Munich Re has announced that it believes that drone, or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), could become common practice for more than 40% of businesses within five years.
Forty-four per cent of risk managers surveyed by Munich Re believe that their own companies would consider the use of drones if regulations allowed with 76% saying they would invest in some form of drone-specific insurance, even if it wasn’t legally mandated.
Gerry Finley, senior vice president, casualty underwriting, Munich Reinsurance America, said that the insurance industry is still evolving and has some way to go before it meets the emerging risks of clients.
“The drone insurance market is still evolving,” Finley said, “as the industry looks at ways to provide coverage for businesses that offer drone services to other entities, or for traditional industry segments that own and operate drones as an incidental part of their operations."
Finley noted that “the lack of credible loss information remains a critical issue for insurers as they seek out the best solutions for this emerging exposure for their clients and the public.”
The Munich Re report comes after
Marsh also
noted that the insurance industry is still coming to grips with the emerging risks that drones present.
Munich Re also noted that 69% of those surveyed believe that the greatest risk surrounding drone usuage are invasion of privacy issues, highlighting a key coverage gap.
Twelve per cent saw inadequate insurance as their major concern, 11% noted personal injury as a top priority while 8% highlighted property damage.
Finley noted that as drones become more common place, their uses will become clear in all manner of industries across a wide spectrum.
“Businesses have set their sights on new applications for drones that could speed product delivery, monitor crops or capture claims data among dozens of others uses,” Finley said.
“In some cases, drones will become a common aspect of an organisation’s operations. However, there are technical, legal, regulatory and risk management issues associated with drone use that must be addressed over time.”
