wednesdayschild
lvl.1
Flight distance : 109446 ft
United States
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geofox784 Posted at 2017-3-2 13:25
Great guide here: https://www.reddit.com/r/dji/comments/5ort6o/state_farm_insurance_guide/
There are thousands of different underwriters with slightly different policies for this. In my case the first agent I called would not touch it without a $500 deductible and a prior policy. The second agent I called covered it $60 a year with no deductible INCLUDING mechanical or warranty failures.
This is a great post. USAA does not cover drones under homeowner's at all. Well, unless the home itself caused the loss. I live in the Chicago area, and just emailed 5 local agents to see about putting coverage under that specific policy....because, this......
I was in a local park (Independence Grove) flying the drone taking my usual great shots. My P4 was like a friend to me and we have been flying almost daily now. Well flying at about 120ft laterally (no lateral sensors in the P4), it just nicked and crashed into a tree top. No big deal right? Wrong. I couldn't see it through the canopy from below at dusk. I knew approximately what tree it was, and decided to come back when it was light out. Came back, and about all I saw was a million mosquitoes. I decided to do it the right way - call a tree guy to climb the 130ft tree and find it.
After 20 emails to local tree guys, finally one calls, and agrees to meet me at the park and do the deed. As he's pulling up through the gate, 3 park rangers were pulling out, no big deal we ain't doing anything wrong, right? Wrong. They saw him pull out his boom stick to reach out to a limb and probably thought he was there to cut down trees, you know you gotta justify your job. I mean people go to parks everyday to just cut down trees. The tree guy and I agreed on 200 bucks and I said that it was only worth 200 to me, since I had no idea what type of damage had occurred. Before meeting him, I bought tons of bug repellent and we both proceeded to lather up.
We walk 20 ft into the woods, and he proceeds to climb. Lo and behold Ranger Barney decides to come into the woods and 'supervise'. So the tree guy is climbing, and Ranger Barney is on his radio relaying the play by play, like a lost pathetic schoolchild. My tree guy is licensed boned and insured. Ranger Barney gets a call that he 'MUST COME DOWN'. I was like why? He might fall..., I laughed, and he didn't. "OK well he is a professional, and all that climbing gear he is using, he's using it properly." Barney said in his firmest Minnesota accent, "he's got to come down now, it's now a liability'. I said I have $1500.00 of equipment in your tree, and $200.00 in him, to retrieve it". Ranger Barney proceeded to tell me you can't climb trees, you need permit to climb a tree. I mentioned the local camp of kids earlier in the day playing in the woods, climbing trees, making forts, and learning to make a lean- two. Ranger Barney said I should have called it in and reported them. Sure thing buddy. Ranger Barney was getting eaten up by those mosquitoes by this time, and I could have handed him the can, but he was being an asshole, so I made him suffer, suffer so much, he had to leave and get some repellent himself. I just bought 15 min at least.
Tree guy gets to the top can't find it (of course), no worries we planed on scouting three probable trees. No dice as Ranger Barney comes back, in his thick, I'm trying not to be mean, Minnesota accent. "He's got to come down now". Looked just like the Wally World Park Ranger in Vacation, I was laughing inside. So my tree guy comes down, I'm now out $1700.00, a can of repellent and my good friend Ms. P4, still stuck in the tree top.
It's rained a few times, hard, and I'm sure if there wasn't damage, there is now.
I went back with my newly acquired P4P and looked for it, clandestinely, three times and no joy :-(. By the way the controller works just fine sitting in my F150. No one knew what I was doing, maybe thought I was looking at my phone.
So when leaf fall happens in late September/October, I intend on going back, identifying it, and still getting it down one way or another.
Moral of this story: If you've been flying long enough, you will crash your drone, so get insurance on it so you don't cry.
-Kris |
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