Flying High With Drones, From Pre-Loss Risk Assessment To CAT Response

By 2022, 2.85 million small drones will be flying the friendly skies, according to projections by the Federal Aviation Administration.

Our numbers are nowhere near as high. According to Transport Canada, as of Aug. 31, 63,200 drones were registered in this country.

There were 59,700 pilots with a basic certificate and 6,350 pilots (mostly flying drones for commercial purposes) with an advanced certificate. One of those commercial purposes is insurance.

When insurers and contractors in Canada first began using drones, many employed their own in-house drone pilots, said Kabir Shaal, co-founder of Drone Software Canada. But those numbers have dwindled.

‘Over time, we noticed there was less interest in in-house pilots and a [still]-developing interest in pilots for hire,’ he said. ‘It has grown tremendously in the last few years.’