State Farm, Georgia’s largest insurer, will begin testing Unmanned Aerial Systems technology in Georgia over the next few months for aerial roof inspections. State Farm has earned a reputation for providing industry-leading catastrophe response and for handling more claims than any other property-casualty insurer in America. State Farm sees Unmanned Aerial Systems technologies as an additional tool to help us assess damage and serve our customers and communities impacted by catastrophe events.
 
Safety is of the utmost importance therefore we are not inviting media to testing locations or conducting demonstrations for media purposes. Broadcast quality b-roll footage and high resolution still photos are available for media purposes.
 
In 2015, State Farm became the first insurance company in the nation to obtain federal exemptions to allow flight testing for underwriting and catastrophe operations (State Farm Cleared for Takeoff – March 16, 2015). Since receiving FAA permission to operate drones, State Farm has reviewed how to efficiently and effectively use this new technology to benefit customers. The intent of this effort is to test the use of UAS to complete roof inspections. State Farm is focusing on testing and development to help determine how and when this technology would be deployed for real-world situations.
 
Aerial roof inspection testing will take place in April and May and will be driven by the availability of roofs to inspect. State Farm will be testing thefeasibility for drones to be able to observe damage on rooftops and produce rooftop measurements.
 
Facts regarding the Aerial Roof Inspection Testing:
 
-This is only a test. No decisions have been made as to if and when State Farm will use UAS technologies for actual field deployment.

-It is premature to specify a time when this technology will be deployed outside of a testing environment.

-Teams, each consisting of one licensed pilot and one re-inspector, will execute flights to validate our ability to capture aerial imagery and obtain roof measurements.

-At this time, the FAA requires State Farm UAS pilots to be certified.

-UAS pilots during the testing flights will be contract operators trained by Airware.

-Airware is one of the most innovative companies in commercial drone technology.

-Flights adhere to all regulations and parameters set forth by the FAA.

-State Farm considers customer privacy one of our top priorities. Use of this technology will adhere to all applicable laws and regulations to ensure consumer privacy.

-State Farm will conduct testing only if building owners have consented to participate in the test and will limit its use to business operations.