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Commissioners agree to maintain search-and-rescue drone liability limits while staff finalize policy
Summary
Madison County commissioners reviewed search-and-rescue drone liability coverage and agreed not to lower liability limits; staff will finalize the insurance application and explore bundling to reduce costs.
Commissioners reviewed limits and premiums for the county’s search-and-rescue drone insurance and agreed to retain current liability limits rather than lower them to chase modest premium savings.
Staff reported last year’s premium was about $1,483 and said liability limits for search-and-rescue operations generally run between $2 million and $5 million; operations that include law enforcement often carry limits near $5 million. Commissioners and staff warned that lowering limits to save a few hundred dollars could expose the county to risks — for example, a drone malfunction during an incident could lead to bodily-injury or fire claims.
The board asked staff to finalize the insurance application and recommended bundling the drone coverage with other county policies where possible to reduce costs. Staff noted the completed application will be submitted once signatures are gathered and that county resources (including a staff member identified as Joe) are available to assist with the process.
Next steps: staff will complete the application, maintain existing liability limits for now, and pursue bundling options to realize savings without reducing protection.
