Nationwide expanded its drone coverage package
The U.S. insurance industry is changing its offerings to keep up with emerging trends in ag.
“Over time farmers have proven to be early adopters of dependable technology,” Justin Owens, AVP of Farm Underwriting & Sales with Nationwide, told Farms.com. “The allure (for drones) is the variety of uses from an efficiency standpoint.”
Producers can use drones for tasks like crop scouting, map creation, and input application.
And they’re becoming more comfortable adding drones to their equipment fleets.
Drones treated 16.4 million acres in 2025, for example, up almost 60 percent from the previous year, the American Spray Drone Coalition’s annual survey found in January 2026. The report also found the number of registered operators increased by nearly 60 percent to 1,710.
And the number of ag drones registered with the FAA increased from about 1,000 in January 2024 to more than 5,000 by the middle of 2025, Ben Belton, an ag economist with Michigan State University, reported in November 2025.
More drone hardware and software manufacturers are coming online too.
To stay ahead of the curve on protecting these investments, Nationwide launched a new drone coverage insurance package that reflects the realities of drone use on a farm or ranch.
“Some standard policies classify drones as aircraft which excludes them from base traditional farm policies,” Owens said. “This exclusion means incidents involving drones may not be covered under some insurance policies.”
Nationwide’s drone insurance package adds property damage and application of farm chemicals coverage to its existing liability coverage option.
“Property coverage is designed to protect against physical damage to the drone itself and related equipment that’s used on the farm,” Owens said. “Coverage for the application of farm chemicals is designed to address damage or injury arising from aerial application of covered substances like farm chemicals and seeds.”
Nationwide’s drone insurance package is only available to FAA-approved operators who must also abide by additional state laws and have the necessary certifications.
Drone operators interested in learning more about Nationwide’s drone insurance options are encouraged to contact a local representative.