DJI Care Insurance: Great Savings for Your Repair Costs

The repair costs incurred due to the inevitable and inescapable damages that our drones are usually prone to, are arguably the most stressful to all pilots. Most pilots may send their drones into water or against trees where the damage may result. The pity is that such damages are not covered by the automatic product warranty provided by the DJI on the purchase of any aircraft.

In the end, many are seen giving up on their drones or resorting to purchasing new aircraft, which may likely get damaged too. To alleviate this shortcoming, the DJI Company has provided the DJI Care Insurance.

But this aircraft care insurance is, for now, applied on selected products such as the Phantom 4 series, Phantom 3 series, and the Phantom Inspire 1 series. Do not confuse drone care insurance with the product warranty.

As highlighted above, the product warranty is attached to your product immediately after the purchase and is sought to cover only quality defects from the factory for a certain period. Furthermore, the product warranty is attached to all the DJI products, whereas the DJI care is attached to a few, and it has numerous limitations.

There is also the DJI Care Refresh, which is predominantly replacing products to a maximum of two units, particularly for water damage, which is excluded by the DJI Care and the Product Warranty. We will touch on that later on. For now, let’s discuss the Care Insurance.

What is DJI Care?

DJI Care is a service plan that was primarily designed to tremendously reduce the repair costs for the customers when their aircraft, gimbal, and camera have sustained damage during normal use.

The Care focuses on the anticipated damages where, for example, the drone hits a wall, loses the signal and falls abruptly, or the camera hits the tree. But, intentional damages are not covered. We will lay out the exclusions below for this Care.

The DJI Care is available in two packages: The 1-year and the 2-year plan. Our apology if you thought it is provided free of charge. These two packages cover the same damages. The prices vary according to the plan chosen and the drone model purchased. View the table below for a comparison of prices determined for the US coverage.

Aircraft model	1-year plan	2-year plan
DJI Mavic 3	$239	$399
DJI Mavic 3 Cine	$369	$599
DJI FPV	$199	$319
DJI Air 2S	$99	$169

_{Prices are correct as of December 27th, 2021}

Important: The maximum coverage for this DJI insurance is equivalent to the market price of the product you bought. That being said, you can ship the drone to the DJI engineers for repairs as long as your repair costs have not exceeded the total amount of the drone, and as long as the DJI Care is within its period of validity.

How Does the DJI Care Work?

The DJI Care works by allowing you to repair the damaged drones where performance has been jeopardized. Other components such as the battery, remote controller, propellers, and battery chargers are not covered by this Care. Even the scratched drone shell is not covered.

The Company only offers DJI Care on the Gimbal, Camera, Phantom Inspire 1 series, Phantom 3 series, and the Phantom 4. Other products will be added in the future, and the plans will be adjusted accordingly since the total costs are attached to the market price of the aircraft/ camera/gimbal.

So, before you ship your drone to the company for repairs, ensure that the damage is under the repair scope predefined by the company. Also important is that you should make sure that your drone is under DJI Care.

Keep in mind that the insurance is attached to the Drones S/N, not the owner. If you change from Phantom 3 to Phantom 4 while under the DJI Care, the recent purchase will not be automatically covered by the Care. You must register the Care for it. There are exceptional instances where the DJI Care may be transferred.

For your aircraft to be repaired, the following process normally occurs:

Damage Occurs → File Online Repair Request → Be Advised to Send Your Aircraft → DJI Engineers Assess the Damage and Repair.

The DJI Care allows you to send the drone for repair as many times as possible provided the total costs are below the market price. They can either repair or give you a new drone if damaged beyond repair. But if the damage was found to be under the product warranty, then the Company will repair free of charge without deducting the balance in your Care Plan.

Which Damages Are Excluded By The DJI Care?

