Thousands Of Aircraft, Operators Covered Despite Lack Of Official FAA Rules

The insurance industry is not waiting for the FAA to finalize its rules on commercial operation of UAVs before writing policies to cover the aircraft and their operators.

Bloomberg Business reports that one Colorado company says it has already written policies to cover some 2,600 aircraft, and a San Francisco insurer has compiled a list of about 1,000 trained operators that can be hired by companies who  need the services a UAV can offer ... much like an "Uber" of unmanned aircraft.

Transportation Risk Management Inc. owner and president Terry Miller said that his firm has been insuring UAVs and operators for nearly four years. But, he said, with no guidelines from the FAA, they company has had to invent its own safety protocols, and just because the aircraft is insured doesn't make their operation legitimate in the absence of FAA rules, according to the agency.

But Miller said that there is "no need" for the industry to wait for the FAA to catch up with the technology, and that his company's standards are in many ways more stringent that what has been outlined in the FAA's NPRM.

The FAA said in a statement emailed to Bloomberg that it will "investigate any reports of unsafe and unauthorized UAS operations, including incidents identified by the media.” The agency said it has levied fines against UAV operators, but did not say how many such cases exist.

Some operators continue to say that, since there are no formal rules, the FAA can't prevent commercial activity. One such operator is Harry Arnold, who owns an aerial photography company called Detroit Drone. He said flatly in an interview that in the absence of formal rules "it's not illegal" and that "the FAA cannot regulate through press releases. That's not how it works."

(Image from file)

FMI: www.faa.gov