We are hearing a lot about drone insurance recently. Can you tell us about the products and services ICICI Lombard has in store for the drone industry?
ICICI Lombard’s offering on drone insurance (Remotely piloted aircraft insurance) is a comprehensive product. DGCA has classified drones into 5 large categories basis their weight into Nano, Micro, Small, Medium, and large drones. All drones that are below 250 gms are in the nano category. DGCA has made third party liability insurance compulsory for any drone that is greater than 250 gms. ICICI Lombard offers a comprehensive drone product covering hull and third-party liability for all drones.
Importance of Insuring the drones and how does it work?
We are seeing an increase in drone uses in a lot of commercial operations namely Survey and Mapping, Infrastructure, Agriculture etc. Insuring your drone will safeguard the operator from any liability caused while performing these operations to any third person/property and to the drone itself. It will enable hassle free functioning of the operations.
What are the various types of drone insurances that you are providing at the moment?
ICICI Lombard’s offering on drone insurance (Remotely piloted aircraft insurance) is a comprehensive product offering providing cover for Third Party, Hull, and Payload of the drone. Additionally, we have a varied variety of add-on cover options available that include BVLOS (Beyond Visual Line of Sight), Night Flying, Drone War Liabilities, Invasion of Privacy Cover, Drone in Transit cover to name a few.
How big is the market of drone insurance in India? How does the Indian market compare against that of overseas on the same aspect?
The Indian market currently is in its infancy and will mature over time. We are seeing DGCA formulating rules around the uses of the drones. We have seen that with the latest DGCA circular on drones, registration of all drones was made mandatory. As per latest DGCA report there are more than 20,000 drones that are registered in India.
How will you visualise the future of drones in the coming 5-10 years?
We see the uses of drones to increase in a variety of business that include aerospace and aerial photography, training, survey etc. One of the largest drone use markets is expected to be for agriculture where we can expect the drone uses to increase. Additionally with the onset of the experimental trials for drone deliveries we expect the market for drones to go up and thereby also the drone insurance market to increase.
