Condo Media - November 2016 - 47

Property managers wishing to use drones
must comply with FAA's new "UAS rule -
Part 107" requiring the drone to be registered under the Unmanned Aircraft System
Registration Service.
with any type of service, there are grades
of quality in drone image capture. At a
minimum, most projects will require an
HD camera attached to the drone. A better
quality product will be gained by using a 4k
camera, which provides higher detail and
allows the operator to zoom in for clearer
images and study the structure with
greater detail. Future thermal imaging
technology will allow accurate locating of
water intrusions or missing insulation.
The question facing most property
managers planning on offering drone
produced information is whether they
should operate their own drones or hire
a third-party service.
DRONE OPERATOR INSURANCE
Often just the hassle and difficulty of
keeping up with this rapidly changing
technology will deter a property management firm from creating their own drone
operations. Just reviewing the firm's
insurance policy is enough to dissuade
the faint hearted. For one thing, most
commercial general liability (CGL) policies have an aircraft exclusion prohibiting
the use of drones. To solve this issue,
insurance companies are now offering endorsements to the CGL to provide drone
coverage or a firm can obtain stand-alone
drone liability and property coverage.
Once a firm satisfies the FAA requirement for drone operations and provides
this information to their insurance
company, the cost for a drone liability
endorsement is minimal. Keep in mind
this added endorsement does not cover
"non-owned coverage," i.e. subcontracted drone services. Also make sure
the coverage includes "hull" coverage,
that is, coverage for the drone itself and
its equipment package. Needless to say,
if the decision is to only use subcontracted drone services, make sure there

is a clear understanding of contractual
risk transfer with the contract clearly
defining the obligations of the parties,
insurance coverage, and experience.
ASSOCIATION DRONE POLICIES
Of course the world of drones does not
stop there for the up-to-date condo
property manager. Private use of drones
is exploding. Since the beginning of this
year, the FAA has received over 550,000
private drone registration applications.
In that time 13,710 people have applied
to take the drone pilot exam. FAA now
forecasts there will be more than 1.3

million licensed drone pilots by 2020.
Imagine how that will affect the future
skies over condo complexes. Now is the
time to develop the new drone condo
rules for your community.
The FAA regulations only address
safety issues but not functional permitted uses. Questions to be addressed
for condos include how a drone can be
used (photography, videos, recreation,
etc.); privacy; delivery services; liability
coverage; and identification of drones
and their operators. And this is just the
start. There will be future issues associated with drones we have not begun to
imagine. So before the sky starts falling,
be prepared because it's coming.

n JACK CARR, P.E., RS, LEED-AP,
IS SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT WITH
CRITERIUM-ENGINEERS IN
PORTLAND, MAINE.

www.hkinsurance.com

Expert focus on Value vs Price is our business.
Serving clients since 1961, we don't just duplicate your
policy - we work with you to make sure you're getting the
best value for your dollar. Listening, understanding,
and frequent reviews help us tailor the right coverage for
each association's specific insurance needs.
Give us a call, or visit our website today.

617-612-6504
Brendon Kilcoyne, CIC

brendonkilcoyne@hkinsurance.com

November 2016

47
http://www.hkinsurance.com
Condo Media - November 2016

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Condo Media - November 2016
