Drone Insurance

Aerial videography is a rapidly expanding market due to the growing commercial availability of quadcopters, drones and UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) in recent years. Photography and tech enthusiasts alike have been exploring the creative possibilities of using these drones to capture beautiful aerial footage both professionally and as a hobby.

If you are planning on using a quadcopter, drone or UAV for commercial purposes, it would be smart to consider public liability insurance for drones.

Risks of Operating an Aerial Videography Business

As an aerial videographer, you are probably well aware of the fact that creating stunning videos from above goes well beyond creative video production and that there are actually many risks involved in capturing and editing the footage.

Many aerial videography businesses use a drone or UAV to capture images of expensive real estate for sale for the purpose of showing off the property. If you were to lose control over the drone and crash, not only could you potentially have caused damage to the property but you would also have damaged your drone or quadcopter. Which, if aerial videography is your primary business, would result in a loss of business until you could afford to replace the equipment. If you insure your videography business equipment, including your drones, drone attachments (such as the camera, Gimbal, etc) and “ground control” equipment, you will be covered against the loss or damage of the equipment, including during flight and transit. The least obvious, but more common, cause of business equipment damage is whilst in transit due to not being sufficiently packed in the vehicle during travel. Which is why Tools Cover for many businesses is a necessity.

Despite your care and precision in managing your equipment, sometimes the unexpected just happens. If something were to go wrong whilst the drone is in flight, the results could be catastrophic. A drone can equate to a heavy brick falling from the sky, and can even be fatal for anyone standing beneath when it crashes. This is why there are strict regulations in place for the use of them to ensure that you are flying responsibly, and you will need to have obtained permissions from the CAA to fly.

The CAA (the UK’s specialist aviation regulator) states specific operating rules for UAVs, which include:

  • An unmanned aircraft must never be flown beyond the normal unaided “line of sight” of the person operating it. This is generally measured as 500m horizontally or 400ft vertically.
  • An unmanned aircraft fitted with a camera must always be flown at least 50m distance away from a person, vehicle, building or structure.
  • An unmanned aircraft fitted with a camera must not be flown within 150m of a congested area or large groups of people, such as a sporting event or concert.

Those who ignore the CAA’s regulations could find themselves facing serious legal repercussions. To protect your UAV business, you’ll need to keep records of every flight and maintenance activity, including proof of location and movement logging, risk assessments, etc.

We at Ashburnham are now proud to announce that we can cover the use of drones and UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) for photography and videography use.

Shout out to our favourite local aerial videographer, Dave Black of Blackwing Aerial Services in Southend-on-Sea, who shot this fantastic video below of Gunners Park!

Spring arrives in Gunners Park from Blackwing Aerial Services on Vimeo.

A quick flight around Gunners Park at 4k resolution – music by Jewelbeat.com

2 Responses to Do I Need Drone Insurance for my UAV Business?
  1. Fotokite insurance? Any ideas anyone?


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