Liability insurance (not homeowner's) for your drone?

[Dale D]

I would like to ask the forum population if anybody carries a liability insurance policy specifically for your drone? I know my USAA homeowner's policy covers me for liability up to my limits and I also have an umbrella policy for above these general limits. My reason for asking this is that I am trying to get a permit to fly in the country of Chile and they require proof of liability insurance.

Please note, the insurance would have to cover liability to someone the drone might injure in a foreign country.

Dale

 

[Coskier]

There are professional drone insurance carriers that will cover you for a period of time, like 2 weeks if you are in Chile for two weeks. I got some info on this from Google, but I think it was SkyWatch.AI - Drone Insurance | Liability & Hull Coverage that you are looking for.

 

[Dale D]

There are professional drone insurance carriers that will cover you for a period of time, like 2 weeks if you are in Chile for two weeks. I got some info on this from Google, but I think it was SkyWatch.AI - Drone Insurance | Liability & Hull Coverage that you are looking for.

Thanks Chester. I'll check it out.

Dale
Miami

 

[Dale D]

Thanks Chester. I'll check it out.

Dale
Miami

I sent in my questionnaire. Let's ee if they reply.

 

[vindibona1]

Dale,
I have used SkywatchAI before and found them to be pretty responsive. Here is the contact information for the marketing manager. Perhaps you can give him a call and he can help you.

 

[Dale D]

Dale,
I have used SkywatchAI before and found them to be pretty responsive. Here is the contact information for the marketing manager. Perhaps you can give him a call and he can help you.

View attachment 140875

Many thanks. Before doing the insurance I am communicating with the GCAA (aviation authorities). It's the usual stuff- 87 pages of instructions on Spanish web site, the usual barriers. Fines are heavy. May not take it. Absolutely no flying for any reason on Easter Island. This world really hates drones.

 

[vindibona1]

Many thanks. Before doing the insurance I am communicating with the GCAA (aviation authorities). It's the usual stuff- 87 pages of instructions on Spanish web site, the usual barriers. Fines are heavy. May not take it. Absolutely no flying for any reason on Easter Island. This world really hates drones.

It's not just drones, Dale.
Government(s) official gain and maintain power by generating fear, then holding power by purporting to do "something". The only powers that governments really have is the power to say "no", confiscate assets (tax) at the (figurative) point of a gun (police and judicial enforcement). Officials often place restrictions on things that they know absolutely nothing about because a single person complained, or because it looks scary- or LOOKS loud- or because they make decisions up in their heads because it sounds good to them. They have to maintain their positions of power by "doing something" even if the something they do has unintended negative consequences or wrongfully restricts liberties. You don't have to look very far to see illogic in many decisions all over the world in just about every area.

 

[Dale D]

It's not just drones, Dale.
Government(s) official gain and maintain power by generating fear, then holding power by purporting to do "something". The only powers that governments really have is the power to say "no", confiscate assets (tax) at the (figurative) point of a gun (police and judicial enforcement). Officials often place restrictions on things that they know absolutely nothing about because a single person complained, or because it looks scary- or LOOKS loud- or because they make decisions up in their heads because it sounds good to them. They have to maintain their positions of power by "doing something" even if the something they do has unintended negative consequences or wrongfully restricts liberties. You don't have to look very far to see illogic in many decisions all over the world in just about every area.

Thanks for that and I certainly "get it." As a lifetime (birth until mid 20's) Chicagoan, I really get it. I lived through the Mayor Richard Daly era. Politicians suck. and that is the nicest thing I can say. My alternatives, as usual, are to take the drone and risk it, or leave it home. The continuous charade of trying to get a permit is useless. I went through this for Kenya, Tanzania, Dubai, Oman, and U.A.E. and all resulted in the same, months long rigamarole, eather to either a "no" or simply ignoring me. That's the reason for my own self-generated philosophy of "stealth" flying. another way of saying " f- you." I watched a beautiful film of a drone tour of Easter Island on You Tube, done before the draconian rules. Not a single human was seen in the footage. Just flying over monuments.

Rant over.

