Flock launches Europe’s first ‘pay-as-you-fly’ drone insurance app
Flock, a London based insurtech 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 for up to eight hours of liability and hull cover. Since launching into the iOS and Android app stores in December 2017, hundreds of drone pilots have flocked to the insurance app, and that number is growing on a daily basis.
With the Flock Cover app, drone pilots are able to purchase insurance in a way that mirrors the ease and speed of ordering an Uber. It takes just a minute for a pilot to set up a profile and purchase fully compliant hull and liability insurance. Insurance policies are bespoke to each flight, as pilots customise their policy by selecting a cover duration (between 1-8 hours) and public liability limit (ranging from £1-10M) [the benefits of which are highlighted in Flock’s recent blog post]. Flock recently partnered with global leading aviation insurer Allianz, who underwrite Flock’s insurance policies in the UK.
What cements Flock’s departure from traditional insurers is its heavily data-driven approach to insurance. Pilots choose a 500m radius circle (their ‘Flight Area’); Flock’s proprietary algorithms then aggregate and analyse localised data within that area to quantify the risk of any given drone flight in real-time [for a full breakdown of how Flock’s technology works, click here]. This dynamic risk assessment generates a proportionally priced quote, which is immediately visible to the user. The result is a fully transparent and extremely competitively priced alternative to the UK market’s current offering of ‘flat-rate’ annual policies.
Flock isn’t stopping at insurance, though. 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 recently released its predictive risk analytics engine, meaning pilots can now 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, stating: ‘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 pilots in the UK (currently there are over 3,700 registered with the CAA), Flock recently expanded its offering by unlocking pay-as-you-fly insurance policies for ‘commercial operators in training’. Soon the company will be rolling out on-demand insurance for recreational pilots, with policies starting from just £3. Flock 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.
