I shot a commercial for a hotel. Perfect weather, great shots. I got home, plugged in the MicroSD card… “Card Read Error.” I tried recovery software. Nothing. The hotel is furious. They spent $5,000 setting up the shot (actors, props). They want me to pay to reshoot it.
Key Takeaways
- General Liability is Useless: GL covers “Bodily Injury” and “Property Damage.” It explicitly excludes “Electronic Data.” It won’t pay for the corrupted files.
- Professional Liability (E&O): You need Errors and Omissions insurance. This covers financial loss caused by your failure to deliver the service (the video).
- “Reshoot Costs” Coverage: A good E&O policy pays the cost to restage the event (hire the actors back) so you can shoot it again.
- Dual Card Slots: The best insurance is hardware. Only fly drones with dual SD slots (Mavic 3 Cine/Inspire 3) for paid gigs.
The “Why” (The Trap): “Tangible Property”
GL policies define Property Damage as “physical injury to tangible property.”
Electronic data is not tangible.
Therefore, a corrupted SD card is not “Property Damage.”
If you don’t have E&O, you are self-insuring the $5,000 reshoot cost.
The Investigation: “I Called Them”
I quoted E&O for a drone videographer.
1. Hill & Usher (Aerial Pak)
- Product: Bundle GL + Hull + E&O.
- Verdict: Includes “Reshoot Costs” up to a sub-limit (e.g., $25,000).
2. Basic App Insurance (Verifly)
- Product: Liability Only.
- Verdict: Denied. They cover the drone hitting the hotel, not the SD card failing.
3. Data Recovery Services
- Analysis: Sometimes E&O pays for “Forensic Data Recovery” ($1,000+) instead of a reshoot.
Comparison Table: Data Corruption Coverage
| Scenario | General Liability | Professional Liability (E&O) |
| Drone hits actor | Covered | No |
| SD Card Fails | Denied | Covered |
| Forgot to hit Record | Denied | Covered (Negligence) |
| Reshoot Costs | Denied | Covered |
Step-by-Step Action Plan
- Don’t Format: If the card errors, pull it immediately. Do not try to format or write to it.
- Send to Pros: Mail it to a clean-room recovery service (like DriveSavers). It costs $1,500 but is cheaper than a lawsuit.
- Notify Insurer: Open an E&O claim. Ask if they prefer to pay for recovery or the reshoot.
- Offer a Reshoot: Proactively offer to reshoot for free (if insurance covers the costs). It saves the client relationship.
FAQ
Q: Can I insure the SD card itself?
A: Hull insurance covers the card hardware ($50), but not the data on it ($5,000).
Q: Does Cloud backup help?
A: You can’t backup while flying. But backing up immediately upon landing (to an SSD) is your duty of care.
[IMAGE: Photo of a MicroSD card with a red “X” graphic and a quote for $5,000 reshoot costs.]