Today, 29 June, the Government adopted the “Regulations on Compulsory Civil Liability Insurance for Unmanned Aircraft Flights”. The Regulations establish minimum general civil liability limits for damage that an unmanned aircraft could cause to the health, life or property of a third party, as well as to the environment.
The Regulations establish insurance requirements and minimum liability limits for unmanned aircraft flights within the territory of Latvia.
The Regulations provide for a minimum liability limit of 50 000 euros per insured event and for the insurance period as a whole in specified categories, as well as where flights are conducted closer than 150 m to residential, commercial, industrial or recreational areas. Where flights are conducted in the open category with an unmanned aircraft having a take-off mass of up to 20 kg, and where such flights are safely conducted at a horizontal distance of at least 150 m from residential, commercial, industrial or recreational areas, where it may reasonably be assumed that third parties will not be endangered, no minimum liability limits are established for the unmanned aircraft. At the same time, the draft Regulations provide that the general insurance requirements do not apply where flights are conducted with unmanned aircraft whose maximum take-off mass is less than 250 g and whose maximum flight speed is less than 19 m/s.
However, where unmanned aircraft flights are conducted in the specific category or the maximum take-off mass of the unmanned aircraft is 20 kg or more, thereby increasing the risks, higher minimum liability limits are established. For example, for unmanned aircraft with a maximum take-off mass of up to 500 kg, the minimum liability limit may exceed 850 000 euros.
The Regulations also stipulate that the insurance requirements apply to the owner of the unmanned aircraft or the operator of the unmanned aircraft system who assumes overall responsibility for conducting the flight. This is because flights may also be conducted using an unmanned aircraft owned by another person, and it makes it possible to identify who assumes overall responsibility for the damage caused. In addition, damage to third parties may be compensated under a person’s general civil liability insurance; consequently, in such cases the risks are covered regardless of who took out the insurance.
The new requirements will apply from 1 January 2022.
Author:
Communications Division
Ministry of Transport
sam.gov.lv