Dale

 

[vindibona1]

Thanks for that and I certainly "get it." As a lifetime (birth until mid 20's) Chicagoan, I really get it. I lived through the Mayor Richard Daly era. Politicians suck. and that is the nicest thing I can say. My alternatives, as usual, are to take the drone and risk it, or leave it home. The continuous charade of trying to get a permit is useless. I went through this for Kenya, Tanzania, Dubai, Oman, and U.A.E. and all resulted in the same, months long rigamarole, eather to either a "no" or simply ignoring me. That's the reason for my own self-generated philosophy of "stealth" flying. another way of saying " f- you." I watched a beautiful film of a drone tour of Easter Island on You Tube, done before the draconian rules. Not a single human was seen in the footage. Just flying over monuments.

Rant over.

Dale

What's your "stealth flying" secret?
If push comes to shove you can always remove the registration ID and if challenged by the authorities about you flying your drone... " Drone? What drone"... as it hovers out there somewhere, where it can stay until your interaction with the "authority" is over. Then hopefully you can land it away from where you are and get it later or just let it crash land somewhere after the battery dies, collect the insurance for it and live to fly another day.

I have something like in the image below, mostly to keep hands warm while flying, but makes it hard for others to see that you have a controller in your hands.

 

[Defens]

Look at it this way, if you're not supposed to fly anyway, then Beyond Visual Line of Sight is no more "illegaller" anyway. Maybe think about taking a drone you can afford to lose and try to stay stealthy in where you choose to launch from. Feign ignorance if approached. Or print up some fancy UN facsimile of a UN International UAS license and be prepared to bluff.

Heck, even if you have all the permits in line, some customs agent that spies it might just confiscate it anyway as a perk for his boss or gift for his kid.

 

[Coskier]

What's your "stealth flying" secret?
If push comes to shove you can always remove the registration ID and if challenged by the authorities about you flying your drone... " Drone? What drone"... as it hovers out there somewhere, where it can stay until your interaction with the "authority" is over. Then hopefully you can land it away from where you are and get it later or just let it crash land somewhere after the battery dies, collect the insurance for it and live to fly another day.

I have something like in the image below, mostly to keep hands warm while flying, but makes it hard for others to see that you have a controller in your hands.

View attachment 140881

At $25, I might have to get those... https://amzn.to/3qACoo9

 

[Dale D]

At $25, I might have to get those... https://amzn.to/3qACoo9

My stealth technique is to avoid being seen by any human ,a fast take off to a height where the drone cannot be heard, and a rapid return and stowage of the drone in your car. The whole shoot should be done in less than 30 seconds . I hide in the shade out of view of any human, especially a person with a uniform. That includes lawn keepers. Most clips should not be longer than 10 second’s anyway .
Avoid people by any means necessary. Pull down side roads, fly from shadows, fly from behind rocks and walls etc
People are bad…no people should observe me.

I avoid taking off from an “H” and hand catch
and rapidly put the drone in the trunk of my car and get the hell away from there fast.

 

[vindibona1]

My stealth technique is to avoid being seen by any human ,a fast take off to a height where the drone cannot be heard, and a rapid return and stowage of the drone in your car. The whole shoot should be done in less than 30 seconds . I hide in the shade out of view of any human, especially a person with a uniform. That includes lawn keepers. Most clips should not be longer than 10 second’s anyway .
Avoid people by any means necessary. Pull down side roads, fly from shadows, fly from behind rocks and walls etc
People are bad…no people should observe me.

I avoid taking off from an “H” and hand catch
and rapidly put the drone in the trunk of my car and get the hell away from there fast.

There are a lot of good tips in there. I suppose if you're shooting video you probably won't want to be in direct LOS as you're hiding behind a rock or a tree.

 

[YVRGUY]

There are a lot of good tips in there. I suppose if you're shooting video you probably won't want to be in direct LOS as you're hiding behind a rock or a tree.

 

[Richard R]

Thanks for that and I certainly "get it." As a lifetime (birth until mid 20's) Chicagoan, I really get it. I lived through the Mayor Richard Daly era. Politicians suck. and that is the nicest thing I can say. My alternatives, as usual, are to take the drone and risk it, or leave it home. The continuous charade of trying to get a permit is useless. I went through this for Kenya, Tanzania, Dubai, Oman, and U.A.E. and all resulted in the same, months long rigamarole, eather to either a "no" or simply ignoring me. That's the reason for my own self-generated philosophy of "stealth" flying. another way of saying " f- you." I watched a beautiful film of a drone tour of Easter Island on You Tube, done before the draconian rules. Not a single human was seen in the footage. Just flying over monuments.

