Drone Additional Insured Requests for a Single Project

A drone client's request to be an additional insured for one project should be reviewed against that project's parties, work, location and dates. Send the actual requirement before promising the wording. A single job request can still involve questions about preparation, repeat visits and work after the last flight.

The practical goal is to define the project clearly enough that the offered insurance can be compared with the contract. Avoid assuming the request is only a certificate task or that adding a name makes every client activity part of your drone coverage.

At BWI, we can help present the requirement for review. Request an aircraft insurance quote from BWI with the project description and insurance clause. Tell us who is hiring you, where the work occurs and whether the client has requested an endorsement, certificate or both.

Identify the Project Rather Than Only the Client

Start with a short scope statement: the service you will perform, the site and the expected schedule. A client may have several properties or departments, but this request concerns a particular piece of work. Make that distinction clear.

Include the contracting entity's legal name and any other party requesting protection. If a property owner or manager is listed separately, identify its role. Do not assume a familiar project brand is the same as the entity named in the agreement.

Describe the actual drone activity, not only the deliverable. A marketing video, progress imagery and a technical inspection can involve different operations even when the client calls all of them aerial photography. Explain any activity beyond the standard scope originally quoted.

BWI's drone insurance page provides the broader service context. For a single project, a precise description is more useful than a general assurance that your business carries insurance.

Distinguish Evidence From the Requested Protection

Ask whether the client simply wants evidence of existing insurance or specifically requires additional insured status. Obtain the wording instead of relying on a coordinator's shorthand. A request called a COI may include several requirements in an attached contract.

The Connecticut Insurance Department explains in Bulletin S 14 that certificate holder status does not itself make that party an additional insured. Use the actual policy review and issued documents to determine the protection offered.

If the insurer uses an endorsement or another policy mechanism, ask how it applies to this request. Do not infer from a name appearing on a document that every requested term has been accepted.

Keep your explanation to the client accurate. State what has been issued and identify unresolved differences. Avoid promising that an additional insured receives a separate policy, unlimited protection or coverage for all of its own activities.

Use a Project Boundary Checklist

The following checklist turns an open ended request into a defined review. It is a planning tool rather than proposed policy wording. Have the insurer evaluate the actual contract and terms.

Include Preparation and Return Visits

A project may begin before the first production flight. Site visits, equipment setup and testing can occur on a different day. Explain what you will do and whether the client expects the insurance requirement to apply during those activities.

Similarly, a client may request a reshoot after the initial work is complete. State whether repeat visits are part of the original scope or would be a new assignment. This helps identify when the insurance description should be updated.

Do not assume that a short flight time means a short project period. The contract may cover a broader service engagement. Compare that requirement with the actual insurance term and accepted wording instead of choosing dates based solely on anticipated airborne minutes.

If the work crosses renewal, review the new arrangement before continuing. Keep evidence tied to the period and conditions actually in effect, not merely to the date when the client first approved your vendor file.

Review Scope Restrictions and Other Requirements Separately

Ask how the offered additional insured wording relates to your operations and the client's interest. Have any limitations explained using the real project. Do not try to interpret a phrase in isolation from the complete endorsement and policy.

Other contract requests may concern limits, primary and noncontributory wording or a waiver of subrogation. Identify them separately. An answer about additional insured status is not automatically an answer about each of those terms.

If the contract asks for a particular form or broad equivalency, submit the exact requirement. Avoid substituting a familiar general liability form number into an aviation request without review. The available drone policy may use different wording.

Obtain appropriate legal advice for indemnity or other contractual obligations. The insurance review can address available protection, but it does not decide whether every promise in the service agreement is appropriate for your business.

Do Not Use Additional Insured Status to Add a Pilot

If another person or business will fly the drone, describe that operating arrangement directly. Adding a client for a particular liability interest should not be used as a substitute for reviewing pilots, subcontractors or aircraft.

Give the insurer the actual relationship: employee, independent operator or another arrangement. Identify who supplies the drone and who contracts with the end client. A single project may involve several layers, and the relevant policy needs to be reviewed against that structure.

