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Does Homeowners Insurance Cover Drones?

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Homeowners insurance coverage and drones

As drones begin to gain popularity in households, one big question begins to arise: Are they protected under my homeowners insurance policy? To answer this we must consider a couple of aspects when it comes to insurance which are liability coverage and deductibles. The basic answer is yes, they are considered a personal belonging and are covered with the rest of your personal items.

If your drone crashes and is ruined beyond repair, your first thought might be to file a claim to replace your drone. Drones are expensive and replacing one can be difficult, so why do it yourself when your insurance will cover it? The issue is they might not cover it. Typically, drones are expensive to replace but in the mind of your insurance company, that’s what your deductible is for.

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Some insurance companies do provide a sort of drone specific coverage that allows you to protect your drone and yourself from any liability costs or replacement values. Getting and insuring a drone can drive your rates up. Insurance companies are beginning to see drones as an added risk which is commonly followed by claims, so they counteract this by raising your premium. Speak with your agent to know more about how your insurance can cover you for your drone.

Homeowners liability coverage

Most basic homeowners policies will not cover any aircraft, but they will protect a “model or hobby aircraft.” This means that if your drone is being used for recreational use, your insurance will cover it. Once you begin to use your drone for commercial use, then your insurance may require you to take out a policy specific to your drone.

Let’s say you were flying your drone when you lost control and it crashed into someone causing bodily harm to them. Most likely, they will not want to pay for their own medical bills and will require you to cover that cost. Does homeowners insurance cover you in this case? Most homeowners policies will cover any liability costs arising from a drone crash. As your drone is part of your property it falls under your basic liability coverage plan, so you don’t have to take out a separate policy to protect yourself from any drone-related legal fees. 

The same can be said for any damage occurring to someone else’s property. If your drone crashes into someone’s car, your insurance will likely help pay for repairs, so you don’t have to. Again, the drone falls under your liability coverage so anything that is covered under that policy normally will be covered when resulting from the drone.

Drone specific coverage

Once you begin to use your drone commercially, it may be a smart choice to find drone specific insurance. Your homeowners policy will not cover your drone once you use it commercially so without drone coverage, you could be looking at some large bills after a crash. Luckily there are many options that insurance companies offer for drone protection. It’s also a bonus for your resume to be an insured drone pilot.

It also helps to be a trained and safe pilot. If you can show your insurance company that you have been trained and are a documented safe pilot, they may be willing to lower your rates. As a safer pilot, your insurance company will see you as less of a risk and may offer you a lower premium on any drone policies you have purchased.

What does drone insurance cover? Your basic quadcopter insurance or drone insurance policy will protect five broad categories: Liability, Hull, Payload, Ground Equipment, and Non-Owned. Drone crash insurance protects any legal and medical costs arising from a drone crash, any damage to the drone itself, any onboard items you may be carrying, any equipment used not on the drone, and any drones you may be renting or hiring. With all five drone policies in place, your drone will be properly protected and ready for commercial use.

Deductibles

Back to recreational use drones and the homeowners coverage, what happens if your drone crashes without any harm to someone else? Will your homeowners policy cover the cost to replace your drone? Yes, it will, but most drones do not exceed the deductible that you’ve set aside. Your insurance company will use your deductible to pay for repairs to any personal property or, in this case, drones, before they payout. 

If your drone crashes, it may be more of a financial burden to file a claim with your insurance. Not only are you looking at them using your deductible, but they may raise your rates due to the risk associated with the drone. Drones can be expensive, but it might be the better option to replace yours, yourself.

Speak with an agent today to find out what your insurance will cover and how protected your drone will be with your homeowners policy. Find out if filing a replacement claim is worth it, check your deductible against the price of a new drone.

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