As in my other post:
I think State Farm or other drone loss coverage might be a better deal in many respects. Lose your drone in a tree? Sorry, Refresh wont cover it. Drone decided to become a submarine and AWOL at sea? Sorry, Refresh needs a carcass to Refresh. For most people, not being able to recover a lost drone will cost them $800 to replace and DJI isnt going to help you there if it was OP error. So, add this up.
You lose your drone due to flyaway or it's just nonrecoverable.
DJI Refresh $99 Valid for 1 year only and nonrenewable
Lost drone $999
Total = $1098 and all you have left in your hands is a controller and USB cable.
Ok, so let's say you only need a repair? Broken gimbal, or other OP induced damage. Just send it in to DJI. Wait a few weeks and receive a few ambiguous emails. Then you get a bill for the full damage. But, oh, never mind that, you then get another bill for the Refresh amount. You pay it. Within a few weeks after that you get your drone back all fixed. Wrong, you get a refurbished drone that might have problems of its own and have a 6 or 7 month old manufacturing date on it. Someone else's nightmare just became yours. You can give DJI a call and ask them why they gave you a refurb when your drone was brand new? It's in the fine print, my friend.
A much better, more buyer friendly scenario would be with State Farm.
State Farm $60 per annum with $0 deductible. Renewable annually.
Lost drone $0 out of pocket
If you have existing insurance with State Farm, you can still buy the drone insurance as a standalone instead of adding to your existing homeowners, thus lower deductible being $0. If you have not changed insurance companies, and have no intention of doing so in the next 2 years, filing a claim with State Farm will have zero affect on your other insurance rates. I have had the same insurance company for my car and home for 15 years and have no intention of changing. If you do decide to change, and have made a $400 claim, you are still going to shop around for the best rate, despite your measly $400 claim you will still be able to find insurance because of how competitive the insurance market is.
Here's how a State Farm claim would go:
Oops, my drone crashed and it will cost $400 to fix. Ok just bring it in to any shop that repairs DJI products, and they will give you an estimate in a few days. Email the estimate over to State Farm. 2 days later you will have a check in your hand for the damage amount. No ambiguous emails, no runarounds, no casting blame, no having to deal with a disorganized mess of a company. You go pay the repair shop and you are flying again in a few days in the same drone you gave them. Believe it or not, many Mavic pilots are sentimentally attached to their drones, and getting their own drone back feels like redemption.
What if your drone is lost? Up a tree and you cant find it? Out to sea and never came back? Give State Farm a call and you will have a check in 2 days for the full amount of a new one. Believe it.
So, is DJI Refresh a bad idea? Yes it is, but if you live in California, and cant get other drone damage insurance, you might have no choice. But if you live in an area that has other options available, that would be my recommendation. My first Mavic had Refresh and State Farm. Live and learn.
