Drone insurance and tenders

The legal minimum in the UK

The CAA says that if you fly a drone for any commercial reason, you must have third-party insurance as a minimum. Its examples include paid photography, filming and surveys, delivery services, and work use on farms and estates. The insurance must comply with the requirements in Assimilated Regulation (EU) 785/2004, and the Civil Aviation (Insurance) Regulations 2005 set out the UK law that applies it. The CAA advises asking your insurer to confirm that your policy complies.

This applies to any commercial flight, whatever the size or weight of the drone. Insurance is optional only when you fly purely for recreation, sport or as a hobby, and the CAA points out that you are still liable for any injury or damage you cause. The operator is responsible for having the right cover in place.

The regulation sets the minimum level of cover, based on the aircraft's maximum take-off mass, and the risks a policy must include. Ask your insurer to confirm in writing that your policy complies, and keep that confirmation with your records.

The EU and the US

In EU member states, Regulation (EC) 785/2004 applies in its EU form, with the same exclusion for model aircraft under 20 kg. EASA says its drone rules require insurance for drones above 20 kg, and that most EASA member states also require third-party liability insurance for lighter drones. National rules decide the detail, so check the aviation authority's website for each country you fly in.

Regulation (EU) 2019/947 builds insurance into the paperwork. Operator registration records an insurance policy number where Union or national law requires one. A declaration for a standard scenario must confirm that appropriate cover will be in place for every flight under it, and an application for an operational authorization must confirm that cover will be in place when operations start. Both apply where Union or national law requires insurance.

In the United States, the Part 107 rules contain no requirement to carry liability insurance. Clients, venues, landowners and local authorities can still make proof of cover a condition of a contract or of access, and state or local rules may apply to some work. Ask each client what they need before you price the job.

Other cover operators commonly carry

Beyond the legal minimum, the cover a client asks for depends on the work. Policy terms vary between insurers, so use the list below to frame questions for your broker. The main types are:

• Public liability: injury or damage to third parties from your business activity on the ground as well as in the air. Check whether your aviation liability policy and any general public liability policy overlap or leave a gap.
• Hull or equipment cover: damage to or loss of the aircraft, cameras and payloads, including while in transit.
• Professional indemnity: claims that your advice, data or deliverables were wrong, for example a survey with a measurement error that costs the client money.
• Employers' liability: in Great Britain, most employers must hold this by law. Check the requirement with your broker if you employ staff.

What tenders and frameworks ask for

Large clients, public bodies and procurement frameworks commonly check suppliers before they look at price. The first stage is often a prequalification questionnaire (PQQ) or supplier questionnaire, followed by a tender for a single job or for a place on a framework.

On construction projects in Great Britain, the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 (CDM) apply. HSE guidance says contractors must plan, manage and monitor their work. On projects with more than one contractor, they must also follow directions from the principal contractor and the parts of the construction phase plan that relate to their work. Whether a drone task counts as construction work depends on the job, so ask the client how they will treat you and plan for a site induction.

Requests vary by client and sector, but commonly include:

• Insurance certificates showing the insurer, policy period, insured name and limits of cover, with limits that meet the client's stated minimums
• Regulatory documents, such as a UK operational authorization, an EU operator registration or authorization, or FAA remote pilot certificates and any waivers
• Your operations manual, a summary of your safety management system and your emergency response plan
• A method statement and a site-specific risk assessment for the job, often supplied together as RAMS
• Pilot competence records, maintenance logs and incident history
• Policies on health and safety, data protection and the environment

What a consultant does, and what to ask before hiring

A consultant can map the client's requirements against your current documents, prepare tender and PQQ answers, write or update method statements and risk assessments, and build an evidence pack you can reuse. They do not replace a broker, who arranges the cover itself, and they cannot promise that a bid will win. Operators can compare vetted consultants on DOC, where regulator experience is shown as verified only where it has been evidenced.

• Which sectors and frameworks have you prepared bids for, and how recently?
• Do you write the responses yourself, or edit our drafts?
• Can you produce a method statement and risk assessment for a specific site, and who signs them off?
• How will you keep our evidence pack current between bids?
• Will you work alongside our broker on the insurance questions?

Common mistakes

Evaluators mark the evidence in front of them, and they may not be drone specialists. Keep one current pack, with every document dated and named the same way each time, and answer the question that was asked. Before you submit, check for these errors:

• Assuming a light drone used for paid work needs no insurance
• Sending a certificate that has expired, or that names a different company from the bidder
• Quoting a limit of cover below the client's stated minimum without saying so
• Giving a generic risk assessment where the question asks about a specific site
• Listing authorizations without the conditions and limits that apply to them
• Treating a US job as needing no cover because Part 107 does not require it