Initially for my
Mavic Air 1 2 years ago I took took out “FPV UK“insurance which covers me for all my leisure flying, cheap and cheerful but more than adequate for 3rd party liability. At this point with my first drone I did not take out DJI care or any other drone replacement insurance particularly after reading tales of woe when drones had been lost over water and no replacement was provided. As I got my
MA2 I looked into different options for drone replacement and settled on “Coverdrone” to insure with. I insured my
MA2 combo kit which includes all ground equipment, even if stolen from my car for full replacement for £89 per annum, later I added my
MA1 to the policy which took the annual total to £117 per annum and after Christmas I will add my
dji mini 2 not the policy. There is an excess to pay for each claim but still I and many others think its worth while.
I completed the A2CofC qualification over a 3 week period with UAVHUB, once enrolled you are given access to online resources and follow a very structured course which covers flying, weather, the law, what you can and cant do, code of conduct, relevant safety instruction, up do date drone laws as we move into the new systems 2021, detailed information about exactly what is covered when in the open categor, in
A1,
A2 and
A3. I am 75 years of age and like me if you have not studied for many years you can go at your own pace with access to go back over material. Their is an online classroom you attend until the virus allows us to return to normal when you may have to attend a single session. At the end of the course you sit an online exam of 40 questions which are all covered throughout the course.
Ther reason I took the course is after 1st January and when the first “Certified” drones appear between now and 2022 you will still follow safety rules but for example 30 mtrs not 50 mtrs from uninvolved people, in slow speed 5 mtrs, this is because the A2CoC shows a level of competency you have proved you have whereas those without will remain in the
A3 category. Also following the rules applied to the A2CoC you can charge for any work you carry out with your drone as you no longer need the higher qualifications to do so. If you decide to carry out paid work there are still jobs where you will need permission from the CAA but in my case I already have jobs lined up firstly an estate agent wants me to film property on private land from 40 feet around 4 corners and secondly a large multiple factory owner want me to map out the windows and gutters on each building on a day when the factory is closed, its much cheaper than hiring scaffolding or cranes. Having the A2CoC makes me really confident to do this. I will be contacting Coverdrone to include limited commercial work on my policy.
Sorry its long winded but I hope this helps you decide, I am really glad I did it and I just have to live long enough to benefit from it...ha ha.