Brain Training: 10 things you need to know about... Drones

2. Deloitte predicts that, globally, there will be over a million drones in commercial use by the end of 2015, many more in the hands of consumer enthusiasts

3. Only a small minority of drones are registered with the Civil Aviation Authority; regulations are patchy, and the law is still evolving

4. A drone weighing 2kg to 10kg – of the kind used by police, film crews, oil and construction firms, and a growing band of amateurs – could easily kill or maim anyone it struck

5. Drones are potentially hackable and prone to mid-air mechanical failure; they have caused seven near misses with piloted craft in the UK since May 2014, and raise serious privacy issues

6. Expect legal actions and insurance claims across personal injury, property damage, trespass, privacy, harassment, criminal negligence, airspace violations, and IP infringement

7. From an insurance point of view, drones raise all the same issues as cars - with an added airborne dimension and the complication of a camera on board

8. If existing legislation cannot cope with drones on issues like liability for personal injury and property damage, privacy and IP violations, there may be a new ‘drone law’

9. There could eventually be requirements for operator licensing, automatic accident prevention cut-ins, and transmission of usage data

10. Increasingly regulated commercial drone use in the years ahead will create significant new demand for public liability, employers’ liability, personal injury, hull, cargo and other specialist covers