Drone insurance required for EU operator registration. Recommendations?

[Felix le Chat]

I'm planning a trip to Europe in September (specifically: Malta, which is part of the EU). I plan to bring the drone along (Mini 3 Pro), there's plenty of good stuff there to shoot.

As best I can tell, same as for other EU member nations, for Malta I need to register as a drone operator (Malta uses the standard EU/EASA rules, plus their own) and follow basic and generally (mostly) reasonable rules. But to simply create an account online with Malta's Transport agency (a pre-requisite to register, gain access to the airspace maps, and I assume other stuff), I need to provide proof of insurance (I presume Liability insurance). So I'm looking for options for that.

I'll be flying my 249-gram Mini 3 Pro for recreational purposes, not commercially (I have the 107 cert here in the USA - as well as a private pilots license for crewed airplanes, but none of that matters).

I bet others here have gone down this road, looking for required insurance before a trip to Europe. Doing a search, I've found a bunch of threads that start off the same way ("I'm from the USA, will be leaving for a trip to the EU soon, need insurance...") but I have yet to see one that actually reports back and describes successfully finding a company, buying insurance and actually flying their drone legally in Europe. If I manage all that, I promise to report back, so the next 200 guys who are stuck with the same hoop to jump through can benefit from my experience.

To summarize:

• I'm from the US
• Traveling to an EU country (Malta) that requires drone (liability) insurance
• I will be flying a sub-250 gram drone (Mini 3 Pro) recreationally, not commercially (I believe A1 subcategory). I'll get registered, get a number, stick it on the drone as required (as long as they don't make that impossible), will do my best to follow the rules, not piss anyone off, not get arrested
• I'm looking for insurance that meets the requirements but is not crazy expensive

Can anyone suggest a decent company to use for this? Thank you!

Company name: COVERDRONE. They do bespoke per-flight covers in Europe through Altitude Angels UTM gateway. I used them when I first started out, before I ended up with a dedicated annual policy.

 

[wco81]

Company name: COVERDRONE. They do bespoke per-flight covers in Europe through Altitude Angels UTM gateway. I used them when I first started out, before I ended up with a dedicated annual policy.

I just tried their site.

Their quote form requires your address but you can only input the UK and a few other locations.

So it's NOT for Americans, apparently.

I messaged them and here is their reply:

Thank you for your enquiry; however, due to financial regulations we have to be licensed to sell our products in the country in which you are domiciled, currently we can offer our products to the following regions:

1. United Kingdom
2. European Union
3. Australia
4. New Zealand
5. Canada

If your country is not in one of these regions then, unfortunately, we would be unable to assist on this occasion.

 

[Felix le Chat]

Then phone ' em from the hotel/campsite/accommodation address wherever you are, define where you want to fly on the AA map and go for it.

 

[DiscoverSpain]

I would prefer to be able to buy a reasonably-priced global drone insurance.

But it has to be priced for recreational fliers, not just professionals who can expense premiums which cost several hundred or even thousands of dollars.

take a look to Recreational Drone Insurance Policies | Coverdrone

 

[MARK (LI)]

Has anyone tried AOPA?

 

[wco81]

take a look to Recreational Drone Insurance Policies | Coverdrone

Website doesn't show the US flag, only UK and EU countries.

 

[DiscoverSpain]

Website doesn't show the US flag, only UK and EU countries.

The title of the post says: "Drone insurance required for EU operator registration. Recommendations?"

According to Recreational Drone Insurance FAQ's | Common Insurance Questions & Answers | Coverdrone Europe

"Who is able to purchase a Coverdrone policy?
Coverdrone is for commercial and recreational operators, and we can cover anyone based in the UK, EU, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. As we continue to enhance our offering, further territories will be announced shortly."