Drone use in Insurance Claims
Drones are fast becoming part of the landscape of various different industries, reinventing traditional practices were time and cost efficiencies can be made.
The insurance industry is one that is benefiting from UAV technology, especially those that are working directly with the Drone Safe Register network as we can leverage our National Drone Network commercially approved pilot network to provide a fast response to your insurance needs.
The insurance industry has a poor reputation for the time it takes to investigate and settle claims. However, this is not because they are trying to avoid making a payment. A shortage of qualified insurance professionals and the use of traditional inspection methods have conspired to mean that the wheels can be slow to turn. Luckily, new aerial photography and video technology is poised to offer significant benefits to the insurance industry.
Drones and Insurance Assessment
A Loss Adjuster will need to personally visit each claim which requires scheduling a time limited resource before they can even begin to gather the information that they need in order to begin the settlement process. A drone pilot can be an invaluable resource here in speeding up this information gathering process in cases, for example, of building, chimney or roof damage. A simple, short series of flights can produce detailed photos and video footage that are perfect to support your claim usually within a matter of days. There is no delay while qualified inspection personnel are sourced or scaffolding is erected. Suitably equipped drones and pilots can also capture thermal imaging to provide a really complete picture of the situation.
Drone Safe Register and Qlaims
Drone Safe Register already work extensively with the insurance solution provision company – Qlaims. They offer mobile and cloud based IT solutions to provide a more efficient handling of insurance claims and one of the ways in which they do this is to have a direct line to our Drone Safe Register pilot members so they can quick request a drone survey when it is required. In fact Drone Safe Register has actually had a pilot on site within hours in some cases. Qlaims offer, via our pilots, a live streaming video app which allows the user to communicate directly with the operator and give them clear instructions for exactly what is required – a real time and cost saving benefit that can be applied equally to claims inspection, underwriting and pre-risk surveys.
Drones and Personal Injury Claims
Although it isn’t the first area that springs to mind when you think of the applications of drone technology in the field of insurance, there have been several instances when Drone Safe Register have worked on providing data to support a personal injury claim. As UAVs with their bird’s eye perspective offer a unique way of setting a building or structure within the context of its environment. This can offer a simple visual backdrop to a set of circumstances that led to the injury, valuable context and even detailed views of safety equipment, railings and other provisions that may or may not have contributed to events.
Qualified and Legal Pilots
So why don’t all insurance Loss Adjusters simply carry a drone in their car ready to look at hard to access places? To use drones for insurance, an operator must be a CAA approved drone pilot with permission for commercial operations. This involves passing both written and practical flight tests, and ensures an operator understands the laws controlling the use of drones. All of the Drone Safe Register pilots already have this approval and with a network spread over the UK and Ireland, it is easy to use this website to contact your nearest local drone operators.
Find you local professional certified and approved drone pilot
