Commercial Insurance and cover for ‘Acts of War’ – Important Update for Members

We want to update you on an issue relating to commercial insurance and cover for ‘Acts of War’ — and what it means for you as members.

Our insurance is renewing, and whilst the insurance includes cover for up to £15,000 p.a. of commercial use, the insurance company will not provide cover for ‘Acts of War’. And we have been unable to source suitable cover for ‘Acts of War’ elsewhere.

Why is cover for ‘Acts of War’ important?
EC 785/2004 is a regulation introduced after 9/11, long before drones existed. It was written for commercial airlines and sets out insurance requirements covering passengers, baggage, cargo, and — importantly — ‘Acts of War’.

This regulation also applies to drones, which creates a technical problem. Our insurance cannot be used for commercial operations.

What about recreational drone flying?
This issue does not affect recreational drone flying – which creates a contradictory situation:

• Recreational drone flying is explicitly exempt from EC 785/2004 by the definition in CAP722.
• Since 2021, CAA rules make no distinction between commercial and recreational flying — both are treated equally under the risk-based framework. But the same definition does not extend to commercial operations, leaving those doing any form of commercial operations technically caught by an outdated requirement that is practically impossible to satisfy.

What are we doing about it?

We are working hard to find an insurance company that will offer Acts of War cover for our members. We hope to be able to be able to make an announcement on that in the near future.

What this means for you

• Recreational drone flying is completely unaffected — you can continue as normal. Members remain covered by £5m public liability insurance and £5m products liability insurance which covers all of their flying for sport and recreation.
• The insurance provided with FPV UK membership cannot be used for commercial flying, because it does not include cover for ‘Acts of War’, which means it does not comply with EC785/2004 – the aviation insurance regulation.
• Regulation EC785/2004 does not apply indoors, so indoor commercial use is lawful.