Frequently asked questions
Twelve questions, twelve short answers
Each answer starts with its conclusion. If one sentence is enough for you, it is the first one. Anyone who needs more reads on.
Obligations
Is drone insurance compulsory in Belgium?
Yes, except for strictly private use with an aircraft under 900 grams. You need both, not one or the other. A flight that serves your business falls under the obligation, even with a pocket-sized aircraft.
Yes in the great majority of cases. Article 12 of the Royal Decree of 8 November 2020, as amended on 26 December 2022, requires third-party liability insurance from every operator, with one exemption only: strictly private use and a maximum take-off mass under 900 grams.
In the specific category there is no weight threshold at all: the European regulation always applies.
Read more: the obligation in detail, article by article.
My drone weighs under 250 g, does any of this apply to me?
For insurance the threshold is 900 grams, not 250. For registration the threshold is indeed 250 grams, and it drops to zero as soon as the aircraft carries a camera.
These two figures answer different questions, and confusing them is the most widespread mistake.
250 grams is the threshold for registration as an operator. Below it, registration is still required if the aircraft carries a camera or a sensor, which catches nearly every recreational drone sold under that mass.
900 grams is the insurance threshold, and it only comes into play for strictly private use.
Read more: how to register as an operator.
How do I obtain a certificate of insurance?
The certificate is issued by the insurer once the policy is in place. The policy number is asked for during registration as an operator: insurance therefore comes before registration.
The certificate is drawn up by the insurer once the policy has been taken out. We forward it to you as soon as we receive it.
One point of sequence surprises many remote pilots: the insurance policy number is asked for during the registration procedure as an operator. So you have to be insured before you can register, not the other way round.
Read more: the registration procedure.
What do you risk by flying uninsured?
Administrative measures, including operating bans, and criminal penalties under the Act of 27 June 1937. The main risk lies elsewhere: without insurance, damage caused to someone else stays entirely with you.
The Royal Decree provides only for administrative measures, including operating bans of up to 24 months. Criminal penalties appear in the Act of 27 June 1937 on air navigation.
Since 1 September 2026, the new Criminal Code coming into force has changed the multiplier applied to fines. Those amounts are legal maxima, not what a court hands down in practice.
The real risk lies elsewhere. Without third-party liability, personal injury caused to someone else stays entirely with you, and it runs quickly past what a business can absorb.
Read more: what the text actually says.
Regulations
Do I need a remote pilot certificate?
Yes in nearly every case. The A1/A3 training and examination are free, online, and the certificate is valid for five years. Subcategory A2 requires a further certificate, which assumes you already hold the A1/A3.
The A1/A3 training and examination are run online by the Directorate-General for Air Transport, free of charge, in French, Dutch and German. The certificate obtained is valid for five years.
Flying in subcategory A2, that is to say close to people, calls for a further certificate of competency, which assumes you have already obtained the A1/A3.
Insurance is on the official syllabus for the examination, alongside air safety and airspace restrictions.
Read more: subcategories A1, A2 and A3.
I fly in the specific category, what does that change?
Everything. The European regulation applies with no weight threshold, minimum cover is 0.75 million special drawing rights, and declarations based on national standard scenarios stopped being valid on 1 January 2026.
The insurance regime changes in kind. In the open category an exemption exists under 900 grams for private use. In the specific category there is no threshold: the minimum cover is the one set by the European regulation, 0.75 million special drawing rights, roughly 885,000 euros.
There is something more pressing. Declarations based on national standard scenarios stopped being valid on 1 January 2026. The operators concerned had to move to a European standard scenario, an operational authorisation, or a light UAS operator certificate.
A change of operational regime changes the risk insured. If that is your situation, have your policy read again: it may still describe an activity you no longer carry out.
Read more: the three routes into the specific category.
My drone has no class marking, can I still fly it?
