USAIG Enhances Safety Programs for Unmanned Aircraft Policyholders

USAIG and the Unmanned Safety Institute (USI) have teamed up to enhance the utility of safety benefits made available to all Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) policyholders.  The insurer’s Performance Vector Unmanned initiative began in 2016 by affording each UAS policyholder the opportunity to obtain a package of safety-focused services during each policy year of coverage. Recognizing that the commercial UAS industry has evolved and operators’ safety needs have diversified since that time, USAIG’s latest update to Performance Vector Unmanned gives its UAS policyholders the ability to customize their annual safety benefit from an expanded list of offerings.

UAS policyholders that request enrollment into Performance Vector Unmanned now receive an annual allowance of SafetyPoints that can be used at USI’s online marketplace to obtain training and safety-related products. This enables operators to focus their safety benefits on the specific goals and needs of their unique organizations. SafetyPoints can be used for direct purchases with USI or applied as a discount toward various USI product or services. Additionally, SafetyPoints can accumulate with USI and be held on-account for up to three years. Annual SafetyPoints allocations are based on the scope and complexity of the insurance coverages in effect and must be requested each policy year.

USI President Josh Olds commented, “USI is very proud of our participation in the USAIG Performance Vector Unmanned program, and we are excited to expand our offerings based on insight USAIG received from participating operators.” Olds added, “USI breaks its offerings into three categories for organizations: Remote Pilot products, Organizational Stand-up services, and web-based software to facilitate operational management and risk mitigation.  These can be as simple as Part 107 Prep Study Guides, to full-scale Flight Operations Management Systems. Our goal is to provide valuable options that are consistent with each operator’s unique level of sophistication and evolution. We are there to provide them the resources they need, as they need them. These offerings are specifically selected to support USI’s Safety Ecosystem for an organization operating unmanned technology.”

“Feedback from our UAS policyholders showed a need for more autonomy and flexibility in their safety benefit,” said Andrew Spiegel, USAIG’s Senior Vice President of Underwriting. He continued, “The SafetyPoints solution USI co-developed with us makes a wide variety of training courses, safety products and services accessible through a trusted, world-class UAS safety leader. We’re excited to connect our UAS policyholders of all types with USI’s expertise through Performance Vector Unmanned, and proud to invest and partner in their safety programs.” 

Underscoring USAIG’s long-term commitment to safety, the Performance Vector Unmanned benefit refreshes with each UAS insurance policy renewal. More information can be viewed at: https://www.usau.com/safety/performance-vector-unmanned/

Kim Stevens

Kim Stevens is the publisher of State Aviation Journal, which he founded in 2009. A longtime commercial-rated pilot, he was introduced to state aviation in 1992 as Director of the Nebraska Department of Aeronautics, later serving as Deputy Division Director for the Arizona Department of Transportation's Aeronautics Division. From 2013 to 2018, he was Director of Communications and Operations for the National Association of State Aviation Officials (NASAO) in Washington, D.C. Relocating to North Carolina, Kim worked for the Raleigh-Durham International Airport for two years and now concentrates solely on the Journal. Prior to his aviation career, Kim spent a decade in the newspaper and magazine business.