realize that they just spent $1000 on me for a one time payment of $60. They realize that this is a horrible business practice and cancel my policy and/or don't renew it. By then it's too late to get DJI refresh. I KNOW I'm going to crash or lose my drone SOMEDAY.

At least this way I get TWO get-out-of-jail free cards instead of just one. (THREE, if you count the 2 DJI Refresh replacements). State Farm will probably let me renew my policy EVERY YEAR unless or until I make a claim. DJI's coverage runs out after one year, period.

I will use DJI Refresh first, if I can recover the drone, and use State Farm as a last resort, or after my DJI Refresh has expired in a year.

I would bet my last set of props that State Farm is going to RAISE their insurance rates for drones SOON. Think about it, they've probably covered VERY FEW drones in the history of the company, and paid very few claims. You KNOW that they've suddenly had a mad rush on drone policies in the past year, and that's just going to continue increasing exponentially. And you know that suddenly they're probably shelling out $1000 left and right for lost/totaled drones. They almost HAVE to raise the rates soon. OR drop your coverage completely once you've made your first claim on a lost mavic.

Insurance companies are in business to MAKE money, not lose it. It won't be long until the math catches up to them.

Hard to argue with that. I suppose I'll buy both and hope I never need either just like all the rest of the insurance policies I own.

 

[erkme73]

Keep in mind that filing a claim with SF will count as a loss recorded in the Lexis/Nexis ChoicePoint risk rating database. That means if you shop around for home insurance, you may likely no longer qualify for the best rates. Per an Orlando SF agent, when asked specifically about the potential for increased premiums as a result of filing a claim:

A personal articles policy (PAP) policy is considered a “fire” policy. Under the fire category is home, PAP, and inland marine policies. If there is a claim on any of these policies, it is recorded in Lexus Nexus and does affect your future rating if you intend to get any of those policies started as new business.

With State Farm (I can’t speak for other companies) if you do a PAP claim during a time where you have an existing home policy, it will not affect your rate. As I mentioned before, however, if you start a new home policy, it does have the potential to affect that.

Any claim on any property policy could be considered during underwriting for rating purposes by any carrier, so it’s no different than having an auto claim and then shopping your auto policy after.
​

I'm not saying that SF isn't a good option, but make sure you consider all aspects - go in with eyes-wide-open. Since the ChoicePoint database is accessible to ALL insurers, any claim recorded there can affect future rates even if your coverage is with another company.

If you are happy with your current home/life insurer, and you don't shop around at renewals, then there's probably little downside to a SF police and claim. But, if you're like me, and have broker research the best rates every year, this is NOT the way to go.

The DJI Refresh option is like term insurance. Any claims against it are not recorded anywhere.

 

[vertigo235]

I have both. Here's why:

What happens if my drone flies away or I crash it next month: State Farm buys me a new one for $0 deductible. They realize that they just spent $1000 on me for a one time payment of $60. They realize that this is a horrible business practice and cancel my policy and/or don't renew it. By then it's too late to get DJI refresh. I KNOW I'm going to crash or lose my drone SOMEDAY.

At least this way I get TWO get-out-of-jail free cards instead of just one. (THREE, if you count the 2 DJI Refresh replacements). State Farm will probably let me renew my policy EVERY YEAR unless or until I make a claim. DJI's coverage runs out after one year, period.

I will use DJI Refresh first, if I can recover the drone, and use State Farm as a last resort, or after my DJI Refresh has expired in a year.

I would bet my last set of props that State Farm is going to RAISE their insurance rates for drones SOON. Think about it, they've probably covered VERY FEW drones in the history of the company, and paid very few claims. You KNOW that they've suddenly had a mad rush on drone policies in the past year, and that's just going to continue increasing exponentially. And you know that suddenly they're probably shelling out $1000 left and right for lost/totaled drones. They almost HAVE to raise the rates soon. OR drop your coverage completely once you've made your first claim on a lost mavic.

Insurance companies are in business to MAKE money, not lose it. It won't be long until the math catches up to them.

You will still be able to get DJI Refresh with the new Drone State Farm paid for though. Becauss it would be a new purchase as far as DJI knows.

 

[TrayBoz]

You will still be able to get DJI Refresh with the new Drone State Farm paid for though. Becauss it would be a new purchase as far as DJI knows.

True. Good point. Since my last post on this topic, I've heard that State Farm is going to be changing their drone policy procedures. (shocker) They are probably going to remove it from the Personal Articles Policy and give it a new designation and separate policy - for a significantly higher premium, I'm sure. Or, if they do keep it under the PAP, they will just raise the premium moving forward.

 

[vertigo235]

Well on that note I called state farm today and they said they would cover my new Mavic pro for $25 a year all risk.

Sold

 

[vertigo235]

I'm in NC where the insurance regulations are typically pro consumer though and it usually takes longer for newer more "modern" policy types are accepted by the DOI.