Drones AKA Unmanned Aerial Vehicles – Problems, Solutions and Insurance

27 Pages·2016·1 MB·English

by  John Eubank

“Drones AKA Unmanned Aerial Vehicles – 
Problems, Solutions and Insurance” 
2016 

Copyright 2016 by Professional Insurance Education, Inc.
Presenter 

John O. Eubank, CPCU, ARM is CEO and President of Professional Insurance Education, Inc. in 
Nashville, Tennessee.  He was previously employed by the Insurance Services Office, Inc. and ISO 
Commercial Risk Services, Inc. as the Regional Operations Manager for the Southern Region. He 
left ISO in 1987 to form PIE, Inc. and since has logged 14.72 gazillion miles in his insurance‐
manual‐laden Lincoln. 

John Eubank John's professional affiliations include past Regional Vice President of the Society of Chartered 
Property & Casualty Underwriters (CPCU), PMLG of the Honorable Order of Blue Goose, 
International (HOBGI), member of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), and member of 
the Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE). 

John is recognized as one of the nation's premier insurance education   instructors, having served 
as a National Faculty member of the Society of Certified Insurance Counselors since 1976, and is a 
recipient of the Professional Leadership Scroll from the American Institute for Property & Liability 
Underwriters and the Insurance Institute of America. 

Since forming Professional Insurance Education, Inc. in 1987, he has served as a speaker and 
instructor for a wide variety of educational seminars for insurance associations in Alabama, 
California, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Ohio, North & South Carolina, 
and Tennessee; Hoosier Ins. Co.; Society of CIC and the CPCU Society; National Association of 
Insurance Women (NAIW); and the North American Retail Dealers Association. 

John is available for association‐sponsored and in‐house training programs, though he is usually 
booked over a year in advance. He can be contacted at 408 Page Road, Nashville, TN 37205, 615‐
383‐5443, [email protected].
Remaining 2016 National Webinars and Webcasts 

July 20 
“Identifying and Fixing Personal Lines Coverage Gaps” 

August 24 
“Identifying and Fixing Commercial Lines Coverage Gaps” 

November 16 
“Builders Risk and Installation Floaters” 

December 7 
“What I’ve Learned (So Far) in 47 Years in the Insurance Industry” (FREE webinar) 

For more information or to register, go to www.independentagent.com, click on Education, then 
Webinars. 

FREE 30‐Minute Monthly “First Monday LIVE!” Webcast on “What’s Goin’ On?” 

What are the insurance implications of stories in the news headlines? 

 July 11 (SECOND Monday due to the holiday) 
 August 1…tentative interview with attorney Randy Maniloff 
 September 5…tentatively broadcasting live from Chicago 
 October 6…possibly another on‐location live broadcast 
 November 7…tentatively broadcasting live from the Mid‐America Insurance Conference 
 December 5 