The Company has anticipated the reckless use of the drone when people know that DJI Care can help them. As a result, they have instituted some exclusions, and these exceptions include the following:

• Stole or abandoned drone
• Damage caused by flying in restricted flight conditions
• Shell damage and abrasions because they do not jeopardize the performance
• Lost aircraft
• Losses caused by force majeure
• Damage occurred outside of the period of validity of the DJI Insurance
• Damage/extra costs occurred due to technical enhancements/performance improvements
• Damage to the property or personal injury caused by the drone
• Water damage
• Deliberate loses for profit gain

These are the exclusions of the Care Insurance by the DJI. Any other damage caused during normal use of the aircraft is covered. By stating these exclusions, the Company was preventing the deliberate reckless use of the aircraft, whereby the DJI Insurance might end up being misused. This, therefore, means that you still have to be vigilant despite the introduction of this DJI Insurance plan.

Are There Extra Costs Involved?

Not at all, but exceptions apply. If you have purchased the DJI Care plan, either the 6 months or 12 months, you do not have to pay any extra cost for the repair if the total repair is below the normal price of that aircraft.

Looking at this scenario more broadly, there is no way that the damages can exceed the market price of the drone. If the drone is severely damaged, the company will simply replace it with the same drone. So, there’s no possibility of exceeding that market price.

The Company has also assumed responsibility for the shipping costs provided your area is within the coverage of the DJI Care. If you are shipping the aircraft outside of the covered area, you will be responsible for all the shipping costs. Now that’s extra costs involved.

Currently, the Company’s Care Plan only caters to people in the US, Canada, UK, Hong Kong, mainland China, and EU countries. The company will not shut the door to expand the coverage to other countries soon. So, as long as you are in these regions where you’ve purchased the DJI Care, there’s no worry about additional deductions from your cover.

Unlike other conventional plans, the DJI Insurance has no deductibles. The drone will be repaired for free by the engineers as long as the costs and the damage assessment are within the coverage requirements of the plan. Note that a brand new aircraft can be provided if the drone is beyond repair provided your cover is sufficiently large. So that’s a peace of mind!

Where Can You Purchase The DJI Care?

Just beware of counterfeit products. Simply go to the DJI official online store to make a purchase. Credit cards, bank wires, and PayPal are accepted as methods of payment. Pay attention to the screen prompts on that site to make a successful purchase. It is an easy process even for a beginner.

Alternatively, you can make a purchase of an Activation Code from your local dealer that sells DJI products, or buy from authorized dealers. But note that not all retailers or dealers have access to selling this DJI Care Activation Code at the moment. In that case, it is advisable to resort to the DJI online store.

Please note that the DJI Care will be activated immediately if bought separately. As for brand new gimbal, camera, or aircraft, it will be activated after 2 days of shipping. But note that the existing aircraft, cameras, and gimbals are only eligible for this coverage if activated less than 48 hours or not activated.

What Happens If You Sell The Aircraft?

The DJI Company detaches itself from the sales of the drone from one person to the other. But the DJI will remain active in the sold aircraft. It is therefore advisable to contact the customer support of the DJI to cancel that Care Insurance.

If not, then the new owner may use the DJI Care to his/her advantage while you are losing out on the subscription. If you sell the aircraft after the period of validity has elapsed, then there’s no worry.

If you want to buy a new aircraft or gimbal or a camera, a new DJI Care plan is needed. As already mentioned, the Care is only attached to the S/N of the product purchased. So whether you own hundreds of DJI products or not, the Company will not limit the number of packages to take in total.

Can I Transfer My DJI Care?

The only way to transfer it to anyone else is when you sell your product to that person if the plan is still valid. But you cannot transfer the Care to another model. It can only be possible if you transfer to the same model under some strict exceptions as stated below.

Exceptions for the transfer of DJI Care

• If you purchased a new drone with the DJI Care, and thereafter return it later on via the DJI’s Return Policy, you will be allowed to cancel the DJI Care. All they need is the original receipt of purchase, the S/N, and proof of a successful return. Email to the djicare@dji.com.
• If your drone has been damaged by water within the period of validity of the DJI Care, you can be allowed to transfer the Care to a new aircraft that you want to purchase. Simply send the S/N of the damaged aircraft/camera/gimbal and the S/N for the new product to djicare@dji.com for attention. The new S/N will then be added to the existing service plan.

