Unpleasant surprise when making a claim for fly-away coverage with DJI care plus

[Steve F]

Unfortunately about a month back while flying my MA2 along a river in a heavily forested and mountainous area, I ended up losing my drone on the far side of the river. The best that I can gather is that it struck a power line coming out through the trees that I did not see. After a couple of hours of fruitless attempts to find it with the find-my-drone unsuccessfully, and on another visit spending a half day hiking through some steep forest to reach the other side, and cutting across some questionable property to reach the last reported location, I was still unsuccessful in finding it. It perhaps is stuck up in one of the large pine trees, fell into some deep brush, or who knows? What I do know is that when it first went missing it reported a gimbal error, one of the motors was unable to rotate, but it was still communicating with me. Unfortunately due to the loud noise of the river, I could not hear (or see) it when activating the flash-and-beep function with the find-my-drone capability.

So I filed a claim with DJI given the drone was covered by the DJI care+ package that I refreshed back in May. After waiting a week and not hearing from them, I sent an email and got back the following response:
...
And you mentioned $69 is DJI Care replacement fee. But your DJI Care expired, now DJI Care plus is valid. And you drone was lost, you can only use DJI Care plus to cover the flyaway to replace.

The normal replacement fee for DJI Care Plus is $59, the fee use DJI Care plus to cover the flyaway for replacement is $399.

DJI Care policy for Mavic air 2: Buy DJI Care Refresh (Mavic Air 2) - DJI Store
DJI Care Plus policy: https://terra-1-g.djicdn.com/851d20...908/DJI Care Refresh Plus Replacement Fee.pdf

That is. Kindly pay it in time.

Thanks for your understanding and cooperation.
...

Yikes! $399 to replace the drone!
When I read the original description for the DJI Care Refresh Plus program, it wasn't obvious that this fee would be so high. Especially since I had used this the previous year to repair damage to my MA2 on a previous incident and only paid $69. The production description as given here (DJI Care Refresh Plus - Information - Support - DJI)
does not make it obvious:

DJI CARE REFRESH +​

With You Every Flight

DJI Care Refresh + offers you the chance to renew your Care Refresh by extending its coverage for one more year, providing one more opportunity to replace your damaged DJI product for a small additional charge. Furthermore, the warranty* period of your product will be extended by at least 12 months.
...

Going on ebay and craigslist, it would appear that paying $399 to replace my MA2 is just below the break-even point vs. just going out and buying a used one, or just using this as an opportunity to move on and upgrade to a different drone?

 

[JLinSobe]

Ouch, thanks for sharing.
That is the new warranty + fee + drone expected DJI value.

I guess there is a penalty for first time use.
Moral of the story,
skip the plus policy if a claim was already paid??

 

[Steve F]

Ouch, thanks for sharing.
That is the new warranty + fee + drone expected DJI value.

I guess there is a penalty for first time use.
Moral of the story,
skip the plus policy if a claim was already paid??

Actually, I think overall the DJI care policy (and plus refresh) are worth it. I just had the wrong impression of the replacement cost in the event of a fly-away. To me, I think their advertising for the Care Plus policy was a bit misleading. You really have to dig deep to find out the details on the replacement cost information.
Given my new understanding, If I end up getting another one with this policy, I would be more cautious about the types of flights that I make that could be difficult to retrieve in the event of a crash under riskier situations.

 

[tlswift58]

Actually, I think overall the DJI care policy (and plus refresh) are worth it. I just had the wrong impression of the replacement cost in the event of a fly-away. To me, I think their advertising for the Care Plus policy was a bit misleading. You really have to dig deep to find out the details on the replacement cost information.
Given my new understanding, If I end up getting another one with this policy, I would be more cautious about the types of flights that I make that could be difficult to retrieve in the event of a crash under riskier situations.

Go with a 3rd Party like State Farm Drone Insurance and you're covered all around with all the DJI hassles. Probably cheaper than DJI as well.

If anyone can get a 3rd party insurance, WHY would you get the more expensive and less covered DJI Refresh? Even if it did cost $25 or whatever more than DJI Refresh, that is well worth not dealing with DJI and all that. Simply call the provider, state you lost your drone, fill out a claim and get your money to buy a new one or whatever.

 

[1TenaciousG]

Go with a 3rd Party like State Farm Drone Insurance and you're covered all around with all the DJI hassles. Probably cheaper than DJI as well.

If anyone can get a 3rd party insurance, WHY would you get the more expensive and less covered DJI Refresh? Even if it did cost $25 or whatever more than DJI Refresh, that is well worth not dealing with DJI and all that. Simply call the provider, state you lost your drone, fill out a claim and get your money to buy a new one or whatever.

