Anyone who has been paying even the slightest bit of attention lately can’t help but notice that drones, drone estimating, and drone classes have quickly become an ever-growing niche in the insurance industry. A few years ago the drones were bulky, hard to operate, and were illegal to use in a business. That has all changed now. Drones are smaller, faster, easier to fly, and pilots are easily licensed. That’s important because in order for there to be mass adoption of this tool then there has to be a relatively low barrier of entry. Currently, someone can get their drone pilot’s license in as little as a week.
An army of workers with an army of drones means a few things for the industry. The inspector could potentially utilize the drone to obtain photographs for areas that are particularly dangerous. The inspector will still need to get on the roof and do his own inspection, but he won’t necessarily need to wait on ladder-assist or bring in a three-story ladder. Some of the drone-assist programs are utilizing machine learning to teach the drones what hail and wind damage look like. This technology is in its infancy but is improving every day. A good inspector with a decent off-the-shelf drone shouldn’t face too many roofs that can’t be inspected properly, promptly, and safely.