We are living in the future. Personal drone anyone?

We are living the future.

That's what I think to myself every time I see a new technology make its way into the Restoration industry.

I started writing Xactimate estimates in 2000. We were just getting used to the "new" digital cameras which replaced our Polaroid cameras and revolutionized the way we documented losses.

The digital camera allowed us to capture and communicate information in a way that changed how insurance claims were handled. For the first time in insurance claims history, adjusters could truly "see" a loss without physically being there. Having a digital camera to "prove" something happened or existed became a competitive advantage to contractors, and they snatched them up quickly even though the technology was far from perfected.

Who remembers having to reduce the size of their photos in order to "fit" them into an email? At the time there was no other way to send them, there was nowhere to "upload" them to. How many emails did you have to send because the file size limit was so small that you couldn't fit all the file pictures in one shot?

And what about having to carry around MULTIPLE memory cards because the largest ones available were 256MB. I chuckle to myself just thinking about it.

The first cameras were also HUGE and EXPENSIVE. Over time things shrunk and got better. Now, of course, we all carry incredibly small and capable phones in our pockets. Why do we call them phones still?

Over time, entire industries and service sectors developed to accomplish everything we needed to do including file sharing, photo editing and everything else that happens with a click of a mouse (or tap of a finger).

The next revolution in handling insurance claims came with the infra-red camera. Suddenly we were magicians who could find water hidden in walls and under floors. Everyone wanted one, some of us could actually afford one.

There was even a brief moment in time when you could actually charge to use one. That line item doesn't even exist anymore in Xactimate. Now you can get a plug-in infrared camera that connects to your camera... I mean phone, for less than $300!

All along the way, Moor's Law has ensured that we never have to wait long for technology to become amazingly more useful and incredibly more affordable. It took about twenty years for digital cameras to become mainstream commodities. Its been about ten years since restoration folks started using infrared. Now we're witnessing the next evolution in Restoration documentation tech: Drones.

I remember seeing the first drones about five years ago. I was immediately enamored. Remote controlled camera platforms that have the versatility and acrobatic abilities of helicopters? What's not to love?

These things were self-stabilized, rechargeable dream launchers. I wanted one. Until I found out the price. With sales prices starting at $10,000, no drones were going to make their way into my Christmas stocking any time soon. Or maybe I was wrong.

Today, owning my own drone is more than a possibility, it's likely going to happen soon. The drones available on the market today are safer and more responsive than ever before. Just do a search on Amazon and you'll find a complete drone camera kit for less than the cost of a high-end DSLR camera in 2010.

The things they can do is mind blowing. And now that the FAA has finally clarified their use, people from every industry are finding new uses for them.

Drones have officially crossed over from hobby toys to industrial tools, and here are a few of the reasons you should own one.

Unbeatable documentation speed and precision

When an insurance carrier starts acting like an early-adopter, we should all wake up and pay attention. In March 2015, State Farm became the first insurance company to gain approval from the FAA to test commercial applications of drones. The following month, three other insurers (USAA, AIG & Erie) joined the ranks of drone flyers.

Why? Because the speed and precision of gaining current aerial photography of a loss is incredible. The right photo can save an insurance company thousands of dollars. It can also make you thousands.

It takes a couple hours to properly inspect and photograph an average sized roof using a ladder and digital camera. Even longer with second stories and multiple pitches. Drones take this inspection time from hours to minutes.

Safety

I don't know about any of you, but I'm deathly afraid of heights. Yes, I'm a 41 year old 6' 7" man and I get nervous climbing a six-foot ladder to put up the Christmas lights (or Halloween lights because that's how we roll). Over 80% of fall injuries are caused by ladders, and Restoration folks are on them all the time.

What if you didn't have to climb an extension ladder ever again? That thought alone has be shopping for drones right now. And what about walking roofs in icy and wet conditions? Forget about it, literally.

Access Everywhere

You all know that sometimes there are spots that you just plain can't reach with a human. Steep slopes prevent ladders, mean neighbors don't allow access to adjacent yards or decks. There are man times that the only way to access an area to inspect is through the air.

Have you ever been unable to inspect a property because the structure had been deemed unsound? Now we can send in the drone.

Bird's Eye View

Sometimes it helps to get a complete overview of a property in order to paint a thorough picture of a loss. Before drones, we relied on things like Google Earth maps and other satellite based inspection tools. The biggest problem with them is the pictures are months or even years old. I remember looking at address once and seeing an empty lot, because I lived in a townhome that was less than two years old.

This data lag is problematic when trying to adjust for remodels/additions or landscaping changes. Did that tree really come from the neighbor's side? Some things are tough to tell for sure unless you achieve the right perspective.

I believe we're just now seeing the useful applications of drones and autonomous technologies. I can easily envision a time in the near future when we pull up to a loss, pull our drone out of it's case and set it loose to do a full property survey on its own with a simple command click on our camera... I mean phone.

What do you think? Are drones going to play an important role in your company?

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Andy McCabe is an appraiser, Xactimate estimator, Restoration Industry thought leader and aspiring triathlete based in Bend, OR.

He wrote his first contractor's guide to mitigation, The 24HR TECH in 2015. His next guide book, Scoping for Profit in Xactimate, is due out in December 2016.

He also feels weird writing about himself in the third person, so he's going to stop now.

35 miles on the Timberline Trail. Mt. Hood, Oregon