If the client wants one of its employees to operate your aircraft, explain that proposal before agreeing. The additional insured request alone does not answer whether the flight or operator is accepted.

Keep regulatory qualifications and permissions separate as well. Insurance documentation is not an operating authorization. The responsible people still need to resolve the legal and operational requirements through the appropriate channels.

A One Day Shoot With a Second Site Added

Consider an operator hired to film one commercial building for a property company. The client requests additional insured status for the project. The operator submits the contract, legal name, location and planned work for review before the flight.

The client then asks for footage at a second property owned by another LLC. That introduces both a different site and another entity. The operator should not assume the first project's documents automatically describe the expanded assignment.

The revised request identifies the new owner, second location and updated schedule. The insurer can evaluate the actual change. If the client needs a revised packet, the operator obtains the issued documents rather than editing the original certificate.

This example does not predict whether another endorsement or cost will be required. It demonstrates the decision point: a material scope change needs to be compared with the arrangement already accepted.

Check the Response Before Calling the Request Complete

Compare the issued documents with the contract. Verify the legal names, project reference, applicable dates and requested terms. If the response uses different wording, ask for an explanation and identify the difference to the client.

Do not report an endorsement as issued while it is only requested. Keep the stages clear: submitted, under review, offered, accepted and documented. This makes a realistic mobilization decision possible.

Send the current packet through the agreed route and retain the client's response. If a portal rejects it, obtain the specific reason. A naming correction, expired document and unavailable policy term require different next steps.

Avoid solving a rejection by adding unsupported statements to a description field. Ask the issuing party to address the actual issue and have contractual concerns reviewed where needed.

Close the Project Without Losing the Evidence

After the job, keep the original requirement, scope changes and issued insurance documents together. Record the actual work dates and any return visits. This helps answer a later question about what was requested and in place for the project.

Do not assume all obligations end when the drone lands or remove a party based solely on a completed invoice. Review any continuing contractual requirements and the actual insurance terms before requesting a change.

If the same client returns for another project, use the prior file as a checklist rather than automatic approval. Confirm the new scope, parties, dates and current policy. Reusing accurate process is helpful; reusing old conclusions without review is not.

Where a demand or incident arises, report it promptly through the appropriate policy process. Preserve the project file and follow relevant insurer and legal instructions instead of deciding coverage from the additional insured label alone.

Prepare a Focused Request Email

A useful request identifies your insured business, the client legal name, project, sites, planned dates and the attached insurance requirement. Add a short note about subcontractors or unusual activities. Ask for review of the requirement and the documents available for it.

Avoid asking only to add this company with a deadline and no context. A few accurate details at the beginning can prevent a chain of corrections after documents are issued.

If a response is needed for a bid rather than an awarded job, state that distinction. Do not represent proposed terms as bound coverage in your proposal. Keep the client's required deadline and your actual insurance review status visible.

Frequently Asked Questions About Project Additional Insured Requests

Is Additional Insured the Same as Certificate Holder?

No. Ask what policy protection is requested and how the issued wording provides it. A certificate recipient field does not settle additional insured status or the scope of protection.

Will the Client Get a Separate Liability Limit?

Do not assume that. Have the applicable limits and policy structure explained. Avoid promising separate or unlimited protection based solely on an additional insured request.

Can the Same Documents Cover a Reshoot?

Compare the reshoot dates, site and work with the accepted arrangement. If the facts or policy term change, obtain the appropriate review and updated evidence before relying on the old packet.

Can I Add the Client After the Flight?

Arrange the review before the work. A later request should not be assumed to provide protection retroactively. If something was missed, describe the actual facts promptly rather than changing dates or implying earlier acceptance.

Does Adding the Client Permit Its Employee to Fly My Drone?

Review that operating proposal separately. Additional insured status does not replace the pilot, aircraft and use review. Explain who will operate and under what relationship before agreeing.

Get a Quote From BWI for Your Drone Project

We can help present a single project request with clear parties, work and dates. Send the actual insurance clause so the discussion addresses what the client requires rather than a generic certificate label.

Get an aircraft insurance quote from BWI or call 866 788 6291 and describe your drone project. Start before committing to a specific endorsement or mobilizing for the flight.