While drone insurance has found its footing within the Canadian aviation market, the real stress test for underwriters lies in the dawn of electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (eVTOLs). These futuristic aircraft, sometimes dubbed “flying taxis,” are pushing insurance into uncharted airspace – both figuratively and literally.
According to Steven Godfrey (pictured), head of aviation at HDI Global SE Canada, the insurance industry is not struggling to structure policies for eVTOLs so much as it is grappling with the absence of meaningful data.
“This eVTOL technology is brand new,” Godfrey said, pointing out that aviation underwriters are used to dealing with mature systems like piston engines and turbine jets – technologies that are decades old. “We have a century's worth of data that we can use… even turbine technology is 80 years old.”
That trove of historical data allows for precise underwriting, pricing, and claims management. But with eVTOLs, insurers are navigating blind. There’s no reliable actuarial foundation, little understanding of operational risks, and no claims history to model from. This, Gofrey said, presents a challenge not just for rating but also for defining liability and structuring policies that adequately reflect reality.
And yet, there’s no lack of interest. Regulators, underwriters, and legal experts are already engaged in ongoing global conversations – many of which Godfrey has participated in.
These questions, he emphasized, are not about the basic mechanics of a policy. The framework – coverage for physical damage and liability – remains largely intact. The more pressing concern is understanding what the risks actually are and how to assign responsibility when something goes wrong.
By contrast, drone insurance has become a more routine exercise in efficient distribution rather than deep underwriting reinvention.
“Drone technology has been around long enough that the industry has some pretty mature solutions when it comes to policy structure,” Godfrey said. The issue now is making coverage accessible at scale, especially for low-premium, low-touch accounts that brokers may struggle to prioritize. Many insurers, he says, are investing in streamlined digital platforms to close this distribution gap.
The learning curve for eVTOLs may be steep, but insurers can’t allow themselves to wait for the technology to become mainstream before preparing to underwrite it. According to Godfrey, proactive education and early participation in regulatory discussions are key to establishing confidence – both in the aircraft and in the underwriting process.
“That’s why I’ve been participating in these discussions actively, along with other insurers,” he said. The goal is to gain “clear line of sight” into how regulators will approach this class of aircraft and how claims will be handled once issues inevitably arise. For underwriters, comfort is everything – especially when the risks are unfamiliar.
“We’re never comfortable with what we don’t understand yet,” he said.
That discomfort is precisely what insurers are trying to eliminate now, while eVTOLs are still in development. By building knowledge early, Godfrey said, underwriters will be positioned to evaluate risk effectively when the aircraft begin flying at scale. “It’s taking opportunities to learn now, while the technology is still emerging, so that we are fully informed when it becomes widespread.”
So who will be writing these policies when the time comes? Godfrey believes eVTOLs won’t necessarily require an entirely new underwriting specialty – but they will demand focused expertise. Most aviation insurers already divide responsibilities among underwriters with deep experience in particular verticals – such as manufacturing, product liability, or piloted operations.
“For myself, I’m a pilot by trade,” Godfrey said. “My comfort comes in flying risks.” That includes traditional fixed-wing and rotor-wing aircraft, as well as emerging drone technologies. But as eVTOLs inch closer to commercial viability, he sees it as essential to build internal expertise now.
“A forward-looking insurer is doing exactly what we are doing at HDI Global,” he said. That means ensuring “at least one of the underwriting teams is getting involved and learning about this while it’s still in its infancy.” The goal is to have a knowledgeable resource in place when eVTOLs take off in the broader market – someone who doesn’t just understand aviation, but understands this specific category of flight.
