Ministerial Order No. 2/2021 was published on last 4 January, defining the minimum coverage, conditions and capital requirements applicable to the civil liability insurance to be concluded by operators of Unmanned Aircraft Systems ("UAS operators"), commonly known as drones., and provided for in Article 10 of Decree-Law No. 58/2018 of 23 July (DL58/2018).
DL58/2018 addresses the need to establish a legal regime that regulates, at national level, the use of unmanned aircraft, determining that UAS operators are accountable, regardless of any subjectivity of the fault, for the compensation of damages caused to third parties by that system, unless the accident is the exclusive fault of the injured party and prescribing that UAS operators must be insured for property damages caused by UAS whose aircraft has a maximum operating mass heavier than 900 grams (this insurance does not apply to UAS operators who are insured for civil liability in connection with the sports practice).
Following DL58/2018, the Ministerial Order no. 2/2021 sets out the minimum coverage, conditions and capital requirements of the insurance contract considering, for such purpose, the risk associated with the UAS, based on the different maximum operational masses of aircraft. The civil liability insurance contract covers claims arising from the use of the UAS on national territory during its period of validity and any claims submitted up to one year after the termination of the insurance contract. However, the contract excludes payments due as criminal, administrative or disciplinary liability of the insured and the insurance deductibility, if any, is not enforceable against harmed third parties or their heirs.
The obligation for UAS operators to contract the above-mentioned insurance came into force on last 3 February.
