UK Insurtech Flock Launches Pay-As-You-Fly Drone Insurance

March 13, 2018

Flock, a London based startup, has launched Europe’s first “pay-as-you-fly” drone insurance solution.

The “Flock Cover” smartphone app provides on-demand insurance for commercial drone pilots in the UK, with policies starting from just £5 ($7) for up to eight hours of liability and hull cover.

Mirroring the ease and speed of ordering a ride with Uber, the Flock Cover app takes drone pilots just a minute to set up a profile and purchase fully compliant hull and liability insurance, said Flock in a statement announcing the app’s launch.

Insurance policies are tailor-made to each flight, allowing pilots to customize their policies by selecting a cover duration (between one and eight hours) and public liability limit, ranging from £1 million to £10 million ($1.4 million to $13.9 million), Flock explained.

Flock first announced in July 2017 it had partnered with aviation insurer Allianz, which underwrites Flock’s insurance policies in the UK. The Flock Cover smartphone app is available in iOS and Android app stores.

Flock said its data-driven approach to insurance cements its departure from traditional insurers. For example, when pilots choose a 500-meter (547 yards) radius circle (the “Flight Area”), Flock’s proprietary algorithms aggregate and analyze localized data within that area to quantify the risk of any given drone flight in real-time.

“This dynamic risk assessment generates a proportionally priced quote, which is immediately visible to the user,” Flock said, noting that the premium is a competitively priced alternative to the UK market’s current offering of flat-rate annual policies.

Flock said the Flock Cover app simultaneously functions as a flight safety tool for pilots. Real-time risks, such as hyper-local weather conditions, nearby ground hazards, and restricted airspaces are clearly displayed to the pilot before take-off.

In addition, Flock also offers a predictive risk analytics engine, which means that pilots can see their risks (and book insurance) for any flight up to 10 days in advance.

Flock’s CEO, Ed Leon Klinger, has highlighted the significance of this tool. “Questions around the safety of drones are becoming increasingly prominent, as illustrated by the UK government’s upcoming draft Drone Bill. Flock’s first product – the Flock Cover app – not only empowers pilots to fly safer, but also rewards lower-risk flights, helping to reduce claims and make the industry safer as a whole.”

To accommodate the rapidly growing number of commercial drone pilots in the UK, Flock recently expanded its offering by providing pay-as-you-fly insurance policies for “commercial operators in training,” Flock said, noting that there currently are more than 3,700 commercial operators registered with the UK Civil Aviation Authority.

Soon the company will be rolling out on-demand insurance for recreational pilots, with policies starting from just £3 ($4.16).

Flock said it is now working closely with its partners, including Allianz, as well as drone manufacturers, software companies and training schools, to roll out smarter insurance policies for drone pilots throughout Europe.

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