AIG Becomes The Latest Company To Use Drones

While Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN's proposed drone delivery service has stolen the spotlight when it comes to innovative uses for the unmanned aircraft, American International Group Inc AIG has been quietly formulating its own plans for the technology.

On Wednesday, the insurance company announced that it had received approval from the Federal Aviation Administration to use drones in order to conduct risk assessment inspections.

Drones: A Help To Insurers

Insurance providers could be one of the largest beneficiaries of improving drone technology and loosening regulations. The unmanned aircrafts have been approved for use by three companies including AIG, and could be put into use soon.

United Services Automobile Association (USAA) has also received FAA approval, and the company says it may be able to use a drone to inspect catastrophe sites as early as this week, if needed.

Related Link: Cash In On Drones, Self-Driving Cars And Other Government Regulations With GovBrain

Claims Easier To Process With Arial Images

Insurance providers say the use of drones would make their response to claims much faster, as it would allow the companies to inspect areas that were previously too dangerous to enter.

Damage caused by natural disasters, as well as condemned buildings and dangerous roof inspections, are difficult for claim adjusters to asses as access is limited and often risky. However, drones would provide aerial images that could be used by the companies to evaluate the damage without putting an inspector anywhere near the site.

Still Limited Use

Despite the FAA approval, insurers like AIG are still limited by the rules governing drone flights. Because of privacy concerns and safety measures, drones can only be flown over residential properties with consent of the owners.

Insurers say this limit could be a hindrance and will probably prevent them from using drones for residential claims. Instead, the aircraft will initially be used to survey industrial buildings and catastrophe sites.