Some other posters mentioned drone insurance from State Farm. Following is what a local agent found out and reported to me. A Personal Articles Policy which can be purchased as a stand alone policy sounds like a great deal and is the way I will be going.
A drone used only for personal use can be covered by our Personal Articles Policy. It’s already covered by our home/renters insurance but, the deductible is usually fairly high ($1,000, $2,500) so, you may not be able to collect much on a claim. We treat a drone used for personal use the same as other items of personal property.
Our Personal Articles Policy can be set up without any deductible. The minimum premium is $60. If you already have a Personal Articles Policy, say on the diamond ring you bought yourself, it may only cost around $20 to add a $1,500 drone. Otherwise, if you only insure the drone on the Personal Articles Policy - $60 per year.
I was told we won’t insure a drone which weighs over 55 lbs. on the Personal Articles Policy. It would still be covered under our home/renters policy but, you have that darn deductible. As far as things not covered: wear & tear, mechanical breakdown. If it’s sudden and accidental, it’s probably covered. The PA would cover the drone regardless of if its partially damaged or a total loss. The drone flying off never to be found again or taking a swim with the fishes would be covered by the PA. You get what it would cost to repair or replace it for but, not more than we agree to insured it for.
A note on filing claims, with the current underwriting environment I would venture a guess you could have one claim on your drone under a Personal Articles Policy and then be done. We (and most companies) probably would not continue the Personal Articles Policy after having a claim. Things change but, that’s my current guess.
It will be interesting to see how this evolves. We used to cover smart phones on the Personal Articles Policy when they first came out. Until the claim frequency went through the roof. No can do smart phones anymore.
Some insurance companies add the Personal Articles policy as a rider on home/renters insurance. With those companies you would need to have their home/renters insurance first to then cover the drone. Other companies (like SF), issue the PA policy as a separate policy. With these companies you could buy just the PA as a standalone policy. However, as you can imagine any self-respecting insurance agent is going to go after all your insurance.
Liability coverage is up in the air (ha! get it? I crack myself up). There is no liability coverage from the Personal Articles Policy. It only covers damage to the item insured. Liability coverage extending from a home/renters policy is questionable. There is an exclusion for aircraft but we don’t define an aircraft. Leaves the door cracked open to deny a liability claim and may be open to interpretation. If I were into the craft I would get liability coverage somewhere else to be sure I was covered for damage or injury I caused using the drone and not rely on my home/renters insurance.
Interesting subject. Let me know if you need anything else. This is where I ought to put in waiver, hold harmless and the need to consult an attorney type of wording. But, I’m feeling lazy.
A drone used only for personal use can be covered by our Personal Articles Policy. It’s already covered by our home/renters insurance but, the deductible is usually fairly high ($1,000, $2,500) so, you may not be able to collect much on a claim. We treat a drone used for personal use the same as other items of personal property.
Our Personal Articles Policy can be set up without any deductible. The minimum premium is $60. If you already have a Personal Articles Policy, say on the diamond ring you bought yourself, it may only cost around $20 to add a $1,500 drone. Otherwise, if you only insure the drone on the Personal Articles Policy - $60 per year.
I was told we won’t insure a drone which weighs over 55 lbs. on the Personal Articles Policy. It would still be covered under our home/renters policy but, you have that darn deductible. As far as things not covered: wear & tear, mechanical breakdown. If it’s sudden and accidental, it’s probably covered. The PA would cover the drone regardless of if its partially damaged or a total loss. The drone flying off never to be found again or taking a swim with the fishes would be covered by the PA. You get what it would cost to repair or replace it for but, not more than we agree to insured it for.
A note on filing claims, with the current underwriting environment I would venture a guess you could have one claim on your drone under a Personal Articles Policy and then be done. We (and most companies) probably would not continue the Personal Articles Policy after having a claim. Things change but, that’s my current guess.
It will be interesting to see how this evolves. We used to cover smart phones on the Personal Articles Policy when they first came out. Until the claim frequency went through the roof. No can do smart phones anymore.
Some insurance companies add the Personal Articles policy as a rider on home/renters insurance. With those companies you would need to have their home/renters insurance first to then cover the drone. Other companies (like SF), issue the PA policy as a separate policy. With these companies you could buy just the PA as a standalone policy. However, as you can imagine any self-respecting insurance agent is going to go after all your insurance.
Liability coverage is up in the air (ha! get it? I crack myself up). There is no liability coverage from the Personal Articles Policy. It only covers damage to the item insured. Liability coverage extending from a home/renters policy is questionable. There is an exclusion for aircraft but we don’t define an aircraft. Leaves the door cracked open to deny a liability claim and may be open to interpretation. If I were into the craft I would get liability coverage somewhere else to be sure I was covered for damage or injury I caused using the drone and not rely on my home/renters insurance.
Interesting subject. Let me know if you need anything else. This is where I ought to put in waiver, hold harmless and the need to consult an attorney type of wording. But, I’m feeling lazy.