I pay $65 a yr through State Farm. Way less hassle.

 

[IronSky1]

Put a tracking device on your drones. I have been using Trackimo for years on all mine and I have had one recovery 2 days later since tracking battery keeps going for couple days.

 

[earlbalentine]

Ouch, thanks for sharing.
That is the new warranty + fee + drone expected DJI value.

I guess there is a penalty for first time use.
Moral of the story,
skip the plus policy if a claim was already paid??

Did you check your home owners policy to see if it would cover your cost? Just food for thought. One time I forgot to left the rear jacks on my RV and drove off damaging the rear jacks. The RV warranty would not cover the accident but my truck insurance covered the whole thing to my surprise.

 

[slozukimc]

Go with a 3rd Party like State Farm Drone Insurance and you're covered all around with all the DJI hassles. Probably cheaper than DJI as well.

If anyone can get a 3rd party insurance, WHY would you get the more expensive and less covered DJI Refresh? Even if it did cost $25 or whatever more than DJI Refresh, that is well worth not dealing with DJI and all that. Simply call the provider, state you lost your drone, fill out a claim and get your money to buy a new one or whatever.

I keep seeing people mention State Farm drone insurance but when I call the local State Farm agent they tell me State Farm does not sell drone insurance.

Mike

 

[Smooth Rhythm]

Thanks for sharing!

 

[Smooth Rhythm]

I keep seeing people mention State Farm drone insurance but when I call the local State Farm agent they tell me State Farm does not sell drone insurance.

Mike

Thanks for pointing that out. I wonder if State Farm coverage is a regional issue, i.e., different policies for different regions of the country, or whether you have other insurance coverage with them. But like you, I’ve heard others say the same thing, that State Farm says they don’t cover drones.

 

[MARK (LI)]

This thread is pretty interesting

State Farm Drone Insurance

I saw my State Farm insurance agent today at lunch and asked him about Drone insurance. I told him I heard it was $60 and he knew about it as his brother has it . He was going to check into for me . He said it did say it included liability and replacement. I’ll keep you posted .

mavicpilots.com

 

[66427cobra]

Wondering what is DJI's definition of a flyaway. I assumed a flyaway is when contact is lost and your drone disappears into the wild blue yonder. Could they be viewing this incident as a crash and charging more because you are not returning the drone for repair? Did they look at the flight data to investigate the cause?

Yes, it might be splitting hairs but that is what companies do to save themselves money.

 

[earlbalentine]

I keep seeing people mention State Farm drone insurance but when I call the local State Farm agent they tell me State Farm does not sell drone insurance.

Mike

It's best to contact a Insurance broker that deals with many insurance company's, they will know who covers drones.
As a matter of fact it's better to go thru a broker than a individual insurance company for your auto or home insurances.

 

[slozukimc]

It's best to contact a Insurance broker that deals with many insurance company's, they will know who covers drones.
As a matter of fact it's better to go thru a broker than a individual insurance company for your auto or home insurances.

The State Farm agent also deals with other companies. Honestly I don’t think any of the agents around here deal with just one company. They just have one primary one.

 

[Arnold LeVine]

1. Homeowners insurance would be useless for a drone IMHO because of the high deductibles
2. Insurance policies for drones may exist or vary state to state because that is the entities that regulate them

 

[earlbalentine]

1. Homeowners insurance would be useless for a drone IMHO because of the high deductibles
2. Insurance policies for drones may exist or vary state to state because that is the entities that regulate them

I just checked with my auto insurance company (American Family) and they said I do have coverage for a drone up to $1500. I don't have any details though. I will check further.

 

[1TenaciousG]

I keep seeing people mention State Farm drone insurance but when I call the local State Farm agent they tell me State Farm does not sell drone

Personal Items Policy. That's the official title. For covering things like guns, cameras, and yes, Drones

 

[dave canada]

they wouldn,t even give me the time of day with my pro on a litchi mission i don,t use or even consider refresh anymore

 

[dave canada]

Put a tracking device on your drones. I have been using Trackimo for years on all mine and I have had one recovery 2 days later since tracking battery keeps going for couple days.

marco pollo found mine 6 days later in -20 degree weather

 

[earlbalentine]

I just checked with my auto insurance company (American Family) and they said I do have coverage for a drone up to $1500. I don't have any details though. I will check further.

I just check the deductible would be $1000 so not worth it. Maybe a separate insurance policy with someone that would be cheaper than DJI cost.