A.M. BestTV: Drone Era Brings New Rules, Risks and Claims

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

OLDWICK - SEPTEMBER 25, 2015 11:58 AM (EDT)
This episode of ^A.M.BestTV spotlights a recent webinar where insurance and legal experts explored regulatory concerns and risk exposures raised by the rapid adoption of drones for professional and recreational usage. Click on http://www.ambest.com/v.asp?v=drones915 to view the entire program.

Drones are being used more frequently; however, the regulatory environment, the courts and the insurance industry have not kept pace with drone technology and usage.

“Currently, independent adjusting firms are using drones for initial property inspections,” said Matt Ouellette, president, Ouellette & Associates. “Specifically, commercial buildings, buildings that are difficult to access by a ladder, as well as unseen accidents by trucking companies, scene inspections and crop claims.”

“At the end of the day, the drone market is going to be significant and will probably start to flourish in the next two to three years, especially in the insurance industry after regulations take effect,” said Doug Haybarker, claims manager, State Auto Insurance Company. “I think that drones are going to be used for a lot of things, which are going to speed up processing inspections, the ability for an adjuster to do his or her job and offer a good level of efficiency and customer service.”

Other people who appear in this episode include:

• Tim Crawley, member attorney, Anderson Crawley & Burke; and


• Bruce Raymond, principal, Raymond Law Group.

Recent episodes of ^_A.M.BestTV include:

• The Return of the Mega Deal During First Half of 2015: A new Best’s Special Report on the surge in insurance and reinsurance mergers and acquisitions (M&A). A.M. Best Senior Industry Research Analyst Erik Miller reviews the strategies driving the increase in M&A activity, which includes capturing underwriting talent, diversifying and building scale: http://www.ambest.com/v.asp?v=manda915.


• Reinsurers and Capital Markets: A Greater Transformer: Highlights of a recent webinar where A.M. Best Vice President Robert DeRose, Managing Senior Financial Analyst Greg Reisner and Senior Financial Analyst Scott Mangan discussed how the widening access to alternative capital is opening up new opportunities for reinsurers, especially larger reinsurers with broader access: http://www.ambest.com/v.asp?v=globalrepanel915.


• The Rendez-vous Conference: Full-length conference coverage and interviews are available at: http://www.ambest.com/montecarlo.


• Surplus Lines Executives Focus on Rising Catastrophe, Cyber Claims: Insurance leaders at the annual National Association of Professional Surplus Lines Offices convention in San Diego, CA, talk about cyber liability claims, which are starting to have significant repercussions. In addition, some companies are reporting surprising levels of natural catastrophe losses, despite few headline events: http://www.ambest.com/v.asp?v=napslo1915.

^A.M.BestTV covers exclusive A.M. Best information and reports, targeted topics and key developments in the (re)insurance industry every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Sign up for alerts of episodes at http://www.ambest.com/multimedia/ambtvsignup.html. View ^A.M.BestTV episodes at http://www.ambest.tv .

A.M. Best Company is the world’s oldest and most authoritative insurance rating and information source.