Why Buy The DJI Care If You Have The Product Warranty?

These are two different things. The fact is that the product warranty will not cover the damages that occurred due to the normal use of the drone. Only the quality defects are covered and repaired for free. So if you crash your aircraft into trees or buildings, and end up damaging the body/camera/gimbal, you will have to break your bank with the expensive repair costs incurred.

On the other hand, since it is a service plan, DJI Care will cover such damages that are within the limitations. If the aircraft has been returned due to factory faults, the company will repair it for free. Your service plan will remain untouched until that time that you bring the product for damages.

So it is important to have the DJI service plan in spite of the product warranty offered by the company. Some crashes can happen at any time, more especially if you’re still learning to fly the drone. You can save massive repair costs by signing up for the insurance plan.

What if Your Aircraft Damages are not Covered by the DJI Care?

Since the DJI Care has exclusions, some damages such as water damage are not covered. The Company has yet another impressive service plan in that regard, the DJI Care Refresh. This is a comprehensive warranty for your product.

It covers the water damage too during normal use. It can happen that the drone is sent careening into water inevitably. Unfortunately the DJI Care regards that as an ignorance, whereas the DJI Care Refresh doesn’t.

How does DJI Care Refresh Work?

Only for a small additional charge, and within a period of 12 months, you have the opportunity to have two replacement units from the company. These replacements can be something new or virtually new with the same conditions and performance.

You will follow the same process of returning the damaged products as in the DJI Care. The Company will assume responsibility over shipping costs. They will offer you a VIP phone support. But the telephone support is not available in some regions.

Which Models Are Covered By The DJI Care Refresh?

Unlike the DJI Care, this plan accommodates numerous products. These include the following:

• Phantom 4 Professional – gimbal, aircraft, camera, propellers
• Zenmuse X4S and Zenmuse X5S – camera and gimbal
• Mavic Pro – propellers, gimbal, camera, battery
• Inspire 2: aircraft & propellers.

It is apparent already that the Refresh plan covers more accessories than the Care Service Plan. For instance, the propellers and the batteries are not covered by the Care Insurance, but the Care Refresh. You simply send the parts that need replacement to the company, after you have filed a replacement request at an additional charge.

The DJI Care Refresh is also important to pilots that want to cut the repair costs. It should not be overlooked because of the product warranty. But you can combine the DJI Refresh and the DJI Care. You also have to purchase this plan for the products that have not been activated after 48 hours.

The same applies with the DJI Care, you can enjoy the fruits of the product warranty without affecting the DJI Care Refresh. Your product will be repaired or replaced free of charge in the case of factory faults.

Almost every procedure done with the Care service plan can be undertaken with the Refresh plan. For example, the DJI Refresh also caters for people that are in the same coverage as the Care.

Overview

The DJI Insurance service plan is of paramount importance to the owners of expensive drones. The gimbal and the camera are also covered by this service. To avoid losing out on hundreds of dollars for the purchased aircraft due to the damages, you should purchase this insurance plan.

However, you should take note of the exceptions to the damages.  The factory defects are covered by the product warranty, whereas the water damage may be covered by the DJI Care Refresh. All these plans have their limitations.

That being said, you must acquaint yourself with the terms and conditions before purchasing either the Care or Refresh service plans. In conclusion, the DJI Insurance plan is a great service plan to have to save substantial costs that would be incurred to repair damaged aircraft.

It is highly likely that the drones can be damaged at any time more especially if you have never flown a drone before. On top of that, some drones, like the Inspire 1 model, are expensive. It could be expensive to purchase a new one compared to purchasing the DJI Care.

Have you bought this service plan already? Please share with our readers below your experiences if you have already repaired your aircraft using it.