When flying a drone recreationally in both the USA and Canada it is recommended to have liability insurance in place when flying. Should your UAV (or RPAS as they are sometimes called) fall out of the sky and cause damage to people or property, you will want to ensure you are properly covered for both liability and crash damages.
When flying commercially you will typically require UAV insurance for these flights (please check regulations in your area).
In this post we list a number of drone insurance providers and whether they provide recreational or commercial UAV insurance, along with some of the features that makes each one unique.
List of 14 Drone Insurance Providers (USA and Canada, updated for 2021)
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Skywatch.ai
Coverage: Both commercial and recreational. USA and Canada.
(*Update February 18, 2020: Skywatch is now available in Alberta, Ontario and British Columbia, Canada! More provinces coming soon)
Skywatch provides a great service for US based drone operators, offering both on-demand and monthly plans for UAV insurance. They also have some very innovative features such as their Skywatch Map and Flight app that rewards customers based on their track record of flying.
Skywatch recently raised a significant amount of capital ($2,000,000 in a seed funding round) and with a solid team to back up their insurance offerings, Skywatch is on track to make big strides in the risk management and coverage side of the UAV industry.
USAIG
Coverage: Commercial UAV operations. USA & Canada (called “Canadian Aircraft Insurance Group” in Canada).
USAIG (United States Aircraft Insurance Group) has been around since the 1920s and has a long track record of providing aviation hull and liability insurance. Using their extensive network and many decades of experience, USAIG has recently started offering drone insurance along with their regular manned aircraft policies.
They offer both a Canadian and US option for UAS/RPAS coverage.
Capri Insurance
Coverage: Both Hull and Liability Coverage. Canada Only.
Capri Insurance has a strong focus on helping Canadian UAV operators succeed in the often confusing and murky waters of the Transport Canada UAV operational requirements. Their UAV insurance expert is a member of Unmanned Systems Canada and is directly involved with Transport Canada.
If you are one of our Canadian readers you owe it to yourself to contact Capri insurance.
Statefarm
Coverage: Hull Coverage for recreational use only. US only.
Statefarm is a widely recognized and well established name in the insurance world (highest market share in fact!), and offers one of the cheapest upfront costs for UAV insurance. With many users claiming to pay only around $60 for a Mavic or similarly priced drone, they are definitely one of the most affordable options on this list.
Please note that at the time of this writing it seems they only offer PAP (Personal Articles Policy) coverage, and not liability coverage for UAV operations.
Also, it appears that although the drone coverage is significantly cheaper and painless compared to a program such as DJI Refresh, having a claim may affect your personal insurance “score”. This in turn could affect your home insurance rates etc. Be sure to confirm any of the above with your local Statefarm agent.
Thimble (formerly Verifly)
Coverage: Drone liability coverage for recreational and commercial operations. US only.
Similar to Skywatch, Thimble offers on-demand UAV insurance in 1, 4, or 8 hour increments, and offers liability coverage up to $10,000,000! Having the option to pay by the hour for insurance is great for drone operators that only fly occasionally, or photographers with a drone that would like to have insurance but are not interested in paying for an annual insurance policy.
Thimble does not currently offer hull coverage for your drone, but specialize in affordable liability coverage only. They are backed by one of the biggest names in aerospace insurance, Global Aerospace.
They also offer an app that lets you quickly fill out the specifics of your drone flight and obtain liability insurance on the spot. They have a wide range of coverage options for a variety of drone uses and as the rates are time and task specific the total cost per operation is typically very low.
(Note: We also mention the Thimble app in our related blog post “Drone Apps you need to know about” as the Thimble/Verifly app is by far one of the easiest-to-use and most intuitive apps available to UAV operators).
DroneInsurance.com
Coverage: Commercial and Recreational Coverage. US only.
DroneInsurance.com offers coverage for physical damage or theft while your drone is on the ground and liability coverage for flight operations. Offering up to $25,000,000 in liability coverage, they have one of the highest coverage amounts we could find amongst all the providers on this list.
DroneInsurance.com also has a great cost estimating tool to allow for rapid estimates for your coverage needs.
CoverDrone
Coverage: Liability/Hull Coverage for Commercial Operators Only. Canada Only.
As the name implies, UK based CoverDrone is very focussed on the burgeoning UAV insurance market. They appear to have some great coverage options for Canadian RPAS operators, including things like “Photographers Coverage” that would cover those operators that do both aerial and ground photography.
Their other claim to fame is to not charge for unnecessary coverage that is so often built into policies covering drone operations. For those operators that run training schools they also offer tailored policies that cover a large amount of equipment and students. Coverdrone also appears to be quite active on social media which typically translates to great support options should you need them (eg Facebook Messenger etc).
AIG
Coverage: Liability and Hull Coverage for Recreational and Commercial use. US only.
AIG is another well established name in the insurance industry and also recently began offering some UAV coverage options. They offer both physical damage coverage, operator coverage and liability coverage.
AIG does not have the streamlined web interface or app that some of the other providers on this list have, but rest assured that you are dealing with a very experienced insurance company with many years of excellent customer service. They also appear to offer very customizable plans to suit individual UAV operation requirements.
Avion
Coverage: Both Recreational and Commercial Coverage. Both hull and liability coverage. US only.
Backed by Global Aerospace, one of the leading providers of aeronautical insurance, Avion UAV insurance offers some great coverage options for both recreational and commercial users. They also offer both hull (aircraft) coverage and liability coverage for the operator (unlike some of the other providers which only offer liability coverage).
Intact Insurance
Coverage: Commercial use only. Canada Only.
Intact Insurance offers solid insurance plans to UAV business owners in Canada. As per Transport Canada, all commercial operators require coverage for their operations with a minimum of $100,000 in coverage. They do not cater to the recreational user but do have competitive options available for small & medium sized drone businesses.
Intact has consistently high ratings in customer satisfaction. Though they do not have the streamlined web interface that some of the others on this list have, but rest assured their experienced underwriters will construct an insurance plan that suits your needs.
Hub International
Coverage: Both Hull & Liability coverage for both Commercial and Recreational users. USA and Canada.
Hub International is one of the largest international insurance companies in the world, recently making big strides in their UAV insurance offerings. One of the few on this list to offer options for both US and Canada.
Drone Insurance Depot
Coverage: Both Hull & Liability coverage for both Commercial and Recreational Users. Canada Only.
Vancouver based Drone Insurance Depot offers coverage for both commercial and recreational users in Canada. They are backed by Lloyd’s of London, one of the biggest international insurance underwriters on the planet.
Although recommended by several respectable Canadian UAV companies, it appears they have had a number of recent bad Google reviews so be sure to do your homework when choosing a UAV insurance provider.
Air1 Insurance
Coverage: Both Hull & Liability Coverage options for Commercial Operator. Canada Only.
British Columbia based Air1 Insurance is an offshoot of Park Insurance, a well established insurance provider since 1965. The president of Air1 Insurance is Dave Fitzpatrick, who is an avid aviator himself. The appear to pride themselves on service and transparency, and have the reviews and testimonials to back it up.
In Conclusion
Whether you are looking for on-demand drone insurance for occasional UAV flights or searching for a robust commercial drone operation insurance policy, the list above should have some options that fit your needs.
If you are simply looking for crash replacement insurance (not liability insurance), you may want to consider manufacturer based coverage options such as the DJI Care Refresh program.
Is there a drone insurance provider you would like to see included in this list? Email us at info@dronetrader.com and we will be in touch shortly!
