Drones for Insurance Sector
Drone Safe Register work is partnering with a number of businesses across all industries to promote the use of drone technology. In the insurance world we have partnered with Qlaims Ltd to give us access to the UK insurance market.
Qlaims is a company based in the heart of the insurance world in London, and the Directors have many years of experience working for companies such as AXA and Aviva. They understand how these business operate and how to introduce disruptive technology into what’s a very traditional industry.
Jon Mainwaring is the Chief Technology Officer of Qlaims and works with Drone Safe Register to promote use of drones. “We work exclusively with DSR because our clients insist on risk awareness and safety. It goes without saying that we will only appoint PFCO holders on our aerial inspections, and using the DSR network gives us national coverage and the peace of mind that vetting has been carried out for us.”
Jon feels that there’s still some negative perception around drones, and incidents like Gatwick in 2018 have held the industry back. “In any presentation we deliver someone will always make a joke about Gatwick. It doesn’t help that it still remains a mystery and we can’t explain what happened. No prosecutions were made. Was there even a ‘rogue’ drone? If anything it highlighted to the public how unprepared airports are for incidents like this.”
Drone Safe Register regularly attend regional meetings of the Chartered Insurance Institute with Qlaims to talk about how drone professionals work and what we can offer. This is an ongoing national program and we have more planned for 2020. The audiences can be quite cynical at first, but they always end on a high note and we’re gradually getting the word out. Questions range from ‘How fast can you fly?’ to ‘Could a terrorist hack a drone?!’
As awareness within the insurance industry grows Drone Safe Register is in prime position to benefit. “One of the things that impresses me is the range of knowledge and expertise within the network,” Jon commented. “The drone is just the vehicle to capture the data. The different types of cameras and sensors and the ways in which you can process the data are the important bit. Roof inspections are the most common work we get asked for, but we’ve looked at 3D mapping, leak detection, use of LIDAR and other innovations.”
We’re proud to be the UK’s biggest drone network and this is how we can meet the needs of clients like Qlaims. In addition to expertise and a focus on operating legally and safely our wide network means we can react to client needs quickly. Jon quotes an example where a request for a roof inspection was received at lunchtime and the images and footage were sent to the Loss Adjuster by the end of the same day. “We need the ability to get a drone to any location in the UK within days, sometimes within hours. Working with Drone Safe Register means we have confidence we can do this. Recent examples include claims in a remote part of Scotland and a rural area in Cornwall.”
