More people than ever have drones, but flying them also comes with risks such as losing your drone, damaging it, or worse, causing damage with it. As more of them take to the sky it's not unlikely that some form of insurance will eventually become required to be held by drone operators. A recently-launched company named
Verifly is getting an early start in that market by offering short-term "on-demand" insurance for recreational and commercial drone users. The insurance service starts at an $10 an hour and offers liability insurance for up to a quarter mile around the user. The system works through a downloadable app where the drone operator selects a flight area and receives hourly insurance, subject to some limitations. Right now the service is not offered in all states, but is available in 40 of the 50 states. The insurance currently covers drones with a maximum weight of up to 15 pounds and has a maximum liability limit of $1,000,000 of coverage per incident.
> operator anonymous and skip the insurance. they can only sue you if they find you
Some drones cost $1000 ~ $2000 or more (I've seen them priced up to $15K and above on Amazon ) so depending on the circumstances it might make sense to buy it.
Also, if you're engaged in some paid-for activity like reporting on new or current events, or if you're doing inspection work. If you're engaged in commercial activity it might make sense from a legal standpoint, but again, for me it would depend on the circumstances (location, terrain, weather, presence of people, etc).