RPAS Stakeholder Hearing Third-party liability insurance requirements

Transcription

1 RPAS Stakeholder Hearing DISCLAIMER: The views presented in this document reflect SDG s understanding of the issues as to 05/03/14 Wednesday, 05 March 2014 Steer Davies Gleave Eurocontrol Headquarters 1

2 Agenda Overview of Regulation 785/2004 Issues with Regulation 785/2004 and RPAS International comparison of insurance requirements 2

3 Overview of Regulation 785/2004 (1) An EU Regulation on insurance requirements for air carriers and aircraft operators; t specific about RPAS, but ICAO defines defined RPAS as aircraft so RPAS are in scope of Regulation 785/2004 In effect since 2005 with drafting started in the aftermath of 2001 (explaining a focus on war and terrorism issues); 3

4 Overview of Regulation 785/2004 (2) Scope of the regulation (Art 2) Applies to all air carriers flying within, into, out of, or over the territory of a Member State Defines specific exemptions for certain categories of aircraft Definitions (Art 3) Third-party means any legal or natural persons, excluding passengers and on-duty members of both the flight crew and the cabin crew Principles of the Regulation (Art 4) Insured risks must include acts of war and terrorism All flights must be covered whether operated through code-share, franchise, lease, etc 4

5 Overview of Regulation 785/2004 (3) For third-party liability, the minimum insurance cover per accident and per aircraft varies depending on the MTOM of the aircraft 5

6 Comparison of third party liability insurance cover purchased < 1m 10m > 20m Low RPAS Model aircraft Scooter Car High Most of civil RPAS appears to be insured between 1 m and 2m, with some cases up to 5m or 10m In most MSs, 3 rd party liability cover required for model aircraft is 1-2 m, and in some cases up to 25m. Third party liability coverage for cars can vary, from the 1m cover of the so-called UK Third-party only insurance cover, up to 20m 6

7 Fitness check of Regulation 785/2004 Regulation 785/2004 has achieved the objective of harmonising insurance requirements within the EU; Stakeholder (National authorities, airline and aircraft operators, insurance industry) agreement of support for 785/2004; Minimum liability levels have been found to be significantly below actual average indemnification amounts. However there was agreement from stakeholders that this is not an issue and is best left to the market ; Other issues: Some definitions to clarify (Art 2) Are TPL MTOM bands adequate for small aircraft? SDR exchange rate fluctuations Certificate of insurance mention of unmanned aircraft 7

8 Issues with Regulation 785/2004 and RPAS A Regulation drafted without specific unmanned background information Loopholes in the scope of the regulation (Art 2) that can impact RPAS Exemptions for State aircraft: Refers to the definition of Article 3(b) of the Chicago convention Aircraft used in military, customs and police services shall be deemed to be state aircraft How about RPAS operations on behalf of State or public entities? Exemptions for model aircraft with MTOM < 20kg Exempts aircraft with MTOM < 500kg of war and terrorism insurance obligations under certain conditions: Used for non-commercial purposes; Local flight instruction 8

9 The definition of State aircraft varies across Europe Czech Republic France Italy Romania Spain Sweden United Kingdom Definition of State aircraft Military, police Based on 785/2004 definition / Chicago definition Military, police, border agency, firefighters, civil protection Police, rescue and firefighters (all military aircraft) Separation of State ownership and state operations RPAS operations for State bodies to date Military, customs, police, search and rescue, firefighting, coastguard, etc. Do state aircraft need insurance cover not provided by the State? t when the State owns the aircraft Yes, except military Comments Unclear if it applies to public entities that not State but public Clear rules of what is State aircraft 9

10 Across Europe, the definition of model aircraft differs Issue: Currently a majority of RPAS are below 20kg and some claim that they are model aircraft. Are national definitions of model aircraft clear enough as to what is a model aircraft and what is an RPAS? Definition: Art. 2(b) of 785/2004: definition of model aircraft ICAO: model aircraft fall outside the Chicago Convention and are exclusively subject of national regulations, if any Definition issues on model aircraft vs. RPAS Recreational vs. private use? Commercial use vs. aerial work and surveillance 10

11 Model aircraft overview across Europe Czech Republic France Italy Romania Spain Sweden United Kingdom What is a model aircraft? Model aircraft interpreted to be for sport / recreational use only RPA used exclusively for recreational purposes and competitions is a model aircraft Unmanned RPA used exclusively for sport and recreation + constantly under unaided VLOS is a model aircraft Definition of model aircraft adopted in their aviation law Forthcoming. Want to segregate RPAS and model based on private/comme rcial use All UAS used / designed for activities that are not recreational, are not model aircraft RPAS used for sporting and recreational purposes are model aircraft Are model aircraft subject to the same insurance requirements as RPAS? Unclear Yes Forthcoming (Yes) Only when model RPAS fly BVLOS Yes 11

12 Regulation 785/2004, risks of war and terrorism requirements Requires all operators (except in specific circumstances) to be insured for risks including acts of war, terrorism, hijacking, acts of sabotage, unlawful seizure of the aircraft and civil commotion; War and terrorism insurance is currently available in the market, and is provided subject to a 7-day notice before cancellation of policies; If cancellation happens and sufficient cover cannot be provided by States or EU through a step-back mechanism, then aircraft are grounded (insurers cannot be compelled to offer coverage); There is no guarantee in Regulation 785/2004 that insurance market failure will not happen; Aviation insurance contracts exclude war risks (AVN48B), but writeback is available through AVN52C; All cover under AVN52 is automatically terminated if war breaks out between any of the 5 major powers. 12

13 National insurance requirements beyond 785/2004 Member State Belgium Czech Republic Denmark France Germany Italy Romania Spain Sweden UK Insurance requirements beyond 785/2004? Unclear t decided yet 13

14 International comparison: RPAS insurance and liability Australia Brazil 66 certified operators in July 13 Aerial photography / surveying, surveillance, power line inspection 90% of aircraft weigh < 7kg Rigorous certification process TPL insurance requirement But CASA strongly recommends getting a 3 rd liability product Similar rules to manned aviation 15 operators requests, 5 granted Only federal police given non experimental certificate Police insured on private market Requirement to report every 3 months: number of flights, flight times and any failures Currently drafting insurance rules Press reports show wider use than reported - enforcement challenge 14

15 Round-table discussion Q4: Is it a real problem that Regulation 785/2004 was drafted without unmanned aviation in mind? Q5: Should insurance requirements for RPAS be segmented in something else than MTOM bands (such as type of operations, density of area overflown )? How is it enforceable? Q6: Is too much third-party liability cover required of RPAS operators or too little? Q7: Should RPAS operators really be required to insurance against war risks and terrorism? 15

16 Thank you 16