Insurance for a Drone Spray Business

The four layers

• Hull: the aircraft itself — theft, crash damage. Optional on older airframes, valuable on a $30k+ machine.
• Aviation liability: bodily injury and property damage caused by the aircraft. Commonly $1M per occurrence; many farms and co-ops require proof.
• Chemical / drift liability (the critical one): covers damage from the product you applied — the neighbor's grapes, the organic field, the vehicle paint. Ask explicitly for it and read the exclusions.
• Business basics: general liability, commercial auto for the truck/trailer, workers' comp if you have employees.

What underwriters will ask

1. Your Part 107, Part 137, exemption, and state applicator/business license.
2. Aircraft make/model and value; number of pilots and their experience.
3. Acres sprayed per year and the crops/chemistries involved.
4. Your recordkeeping and calibration practices — good answers lower your premium.
5. Loss history.

Have your record system and calibration logs ready; carriers reward operators who look organized.

Cost expectations

Ag drone programs commonly land in the $3,000–$8,000/year range for a single-aircraft operation with $1M liability plus chemical coverage — driven by acreage, chemistries, and experience. That's roughly $1–$2.70/acre at 3,000 acres, which is why it belongs in your cost-per-acre math from day one.

Questions to ask the agent (write these down)

• Is chemical drift/pollution covered, or excluded? Show me the wording.
• Does coverage extend to the mixing/loading site, not just the flight?
• Is coverage per-occurrence or claims-made? Aggregate limit?
• Are additional insureds (landowner, co-op) easy to add?
• Any conditions I must meet — training, records, pilot minimums?

Ranges are typical market figures, not quotes — get bound coverage in writing before your first paid acre. Related: business license & financial responsibility.