Yes, under a permanent regime with no end date. An aircraft placed on the market before 1 January 2024 flies in A1 under 250 grams, and in A3 only between 250 grams and 25 kilos. Subcategory A2 is closed to it.
Many websites still confuse two different things.
The tolerance that allowed an aircraft under two kilos to fly fifty metres from people expired on 31 December 2023. If you read it somewhere, that page has not been kept up to date.
What remains carries no deadline: an aircraft placed on the market before 1 January 2024 flies in A1 if it weighs under 250 grams, and in A3 above that. There is nothing in between, and that is where the unpleasant surprise sits.
Your 900-gram aircraft bought in 2022 therefore keeps the right to fly, provided it stays at least 150 metres from residential areas. To come closer, you need an aircraft that carries a class marking.
Read more: the regime for aircraft without class marking.
Cover
Does my household policy cover my drone?
Sometimes, and it depends entirely on your own policy. Belgian rules allow insurers to exclude aircraft without requiring them to, and the weight thresholds chosen vary widely from one insurer to the next.
There is no general answer, and be wary of websites that give one.
Belgian rules allow aircraft to be excluded from a household third-party liability policy, without requiring it. Most insurers bring the recreational drone back in through a commercial clause, with thresholds running from under a kilo to a good deal more depending on the insurer.
Professional use, on the other hand, is excluded everywhere.
Send us your particular conditions, or write to us with your policy in front of you. Checking takes a few minutes.
Read more: what your household policy often excludes.
Am I covered abroad?
Basic cover applies to the European Union, generally extended to Norway, Iceland, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. A worldwide extension exists, excluding the United States and Canada.
Basic cover applies to the European Union, most often extended to Norway, Iceland, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. A worldwide extension is possible, excluding the United States and Canada.
One clause often goes unnoticed. The worldwide extension carries the ordinary covers with it, but not the war and terrorism section, which stays confined to the basic territory.
For a one-off flight outside Europe, a temporary extension costs little. It is asked for before you leave.
Read more: territorial scope and its limits.
Claims
What happens if I lose my drone?
Mere disappearance, meaning an aircraft never recovered, is excluded from every policy we have examined. If the wreck is found, the damage falls under hull cover.
We ask this question before every policy is taken out. The drafting is rarely clear, and the difference between two formulas turns on a few words.
Policies distinguish theft, which implies a third party and is proved by a complaint filed with the police, from mere disappearance, which means an aircraft lost with no explanation. The second is excluded.
In practice: wreck recovered, damage covered; aircraft never found, claim refused.
Do you fly over water, woodland, or somewhere hard to reach? Tell us. Some insurers will discuss it, which is rare on this point.
Read more: three claims and how they ended, hull cover in detail.
Price
How much does drone insurance cost?
The price depends on the operational category, the sector, the number of aircraft and remote pilots, the value of the equipment and the area flown. We approach six insurers and come back with a costed quote within 48 working hours.
There is no single tariff, and we would rather not display one that would not hold. Six things move the premium: your operational category, your sector, the number of aircraft, the number of remote pilots, the value of the equipment to cover and the area you fly in.
A 900-gram aircraft flown in sight for real estate work and a fleet of five machines operating beyond visual line of sight above populated areas have very little in common.
The quote form asks those six questions and nothing else.
Read more: ask for a costed quote, the six factors that move the premium.
How quickly can I be insured?
We come back with a costed quote within 48 working hours. Putting the cover in place then depends on the insurer chosen and the documents they ask for.
The costed quote leaves within 48 working hours of your request. Taking out the policy itself depends on the insurer chosen and the documents they ask for.
If you have a fixed deadline, a site visit, a shoot, a registration to complete, say so on the form or write to us. We handle dated files first.
Read more: start a request.
Your question is not here?
Write to us. You will get an answer from someone who knows the drone file, not from a general help desk.
Answers checked on 9 September 2026. They describe a regulatory framework and market practice, and do not replace the general conditions of your policy.