Germany’s HDI introduces drone insurance online

Talanx subsidiary HDI said on July 12 that it has introduced an online platform for drone insurance.

Clients can insure drones also for short periods over the platform, the Hannover Re sister company said in the statement.

In Germany, anybody using drones must be insured against liability risks because drones are subject to mandatory insurance in commercial and private use.

Drones are being used for research purposes, monitoring industrial plants, pipelines and power lines, for logistics services, and for photography and filming. They now carry out many functions in industrial and trade applications.

As soon as a drone crashes, the keeper is liable in accordance with the German Air Traffic Act (LuftVG) regardless of negligence or fault, according to HDI. This can have very far-reaching consequences and may cause damage to property or even injury to people.

“The demand for our drone insurance has undergone a very steep increase over recent months,” commented Alexander Malik, expert News Release 2/4 for insurance in the aviation industry at HDI Global SE. “We have therefore developed a portal in order to enable our customers to take out a drone insurance policy online.”

Estimates indicate that there are currently around 400,000 private and commercial drones being used in Germany. The expectation of German Air Traffic Control is that this number will increase to more than one million by the year 2020.

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