drones

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has granted permission to AIG to use small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) for its day-to-day inspections by insurance inspectors.

The approval allows the insurance company to use drones to conduct inspections for risk assessment, risk management, loss control, and surety performance for its customers across the US.

AIG will also be able to launch a R&D programme, to explore new ways to employ UAVs for its customer requirements.

AIG claims and operations executive vice-president Eric Martinez said: "Leveraging cutting-edge technologies like UAVs can enhance our ability to assess and mitigate risks to better help our customers and their communities prepare for and rebuild after a catastrophic event."

"The agency has also approved Amazon.com’s proposal to test delivery drones to deliver packages to customers using self-piloted aircraft."

With UAVs, disaster areas can be surveyed with high-resolution images, facilitating faster claims handling, risk assessment, and payments.

The drones can access dangerous or inaccessible areas, and provide information related to properties, structures, and claim events, AIG said.

AIG is already working on an international UAV R&D programme, and has completed flights in New Zealand that provided key data to understand technology, flight operations, and image collection techniques.

FAA’s approval to AIG come after the agency granted permission to Bechtel to use drones for construction projects, earlier this week.

The agency has also approved Amazon.com’s proposal to test delivery drones to deliver packages to customers using self-piloted aircraft.

Last month, the agency issued experimental airworthiness certificate for Amazon’s home delivery drone prototype, to conduct outdoor tests.

Image: The FAA approval allows AIG to use drones for risk assessment, risk management, loss control, and surety performance. Photo: courtesy of Victor Habbick / FreeDigitalPhotos.net.