Insurance made mandatory for drones in Dubai

Sarwat Nasir/Dubai

Filed on October 17, 2017

(File photo)

The minimum liability coverage is Dh3.67million as per the UAE rule by the DCAA.

Insurance is made mandatory for commercial-purpose drones to protect the company and the drone against liability, it was announced at the forum on Monday.

The forum, which was hosted by the Dubai Police in partnership with the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority (DCAA), brought together UAE authorities and drone operators to discuss latest UAV regulations and requirements for safe drone usage in the country.

"The minimum liability coverage is Dh3.67million as per the UAE rule by the DCAA. The minimum premium is around Dh1,750," Amit Kumar, the business development executive at JLT - an insurance firm that insures drones, told Khaleej Times.

"But the companies who have more risk can go for higher minimum. The coverage is this much because you could fly into the security zone or somewhere that is not allowed. The commercial users have more risk."

"For drones, insurance is very important. If you have any flying object there is a risk. First risk is for the drone itself, if it falls down and damages itself. Commercial drone users are required to have insurance in order to obtain their flying license."

The minimum premium for commercial-purpose drones is quite high, however, an official with the DCAA has insisted that a cheaper option will be available to hobbyists by the end of this year.

All drone activity are monitored in Dubai

Currently, insurance is only mandatory for commercial drones, however, recreational drones will also require insurance once the different type of insurance packages have been introduced.

Michael Rudolph told Khaleej Times: "We are looking at something whereby we can affiliate it with the registration process, so the operator would need to have insurance for that, the same you would need for your motor vehicle, just to make sure that if you bump into something you're not going to be liable for those damages. And that's the kind of package we're looking at. We don't want it to cost too much because then people won't do it."