To register, go to the VU home page and click on the “FML” link on the left.
6/23/2016
“Drones AKA Unmanned Aerial
Vehicles –Problems, Solutions and
Insurance”
June 22, 2016
Presented by
John O. Eubank, CPCU, ARM
& Bill Wilson, CPCU, ARM
HISTORY OF DRONES
1849-when the Austrians attacked the Italian city of Venice
with unmanned balloons loaded with explosives
1903 -Wright Brothers flight December 17
1914-1918 -The first pilotless aircraft were built during and
shortly after World War I
1946 -Popular Science concluded that: “Drones, as the radio-
controlled aircraft are called, have many potentialities, civilian
and military.(You think!)
1981 –Regulation Model Aircraft
FAA –Changing as we speak!
We are at a turning point in the drone industry… the sky is the
limit. (Pun intended)
PIONEER DAYS
A month in ‘drone’ law --------------is a
year in other aspects of the law!
So many moving parts:
Federal v State v Local Governments
v FAA v Homeowners v Commercial
Insurance v Hobby v Profit Making
Ventures
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TERMS
• Aircraft -any contrivance invented, used, or
designed to navigate, or fly in, the air
• Drone: The “D-Word”. The word “drone” has
no fixed meaning. It’s a pop-culture term. It
means whatever the speaker wants it to
mean.
• FMRA:Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 –
Being revised in 2016
TERMS (Cont’d)
• UAV: Unmanned aerial vehicle
• Unmanned Aircraft. Public Law 112-95 defines
unmanned aircraft as an aircraft that is operated
without the possibility of direct human
intervention from within or on the aircraft
• Model aircraftas an unmanned aircraft that is
capable of sustained flight in the atmosphere,
flown within visual line of sight of the person
operating the aircraft, and flown only for hobby
or recreational purposes.
TERMS (Cont’d)
• UAS -an unmanned aircraft and [its] associated elements
(including communication links and the components that
control the unmanned aircraft)
• sUAS-The UAS category is subdivided into two general
sections. The first refers to the small devices that are easily
accessible by consumers. These are “Small” Unmanned
Aircraft Systems. This term is also defined by the FMRA as
“an unmanned aircraft weighing less than 55 pounds.” The
weight includes all components and the payload
• There is no special term for a UAS that is not a sUASdue to
weighing over 55 pounds. Anything over that weight is still
a “UAS” for regulatory purposes. Under ½ pound also not
defined, but the FAA is working on this term—stay tuned.
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TERMS (Cont’d)
• National Airspace System (NAS) -The common
network of U.S. airspace; air navigation facilities,
equipment and services, airports or landing
areas; aeronautical charts, information and
services; rules, regulations and procedures,
technical information, and manpower and
material
• PIC -Pilot in command, the person who has final
authority and responsibility for the operation
and safety of the flight
TERMS & More Terms
• Visual Line of Sight (VLOS) or (LOS): unaided (corrective lenses
and/or sunglasses excepted) visual contact between a pilot in
command and an unmanned aircraft sufficient to maintain safe
operational control of the aircraft
• Autonomous flight:Some UAVs are controlled not by a human
sending radio signals but by internal programming that tells it
where to fly. For example, a UAV may use its on-board GPS system
to fly from one predetermined point to another.
• Collision avoidance:Ideally UAVs, whether controlled by people or
flying autonomously, will have collision avoidance systems to
prevent them from flying into fixed objects or other aircraft.
• COAs:Short for certificates of authorization, which are approvals to
fly UAVs domestically granted by the FAA under existing rules.
ISO’s DEFINITION
"Unmanned aircraft" : The definition found in
ISO’s Forms & endorsements;
means an aircraft that is not:
1. Designed;
2. Manufactured; or
3. Modified after manufacture;
to be controlled directly by a person from within
or on the aircraft.
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Herding Cats
• I have tried to keep up with what the Federal
Government, the FAA and State Governments are
doing to regulate the sky! Trust me this is worse than
the old idiom “herding cats” which denotes a futile
attempt to control or organize a class of entities
which are uncontrollable or chaotic.
• I am writing this on June 18, and I do not guarantee it
will be correct on June 22.
• The best sites to stay current are:
• www.FAA.gov
• http://www.modelaircraft.org
The Problem
• Trespass
• Invasion of privacy
• Bodily Injury
• Property Damage
Cuiusestsolum, eiusestusquead
coelumet ad inferos
• Latin maxim, "whoever's is the
soil, it is theirs all the way to
Heaven and all the way to hell”
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As stated in the Restatement
(Second) of Torts
• The biggest issue with UAS is privacy -Flight
by aircraft in the air space above the land of
another is a trespass if, but only if,
• (a) it enters into the immediate reaches of the
air space next to the land, and
• (b) it interferes substantially with the other’s
use and enjoyment of his land.
KY Court Case & Other Legal Measures
• Federal Court case
• http://www.fedregsadvisor.com/files/2016/0
2/ Drone-owners-suit-against-Property-
Owner- with-a-shotgun.pdf
• Signal jamming (illegal)
• Privacy is evolving and ever-changing
Federal Law---Today or Yesterday
• The “FAA” has the exclusive authority to govern airspace
within the USA and the operation of aircraft
• The FAA’s airspace designations state that Class G airspace
includes uncontrolled airspace and is part of the navigable
airspace the regulation of which substantially affects
interstate commerce
• The operation of unmanned aircraft in the manner alleged
did not violate the defendant’s reasonable expectation of
privacy; and
• That a property owner cannot shoot at an unmanned
aircraft operating in navigable airspace within the exclusive
jurisdiction of the United States when that aircraft is
operating in the manner alleged above.
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Flying Computer
• The next few slides are just to give you an
idea of the problems with UAV andthe
information they might collect.
• Remember with a camera, the UAV becomes
a flying computer that can immediately
download data to anywhere
NOT AN ATTORNEY
1. Intrusion (pictures/videos) upon seclusion
2. Appropriation of likeness
3. Publication of private facts
4. False Light
Intrusion Upon Seclusion
“One who intentionallyintrudes, physically or otherwise,
upon the solitude or seclusion of another, or his private
affairs or concerns, is subject to liability to the other for
invasion of privacy, if the intrusion would be highly
offensive to the reasonable person.”
One who has established intrusion upon seclusion is entitled to
recover damages for:
The harm to interest in privacy resulting from the invasion
His mental distress proved to have been suffered if it is of
a kind that normally results from such an invasion
Special damage of which the invasion is a legal cause.
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Appropriation of likeness
The right of privacy is the right of a person to be
free from unwarranted publicity or the
unwarranted appropriation or exploitation of
one’s personality, the publicizing of one’s private
affairs with which the public has no legitimate
concern, or the wrongful intrusion into one’s
private activities in such manner as to outrage
or cause mental suffering, shame, or humiliation
to a person of ordinary sensibilities.
Publication of private facts
• In most states, you can be sued for publishing
private facts about another person, even if those
facts are true.The term "private facts" refers to
information about someone's personal life that
has not previously been revealed to the public,
that is not of legitimate public concern, and the
publication of which would be offensive to a
reasonable person. For example, writing about a
person's HIV status, sexual orientation, or
financial troubles.
False Light
• A term often used in the context of invasion
of privacy claims, which involves presenting a
person in such a way that leaves a negative
and inaccurate impression about that person.
False light is a tort theory under which a
claimant might sue for damage to reputation.
• Person who published had knowledge
material was false.
• Example –Photo shopping a person.
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