Operating a drone requires civil liability insurance, except if it is a toy | Legal

The first Holy Week after Covid has meant a return to normality and numerous brotherhoods have recorded the route of the steps with a drone. These aircraft have become popular in recent years, but they have also been involved in numerous accidents: getting entangled in a power line, damaging a vehicle by falling, causing fires or causing injuries to people.

The Execution Regulation (EU) 2019/947 of the European Commission regarding the use of unmanned aircraft, in full force since July 2021, changes some of the obligations and conditions in the use of drones. With European regulations, civil liability insurance is mandatory for all drone flights except for military ones, being only advisable in those of less than 250 grams and those considered as toys.

Bearing in mind that drone sales multiply year after year, their wide variety of uses and the potential damage they can cause, Luis Alfonso Fernández, partner in charge of Bird & Bird’s insurance and reinsurance practice in Spain, supports the decision of the community legislator “because the responsibilities that may arise from its use require special protection for those who may be harmed, despite the fact that this implies making the activity of the operators more expensive, forcing them to subscribe to this compulsory insurance”.

For his part, Efrén Díaz Díaz, head of the Technology and Space Law Areas of the Mas y Calvet Law Firm, assures that the European regulation configures the insurance in a “wide risk framework, since it focuses on operations that may entail a risk for security, protection, privacy and protection of personal data or the environment”.

Spanish regulation

In Spain, the State Aviation Safety Agency (AEASA) recalls that until the UAS (Unmanned Aerial System) Royal Decree, currently in process, is approved, it is necessary to have an insurance policy that covers civil liability against third parties for Damages that may arise during and due to the execution of each flight that is carried out for both recreational and professional purposes.

All drones weighing more than 250 grams must have compulsory insurance, which for ships weighing less than 20 kilos must cover damages of at least 265,000 euros. If the weight is greater than 20 kilos, they will have to be insured for at least 325,000 euros.

However, in Spain the contracting is only required of the “operator, not of any drone user or with respect to any drone: only with respect to those not considered a toy”, affirms Efrén Díaz.

Different European regulations define the toy drone as “the unmanned aircraft designed for the play of children under 14 years of age or whose use is intended for that purpose,” according to Díaz. The lawyer recalls that Royal Decree 1205/2011 on the safety of toys also applies to them, “because they must meet the requirements set forth in said provision.”

On the other hand, the fact that drones weighing less than 250 grams are not required to have compulsory insurance “does not mean that the individuals or legal entities that operate them cannot be held liable to third parties for the damage caused; they are responsible regardless of whether or not they have insurance”, recalls Fernández.

The drone insurance does not fall on the ship, but on the operator, who can handle as many devices as he wants with a single policy. The price of the same varies depending on whether the pilot is a professional or an individual, in this case around 150 euros per year. Insurance for professionals is between 200 and 400 euros. For Luis Alfonso Fernández, the amount of the premiums can “disincentivize” the use of drones for recreational purposes, “but I don’t think it will have that impact when it comes to professional use, the vast majority would have civil liability insurance although not was mandatory.”