Commercial Drone Insurance

You can own a drone without cover, but in order to gain the qualification to fly it legally for business purposes you will need commercial drone insurance.

• In common with most insurance providers, Camerasure do not automatically cover for media, film, TV and photographic businesses. This is because of the aviation cover that is specific to commercial drone insurance. Similarly, home contents cover may not be sufficient for covering loss or theft of a commercial drone for business use.
• You need the commercial drone cover in order to attend the CAA qualification course, both theory and practical, which is a requirement before you can apply for a permit to fly drones commercially in the UK.
• Using commercial drones for surveys, requires drone insurance as it is not covered by the standard insurance for the property. This also applies if you were to fly the commercial drone over your own property.

EC regulation 785/2004 defines UAVs as aircraft and therefore UAV operators as aircraft operators. Drones being used for commercial purposes are defined as an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) being used in return for remuneration or other valuable consideration.

For example, a builder commissioned to provide a survey for a client for a fee will need to have a permit to fly for commercial operations from the CAA, or bring in an operator who has this permission. 

In order to obtain the permit to fly for commercial operations from the CAA the operator will need to demonstrate that they have third party liability cover with the requisite extensions required under the EC regulation 785/2004 which our policy will cover.

This will need to be a minimum of 750,000 SDR’s [Special Drawing Rights IMF currency], our starting level of public liability of £1,000,000 GBP will be sufficient to meet this, but dependant on the weight/payload of the drone this limit of liability may need to be increased. We can cover up to £50,000,000 GBP without referral.

The policy wording shows your cover is compliant, subject to weight of your drone which dictates the level of liability you need. This is important to check as otherwise you won’t meet CAA requirements or EU regulation EC785/2004.

When using your commercial drone it is important that you ensure you are adequately covered.

• Whilst our policy does not exclude hazardous locations, you will need to be flying under the authority of your permit to fly for commercial operations from the CAA, some activities may need extended authority from the CAA.
• Although our cover is worldwide, you will need to let us know if you are planning to use your drone in countries or territories where the Foreign Commonwealth Office are advising no/essential-only travel. Consult your policy wording for a full list of countries and remember that you will need to be flying with the authority of the country you are visiting.
• We do not cover for drones used for drone racing.
• Wear and tear is not included, nor is electrical or mechanical faults or breakdown.
• Drones flown for over 500 hours annually without referral.

We have provided a summary of the key features of the policy, above. For details of the terms and conditions applicable, please refer to your insurance product information document and policy wording, which are available during the quotation process.

Yes, as a minimum you will be required to hold Operator ID’s for all drones and Flyer ID’s for anyone flying. You may also be required to complete further courses depending on which category or sub-category you wish to fly in.

we can cover this - you will need to let us know so we can extend your policy. 

Sometimes the Foreign and Commonwealth Office advise against travel to certain countries. We might still be able to support your business requirement to travel and operate – please call us with the details.

Yes. If your drone is stolen on location, then we don’t need to see visible signs of theft. If your drone is stolen from your premises or vehicle, then we would expect there to be some signs of break-in as well as a crime number from the police.

The potential liability issues arising from operating a drone commercially are much closer to those that happen in aviation. In working with a leading aviation insurer, all aspects of cover, service and claims (including access to specialist lawyers), we benefit from this specific area of expertise.

If you would prefer to spread the cost of your commercial drone insurance policy, you have the option of setting up a Direct Debit to pay your premium by monthly instalments through our preferred provider, Premium Credit Limited (PCL).

To find out more about PCL and direct debit payments, select Direct Debit.

To understand more about how PCL work together with Towergate, please read our Regulatory Information.