One Small Step For Drones, One Giant Leap For Insurers?

Drones flying over our heads could become an everyday sighting soon if the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has its way. In February, the FAA released its proposed rules for commercial drone use, or small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), in the Federal Register, and has since taken other steps that indicate the skies, could, in the near future, open up for drones.

In early June, the FAA issued the Hensel Phelps Construction Company of Greeley, Colorado, with a waiver to fly a drone over people that has been equipped with a parachute, and more broadly predicts that the market for commercial drones could triple between 2019 and 2023.

“It used to be that you weren’t allowed to use drones commercially. You had to get a special exemption from the FAA,” said Tom Karol, general counsel — federal, at the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (NAMIC).