CA insurance company drops customer after 'drone' took aerial images of yard
CA insurance company drops customer after 'drone' took aerial images of yard
A Bay Area man lost his home insurance after the carrier took aerial photos of the "clutter" in his yard.
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They claim that they use photos from satellites and fixed-wing aircraft, but refuse to show the photos to both the owner and the news outlet. I can almost 100% guarantee the company is lying about how they obtained the photos and won’t show them because it would prove they did use a drone. Admitting to using a drone would open up a can of legal issues for them that they want to avoid.
I doubt they're flying drones or taking any pictures themselves. They are purchasing imaging from companies that do this like what the ESA offers through Skysat. My county was doing the same thing for planning department enforcement and got a lot of flak for it.
I think it is way more likely they just bought imagery from existing sources. There are tons of high res imagery out there that you can purchase. Price is usually determined by how old it is. This seems way more likely than an insurance company hiring a drone operator and going door to door. Secondly, companies never share the details of things like this. Wherever the source, they are unlikely to share it. Companies don't give details because they don't want to fight you. They just want to cancel your account and move on.
That isn't to say this is right.
Do we want insurance companies peering into our backyards from imagery? I don't. Regardless of if it's a drone or not.
It’s more likely it was purchased/licensed imagery. I just think it’s weird and unfair that they won’t share the images that they used against the client. It’s similar to red light tickets. If people get one, they expect photo proof to come with it.
What legal issues would they be opening themselves up to? All airspace in the US is regulated by the FAA. As long as they weren't in restricted airspace, following all the regulations, and the operator had the proper part 107 license there is nothing illegal about using a drone in this manner. There have been various discussions over the years about "owning" airspace over ones property but nothing has even gone to court that I'm aware of. Not to mention the company could have well seen onto the persons property while being over public space (I.E. the road).
I'm not arguing if this was right or wrong, but I see nothing illegal here.
Complete speculation on my part, but privacy laws? My understanding is that in the US, broadly speaking, you have a right to privacy where it would be reasonably expected, which I've usually heard defined as places you can't easily see from the sidewalk. If my understanding is true, then this would be an invasion of privacy just like some creep standing on a ladder peeping on people in their high fenced backyards, and there are generally laws against such behavior.
The article touches on that part actually right at the end:
As for legality of taking drone pictures over a house? California state law only forbids that if you're specifically doing so as a sort of peeping tom.
Would’ve been nice if they explained it a bit more.
For example, California has some civil laws covering such things due to paparazzi using technology, but the key with those is the intent to capture people’s activities: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=1708.8.&lawCode=CIV
Oh nice, that's what I get for not reading it
Don't be like reddit, read the articles before commenting my dude. I know it's a difficult habit to break, but you're less likely to end up looking like a fool and you get to poke fun at the people who obviously aren't reading the articles either!
Yeah, I think it’s a proximity thing. The risk of a drone crashing over a yard is part of that factor I think, which makes sense. Imagine a big drone crashing on some kid’s head 😬
I don’t know the exact details, but I think there are laws about proximity to the yard and home, plus the safety risks involved. It obviously varies from state to state, but I had a friend that sold his because of how weird the laws get.
Fun fact: I used to work with a client that was a filmmaker. They did tons of drone footage for movies, commercials, tons of big client things. They had a RED camera attached to a super high-end drone that required 2 operators: a camera operator, and a drone pilot (they also had their pilot‘s license). The guy regularly worked with the FAA to help shape the FAA laws for drone footage due to how murky they can be. I always thought that was super interesting.
Oh the laws are super-weird. I have my license and a drone which is why I felt the need to comment. I used to work for a utility company and we had a two-operator drone that required that. Though it was nothing high-end for filming. We used it for inspections, to back-fill crappy satellite imagery, and occasional community events. I've kept my license current intending to do something with it, just haven't really put a lot of work into that other than creating the LLC. One of these days I'll finally get around to it...I keep thinking real estate.
That sounds super cool. I’ve got some friends that have had a studio for years and they do all kinds of stuff. Promo videos for universities, commercials, events. I bet if you put it out there, there’s a market for it. I’ve seen the higher end real estate companies do flyover videos too. That kind of thing you could probably have a few queued up a day.
It was honestly super-fun. Loved getting out in the field with my partner in crime to fly. Hmm may have to do a little more digging. I literally have all the pieces of the puzzle: LLC, drone, insurance, experience, etc. Just have to find the right way to break into the market. I thought I had a lead on doing tower inspections around the state but that ended up falling through. :( Cheers!
Oof, what a bummer! A city contract like that sounds like it could be steady. You could go super niche. Make fun videos for a YouTube channel lol.
Yeah it would have been guaranteed, high-paying work forever as long as I kept up the quality. All towers need to be inspected regularly. I thought about that but I'm not even slightly creative and wouldn't even know where to begin.
Honestly, Real Estate is a race to the bottom. Not that I’m complaining, I found a place that will do a Matterport scan of a small building for $250 and send me CAD files of the floors (I’m a structural engineer, so getting a full 3D photo and scan plan without having to tape a place myself if a huge help).
I got my part 107 so I could justify spending $400 on an OG DJI mini to play with. Turns out it’s actually super useful for getting roof data on existing hvac units (I can read model and serial numbers off face plates). The down side is that it works so well I haven’t been able to justify spending more for a better drone.
So if they're not drones, what is the implication there? That insurance companies are flying fucking spy planes over the US? Ridiculous that this is viewed as ok.