Rant over.

Dale

The risk I have is that you take the drone with you on an extensive multi country tour and because you don't have a permit they confiscate it at one of those borders..that would be nasty.

 

[Coskier]

My stealth technique is to avoid being seen by any human ,a fast take off to a height where the drone cannot be heard, and a rapid return and stowage of the drone in your car. The whole shoot should be done in less than 30 seconds . I hide in the shade out of view of any human, especially a person with a uniform. That includes lawn keepers. Most clips should not be longer than 10 second’s anyway .
Avoid people by any means necessary. Pull down side roads, fly from shadows, fly from behind rocks and walls etc
People are bad…no people should observe me.

I avoid taking off from an “H” and hand catch
and rapidly put the drone in the trunk of my car and get the hell away from there fast.

I was thinking more for flying in the cold in Colorado.

 

[Dale D]

The risk I have is that you take the drone with you on an extensive multi country tour and because you don't have a permit they confiscate it at one of those borders..that would be nasty.

Yes- that is always my concern too! In this case, it would only be the country of Chile, where drone flying is allowed with a permit, but not in certain areas. I think the worst case scenario would be confiscation at customs and return upon departure from the country. Chile just elected a communist president too!

(Leftists cheered and investors trembled when Gabriel Boric, a former student protester whose political coalition includes the Communist Party, won Chile’s presidential election on December 19th. Contrary to expectations, he beat José Antonio Kast, a hard-right candidate, by a hefty 11 percentage points).

I recently returned from a two country trip with my Mavic Mini 2 (Kenya and Tanzania). They never opened the luggage in either country.

Dale

 

[vindibona1]

The risk I have is that you take the drone with you on an extensive multi country tour and because you don't have a permit they confiscate it at one of those borders..that would be nasty.

Having lived in Mexico with some different laws, particularly drone laws, I don't think I'd be afraid of confiscation at the borders in either direction. It's not illegal to OWN drones in almost every country. It's the flying that can get you in trouble. Even then, I wouldn't be as concerned about the drone's confiscation if properly insured, reporting it as lost or stolen, as I would the "mordida" (corruption). You never know who is going to challenge you and then threaten you with all sorts of things, which is even more frightening if you don't know the language. I would still be extra careful to obey they flying rules, even if the countries have different rules for foreigners. Dale has provided a few excellent strategies. Being as stealth as possible seems like a good starting strategy in areas where you don't want to call attention to one's self.

 

[Dale D]

Having lived in Mexico with some different laws, particularly drone laws, I don't think I'd be afraid of confiscation at the borders in either direction. It's not illegal to OWN drones in almost every country. It's the flying that can get you in trouble. Even then, I wouldn't be as concerned about the drone's confiscation if properly insured, reporting it as lost or stolen, as I would the "mordida" (corruption). You never know who is going to challenge you and then threaten you with all sorts of things, which is even more frightening if you don't know the language. I would still be extra careful to obey they flying rules, even if the countries have different rules for foreigners. Dale has provided a few excellent strategies. Being as stealth as possible seems like a good starting strategy in areas where you don't want to call attention to one's self.

So Vindibona- you have changed your avatar. Guess you are no longer skiing?

I have learned that stealth is the only way to fly a drone unless you are fortunate to live in these wide open mountainous spaces or farmlands. For my travels, flying a drone has become almost a threat to my freedom, risking fines and imprisonment in places like Muscat,Oman where the fine is over $10,000 and prison starts at one year.

My next anticipated trip (unless canceled by the country) would be to the high desert of Chile, the Atacama. I plan to be with the lodge's group during their planned activities, but have planned two off days on my own with a rental car, where I plan to drive to remove locations, out of the sight of human beings. The country requests impossible feats to fly a drone. The application is 87 pages in Spanish only, and required insurance liability policy, proof of training, etc. etc. If I even see another human, the drone stays in the case.

 

[vindibona1]

So Vindibona- you have changed your avatar. Guess you are no longer skiing?

Just not this year. For the last 17 years of so I've taught kids from 8-18 (mostly advanced skiers) but I'm not going near those little germ factories this year considering my current medical condition, combined with age. Perhaps I'll be healthy enough later in the season I can go skiing with our kids and grandkids in Vermont.