Drone insurance requires deep understanding of exposures and risks, Anurag Rastogi, HDFC ERGO General Insurance

The policy covers third party liability, inclusive of the damage to the drone or exclusive of it?
Our policy offers coverage for third party property damage and bodily injury/death arising from the use of drones. We will indemnify the Insured for the sum which he/she will be legally liable to pay due to the damage caused by the Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) whilst operating the same. The coverage offered is subject to maximum limit of Indemnity, which currently is for Rs. 10,00,000/-.

Third party insurance was mandatory, but no other insurance provider until HDFC ERGO opted for insuring third party claims, why so?
We believe such micro insurance policies require good understanding of the exposures and risks involved. This is where our relationship with TropoGo has worked, who have helped us fast-track our learnings of this fast moving high technology sector. Hence, we are the first in the industry to offer a third party property damage/bodily injury/death cover to drone owners/operators which may arise from the use of drones on a ‘Pay as you Fly’ concept.

Will you embed drones with sensors, which might help in continuous gauging of drone’s health, to help you decide on the premium amount?
Currently, we are only looking at offering Third Party Liability Insurance. But, with time we will also consider evolving technologies which may help us mitigate pricing risks.

What expertise does TropoGo bring-in?
TropoGo, a Deep-Tech start-up, has been working on Real-time Risk Management platform for Smart and connected products and is trying to orchestrate the drone ecosystem in India. The Company has been working closely with Drone owners/operators community in India and possesses a sound understanding of the industry.

At HDFC ERGO, we anticipate that there will be a rise in the use of drones, and were seeking a partner like TropoGo who could lend us their technical expertise in this segment enabling us to align our underwriting to come up with suitable covers for the segment. Partnering with them we have launched India’s first on-demand ‘Pay As You Fly’ Third-Party Liability cover for drone owners and operators which is Smart, Affordable & Fit-for-Purpose.

What kind of analytics will the app provide, so the services are continuously improved and premium amount changed from time to time?
The TropoGo app will capture all the information related to the make & model of the drones, purpose for which the drone will be used, geographical area of use, weather conditions under which the drone will be flown and other such information which will serve as important data points for us to further evolve our underwriting & pricing parameters.

Are you going directly to the drone manufacturers and partnering with them or the drone operators will have to separately buy the policy from you?
We have seen interest from the drone industry and will consider the opportunities to help scale up the segment as much as possible. That said, drone manufacturers are free to opt for the channel that best suits them from a service delivery point of view.