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Need help regarding commercial drone flying

mpdrone2222

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Sep 15, 2021
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So I have a Mavic mini and have been posting a few videos recently which have caught the eye of local businesses and now I’m getting local businesses contacting me asking if I can do a video for them using my drone and they will pay me in exchange. I’m based in the UK and am fully CAA approved but I don’t really know if I need to now get insurance or anything to fly for payment? If anyone has information about this please let me know in the comments, i keep getting contradicting results off the general internet.
 
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First off WELCOME to the forum!!

Congrats on getting potential clients seeking you out. That's one of the toughest parts of "Photography Business" is gaining clients willing to pay for your services.

While Liability Insurance may not be required where you are located, (Not sure as I'm in the US) it's a VERY wise option from a business and personal stand point. UAS (aka drones) are a very High Profile activity and any incident is likely to get a great deal of attention and scrutiny. Cover your Assets . . . .

Many of my clients (again I'm in the US) require a MIN of $1M in Liability Coverage to even start to bid on projects. We carry $2M plus an extra rider to cover aircraft replacement (Hull Coverage is what they call it here) just in case.
 
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welcome to the forum
there is some confusion as to the requirements for commercial use in the UK since the new rules came in ,yes it is possible to fly your drone as a hobbyist for monetary reward now ,such as putting stuff out on the internet ,or selling the odd picture to someone
but to operate commercially you will need to obtain your GVC certificate which replaces the old PFCO ,and also you will need special liability insurance to cover you in case of an accident,you will also be required to keep an up to date log of your flights
 
welcome to the forum
there is some confusion as to the requirements for commercial use in the UK since the new rules came in ,yes it is possible to fly your drone as a hobbyist for monetary reward now ,such as putting stuff out on the internet ,or selling the odd picture to someone
but to operate commercially you will need to obtain your GVC certificate which replaces the old PFCO ,and also you will need special liability insurance to cover you in case of an accident,you will also be required to keep an up to date log of your flights
Great thank you that makes things seem a lot less daunting. When you mentioned special liability insurance would the website I’ve linked in the photo below be classed as that?
 

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that type of insurance is great for recreational flying ,and another way to get it is to join something like FPVUK or the BMFA which include third party insurance as part of their membership for commercial cover the minimum requirement for third party cover is 0.75 million Special Drawing Rights which is approximately £750.00 ,this is a specialist cover
 
I hear the big question is regarding insurance. YES, you need it. I'm not sure if you can purchase daily/weekly/monthly insurance coverage there as you can in the US. But when I fly commercially I always get temporary coverage... AND BILL IT TO THE CLIENT. That way I can quote my hourly rate, but quote the insurance as an additional line-item fee which I don't have to eat and have never been challenged about it as it costs around $50 USD which nobody squabbles about. Do that 20 times in a year and you've just kept $1000 in your pocket. In two years it finances your next drone. Just sayin'.
 
The magic name for the insurance you want to seek is an "umbrella" policy. At least here in the US, it appends coverage to your personal liability insurance (usually coming from you home-owner's policy), the advantage being you aren't double paying for the base coverage and umbrella's are rather inexpensive and written properly umbrellas extend to commercial liability. But chat with a competent agent that deals with commercial/business coverage and they should be able to direct you to the best solution. And as others have said, $1 million is the minimum to consider since that is what most business RFQ's (requests for bids/quotes/proposals) require around here - probably similar in other places - but check.
 
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