Drone insurance in Canada
The Canadian Aviation Regulations do not require liability insurance for Basic or Advanced small RPAS operations. Transport Canada recommends it; no regulation compels it. It becomes mandatory when it's a condition of an SFOC or similar approval — and, far more often in practice, when a client, municipality, landowner or insurer makes it a condition of the work. If you fly commercially, you need it regardless of what the regulations say.
What the regulations actually say
Nothing, essentially. Part IX sets out certification, registration, operating limits and record-keeping. It does not impose an insurance requirement on Basic or Advanced operations of small remotely piloted aircraft. Pilots regularly assume otherwise — usually by analogy with car insurance, which is compulsory and provincial and an entirely different regime.
So if you fly recreationally with a sub-25 kg aircraft under a Basic certificate, you are not breaking any aviation regulation by having no coverage.
When it becomes mandatory
- As a condition of an SFOC. Special Flight Operations Certificates for higher-risk operations routinely attach insurance conditions, and where they do, the coverage is a regulatory requirement for that operation.
- Contractually — which is most of the time. Municipalities, universities, film commissions, industrial sites, property managers and general contractors almost universally require proof of commercial general liability coverage before they'll let a drone near their site. Two million dollars is the figure that comes up most often; five million is not unusual for larger institutional clients.
- By the landowner. Farmers are often relaxed. Industrial landowners with a safety department are not.
The practical reality: the question is not whether the regulations require insurance. It's whether you can afford the downside if something goes wrong. A drone that comes down through a windscreen, or into a person, generates a liability that will not be limited by the fact that Transport Canada didn't insist you carry cover.
What the coverage types mean
- Liability — third-party injury and property damage. This is the one that matters, and the one clients ask to see. It's what people mean by "drone insurance".
- Hull — damage to your own aircraft. Optional, and worth doing the arithmetic on: for a mid-range aircraft the annual premium can approach the replacement cost.
- Payload / equipment — cameras, gimbals, sensors. Often more valuable than the airframe on a working setup.
- Non-owned — covers you flying aircraft you don't own, which matters if you subcontract or borrow.
What to check before buying
- Does it cover commercial use? Some homeowner and hobby policies explicitly exclude anything you're paid for.
- Does it cover the operation you actually fly? Night, controlled airspace, near people, BVLOS — exclusions here are common and easy to miss.
- Can you get a certificate of insurance naming the client? Institutional clients will ask to be named as an additional insured, and a policy that can't accommodate that will cost you work.
- Is coverage per-flight or annual? Per-flight products suit occasional operators; if you fly weekly, annual is usually cheaper and much less administrative friction.
- What happens if you're non-compliant? Policies generally exclude claims arising from operations conducted outside the regulations. Flying without the right certificate, or in airspace you weren't authorised for, is a good way to discover that your coverage evaporates precisely when you need it.
That last point deserves emphasis. Insurance does not substitute for compliance — it's conditional on it. Which is a reasonably good argument for holding the right certificate and keeping your recency current even when nobody is checking.
If you're just starting out
Flying recreationally under 250 g, or on a Basic certificate in an empty field? You're not required to carry anything, and I'd rather say so than sell you a worry. Fly sensibly and keep well away from people and property.
Taking money for it, at all, even once? Get liability coverage before the first paid job. Not because a regulation says so, but because the first client with a procurement department will ask for a certificate, and because a single bad afternoon costs more than a decade of premiums.
Questions
Is drone insurance required by law in Canada?
Not by the Canadian Aviation Regulations for Basic or Advanced small RPAS operations. Transport Canada recommends liability coverage but does not mandate it. It becomes a legal requirement when attached as a condition of an SFOC or similar approval.
How much liability coverage do clients usually require?
Two million dollars is the most common figure in Canadian commercial drone work. Larger institutional clients — universities, municipalities, major contractors — frequently require five million, and will usually want to be named as an additional insured.
Will my home insurance cover a drone?
Sometimes for recreational use, rarely for commercial. Many policies explicitly exclude aircraft, and almost all exclude anything you're paid for. Read the exclusions rather than assuming, and get the answer in writing before you rely on it.
Does insurance still pay out if I broke a regulation?
Generally not. Policies typically exclude claims arising from operations conducted outside the applicable regulations — flying without the correct certificate, or in airspace you weren't authorised to enter. Compliance is a condition of coverage, not an alternative to it.
Do I need insurance for a flight review?
It isn't a requirement of the review itself. You'll be flying your own aircraft in a low-risk site we've agreed, and the assessment is about your airmanship and planning. Whether you insure your own aircraft is your call.
Written by Chris Jones, Transport Canada certified RPAS pilot and flight reviewer. Last reviewed 26 July 2026. Spot an error? Tell me and I'll fix it.