hi,
Sadly I ended up in a small group of trees on a rural property. I had purchased DJI Care insurance.
I recovered the aircraft which had no visual damage, except the whole camera and gimbal unit was knocked off and after about 2 hours of searching for it I had to give up.
I sent the aircraft for repairs and received the following quote:

Apply DJI refresh for replacement. If you want to replace under DJI care refresh, please also return the gimbal to proceed with refresh.

The cost quoted was $1398 which I assume is the replacement price of the aircraft on its own. Does this mean that I can not claim on my insurance at all because I lost the camera and gimbal units?
Can anyone with refresh experience help'?

"Does this mean that I can not claim on my insurance at all because I lost the camera and gimbal units?"

If by "insurance" you mean Care Refresh then I believe so. As frustrating as I know it must be, it sounds to me like your case falls under the first item listed in DJI Care Refresh exclusions:

"1) Lost or partially lost aircraft, gimbal or accessories."

DroneFlying Posted at 2017-2-17 13:35
"Does this mean that I can not claim on my insurance at all because I lost the camera and gimbal units?"

If by "insurance" you mean Care Refresh then I believe so. As frustrating as I know it must be, it sounds to me like your case falls under the first item listed in DJI Care Refresh exclusions:

That is devastating. The small camera/gimbal unit is very exposed and will probably be often torn off in a collision with branches. I was flying with the clear plastic cover over the camera unit as well. I looked for ages (2 hours plus) but could not find the small camera/gimbal unit in the undergrowth under the trees

If that is the case I should have the original aircraft returned to me, as well as receiving the new aircraft after paying the full normal replacement cost?

From FAQ:
4、Which parts can be replaced under DJI Care Refresh?
Mavic Pro: aircraft, gimbal, camera, battery and propellers.
Phantom 4 Professional: aircraft, gimbal, camera and propellers.
Inspire 2: aircraft and propellers.

Maybe they should make it clear that you have to recover all the bits or no claim allowed.

Sigh!
An expensive lesson learned and DJI Care refresh was a waste of money in my case.

I'm sorry this happened to you; yes, it must be very frustrating.

"I was flying with the clear plastic cover over the camera unit as well. I looked for ages (2 hours plus) but could not find the small camera/gimbal unit in the undergrowth under the trees"

Based on what I've read in these posts the Mavic gimbal's crash survival rate seems to be very low. And the fact that yours was ripped off even with the gimbal cover attached is a bad sign.

"If that is the case I should have the original aircraft returned to me, as well as receiving the new aircraft after paying the full normal replacement cost?"

Yes, if they aren't going to repair it I'd certainly expect (and want) to get back the original aircraft, especially if you think there might still be a chance you could find the gimbal. Out of curiosity, were you able to find the gimbal cover or was it also lost?

I don't know how much (or if) this will help, but I have seen comments from people who weren't able to get a Care Refresh replacement for some reason but did get a new Mavic at a discounted price, so you should probably ask DJI about that. Also, once you get it back you might be able to recoup some of your loss by selling the "body" of your original Mavic to one of the drone scrap / repair places, at least if there is one in Australia.

Just in the hope that there are some possible options apart from having to pay a full replacement cost for Mavic Pro aircraft.

Could DJI Mindy or DJI-Thor or DJI-Ken have a look at CAS-437269-G3M7L2 ?

I have lost the camera and gimbal assembly, otherwise the aircraft appears undamaged. I spent more than 2 hours searching for the camera/gimbal, but was not able to find the small unit in the undergrowth below the trees.

Without the camera and gimbal I appear to be unable to receive any Refresh claim cost reduction, that is I need to pay $1398 AU for a new aircraft body. I purchased the Care Refresh with the Fly More Package. The camera/gimbal is in a very vulnerable position hence I was using the clear bubble over the cover, but still had the assembly knocked off. To recommence searching, I am facing 6 hours of driving time plus the searching time (300 km from my home).
I sort of feel that this is a harsh ruling in this situation.

Hoping that something could be considered....
Joachim

Good luck. If the aircraft is undamaged except for the now missing gimble assembly couldn't you request that they just replace the gimble at your expense if they won't cover a full replacement under DJI Care?  That should be considerably cheaper than buying a complete new AC.

joachimb Posted at 2017-2-18 15:11
Just in the hope that there are some possible options apart from having to pay a full replacement cost for Mavic Pro aircraft.

Could DJI Mindy or DJI-Thor or DJI-Ken have a look at CAS-437269-G3M7L2 ?

DJI has the Mavic only listed at $899.00 on the website and $999 for a new one. I would seem that your estimated cost is on the high side to me. Did you send the controller with your Mavic?  It would be less expensive to buy a new Mavic Pro only kit.

All the best
Sorry for your loss
Rich

RichJ53 Posted at 2017-2-18 15:51
DJI has the Mavic only listed at $899.00 on the website and $999 for a new one. I would seem that your estimated cost is on the high side to me. Did you send the controller with your Mavic?  It would be less expensive to buy a new Mavic Pro only kit.

All the best

The OP is in Australia, and $1,398 (AUD) is a little over $1,000 (USD).

DroneFlying Posted at 2017-2-18 15:55
The OP is in Australia, and $1,398 (AUD) is a little over $1,000 (USD).

okay thanks for clarifying... This is still a bummer

Rich

RichJ53 Posted at 2017-2-18 16:06
okay thanks for clarifying... This is still a bummer

Rich

Yeah, I agree. When people ask about insurance I've been steering them towards Care Refresh (which I got myself), but given stories like this, the slow turnaround, and the stories of people getting replacements that are also bad, I'm probably going to start recommending State Farm instead, at least for people in the U.S.

Jdwyier Posted at 2017-2-18 15:39
Good luck. If the aircraft is undamaged except for the now missing gimble assembly couldn't you request that they just replace the gimble at your expense if they won't cover a full replacement under DJI Care?  That should be considerably cheaper than buying a complete new AC.

That is my next option I guess. I think that there is no other damage (none visually apparent). But I suspect that the response would be similar- I must have the original  camera/gimbal assembly to claim.

Buyer beware I guess - read the fine print.