Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) or drones are more and
more being called into the insurance industry to natural and manmade disasters
to evaluate the impact area, inspect assets, manage risk, and evaluate claims
efficiently, accurately and most of all safely.
With such diverse and practical applications, it’s no
wonder that some insurance industry leaders are eager to implement UAS
programs. In order to get the program up and running quickly, some are opting
to buy commercial-off-the-shelf UAS to do important tasks they are often not
suited for. More importantly, many often overlook the most important component
in a UAS, a well-trained pilot.
Members of the insurance industry are required to
undertake continuing education in various subjects in order to maintain their
state licenses. UAS pilot training should be of a similar professional quality
well beyond FAA’s Part 107.
With the advent of UAS, thousands of companies have
entered the marketplace hoping to sell their devices and/or services to
commercial operators and companies. Thousands of individuals around the country
are openly using UAS, with numerous others doing so discreetly. But who fosters
the proper integration of UAS into these insurance organizations?
In some cases, that falls to commercial companies without
any insurance industry background. Others end up having to utilize hobbyists
turned entrepreneurs. Part 107 certification has lowered the barrier to entry
for the technology and created tremendous opportunities, but receiving
certification requires little more than passing a multiple choice only exam
that's designed for a 16-year-old high school student. It falls well short of
the standardized proficiency which the public expects from the men and women
who we depend on.
After all, learning to fly figure 8's or an obstacle
course around a park may teach you good maneuvering skills, but it doesn’t
teach you how to evaluate the impact area of a disaster, inspect complex
building facades or rooftops, and evaluate claims efficiently, accurately and safely.
No one wants to find out in the midst of a crisis that
his or her UAS training has not prepared them for the situation at hand. To
insure this never happens, when acquiring training for you or your company,
look for a company that has practical training and experience in the insurance
industry and UAS for the unique applications that you require like commercial
and residential property, infrastructure and utilities, agriculture, automotive
and more.
But most importantly ensure the company and the instructors
have solid training and experience in the insurance industry and integrating
UAS. A company that’s instructors actually have utilized drones for pre and
post loss such as risk engineering, natural disaster monitoring, inspection,
risk assessment, claims adjudication and fraud prevention.
