Whether you call it a drone or an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), the demand for this type of aircraft is climbing to new heights each year and highlighting the need for insurance protection in the event of a crash.
Part of what’s fueling the skyrocketing desire for drones is greater affordability and accessibility. A quick search on Amazon returns drone price tags starting as low as $19.99 to high-end drones costing upwards of $4,000.
And that’s helping push sales up. According to NPD Group, by 2018, sales are expected to soar to $1 billion, up from $130 million in 2015.
While the sky is the limit on drone innovation, there are risks involved. Whether you’re a farmer using your drone to capture information about your crops or you’re using first person view (FPV) technology to stream your flight right to your mobile device, there’s always that chance that something will go wrong.
What happens when your drone crashes? Are you covered by insurance?
Spend a few minutes perusing the database of drone accidents and you’ll see that while crashing your drone into the Seattle Space Needle (yes, this actually happened) probably isn’t a likely scenario for you, crashing your drone into a neighbor’s car — or worse, into your neighbor — is.
Whether the cause is human error or technological malfunction (most commonly the case according to the FAA’s Data Incident System), damage can be costly. As the popularity of drones increases, so, too, will the frequency and types of accidents.