Drones, eh? They’re always getting people into trouble. That’s why, if you want to fly a drone in Dubai, you need a licence. And now there’s a new regulation that you have to think about.
On Monday, a forum hosted by Dubai Police in partnership with Dubai Civil Aviation Authority (DCAA) announced that insurance is now mandatory for any drone that is being used for commercial purposes.
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Clearly, we’re going to have bring drone insurance comparison to the UAE soon!
The new rules are to protect the company and the drone against any liabilities. Authorities and drone operators want to improve and establish stronger regulations for safe drone usage in the country.
And the cost of the insurance doesn’t come cheap. The minimum liability coverage is AED 3.67 million. As explained by Amit Kumar, a Business Development Executive at JLT, a drone insurance firm, “the coverage is this much because you could fly into a security zone or somewhere that is not allowed. The commercial users have more risk.”
So far, there is no mandatory insurance in place for recreational drone users, but that may not be for long. The DCAA announced that a cheaper option will be available for hobbyists by the end of the year.
Once a platform has been set up, different types of drone insurance packages will slowly be introduced for consumers to choose from.
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Dubai Police and the DCAA are hoping that registering your drone can be set up so that it’s a similar process to registering your car. If you accidently crash your drone into something, having insurance will save you from being liable for any damages caused.
Currently, if you fly your drone into a no-fly zone, or break any of the regulations, you could run the risk of paying as much as AED 20,000, and could even face arrest. While drone insurance likely won’t cover that last part, we’d imagine that the better drone insurance options will cover you for fines. But, as with the commercial drone insurance, those policies likely won’t come cheap.
