DJI Care Refresh or Drone Insurance? What Each Covers and Which to Pick
They sound alike and do different jobs. Insurance is the law: in Malta every drone needs third-party insurance. DJI Care Refresh is optional: DJI's own plan that replaces your drone for a fee when you crash it. Most of our customers take third-party insurance, the minimum the law asks for. If you want your own drone covered as well, we recommend comprehensive insurance over DJI Care Refresh.
The short answer
- Everyone needs third-party insurance. No insurance, no registration, no flying (see Flying a Drone in Malta). It is the minimum, and it is what most of our customers choose.
- Want your own drone covered too? Choose comprehensive insurance over DJI Care Refresh. Third-party plus equipment cover protects other people and your drone, against crashes, water, flyaways and theft, in one policy.
- DJI Care Refresh is paid for twice: the plan, then a fee for every replacement. It never covers theft or damage to others.
- Both are tied to one drone. Each drone you own needs its own plan or its own cover.
Side by side
| DJI Care Refresh | Drone insurance (Coverdrone) | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | DJI's replacement plan for your drone. Not insurance | An insurance policy |
| Needed in Malta? | No, it is optional | Yes: third-party insurance, for every drone |
| Damage or injury you cause to others | Not covered | Covered: liability from €1.3 million |
| Your drone crashes or lands in water | A replacement drone for a fixed fee | Covered if you add equipment cover |
| Your drone flies away and is lost | Covered, once a year | Covered if you add equipment cover |
| Theft | Not covered | Covered if you add equipment cover |
| Which drone | One drone, by its serial number | One drone: each drone you own needs its own cover |
| How long | 1 or 2 years | A day, a week, a month, monthly or yearly |
| When to buy | When you activate the drone, or within 48 hours | Any time: cover within minutes |
| What you pay | The plan up front, plus a fee for every replacement | The premium (check the excess on your quote) |
DJI Care Refresh
- Replacements, not repairs. The 1-year plan gives two replacements, one of which can be for a flyaway. The 2-year plan gives four, two of which can be for a flyaway.
- A fixed fee for each replacement, whatever the damage. Shipping to DJI and back is free, and the fast track (DJI Care Express) takes about three days.
- Your warranty stays in place for as long as the plan runs.
- For a flyaway to count, the drone and its controller must already be linked to your DJI account, and you will need your flight logs. Do the linking the day you activate it.
- It does not cover injury or damage to anyone else, theft, deliberate damage, or accessories that are not DJI's. That is what the insurance is for.
What it costs, from DJI's Malta store on 25 September 2026 (DJI runs sales, so check the app on the day):
| Drone | 1 year | 2 years | Each replacement | Each flyaway replacement |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DJI Mini 5 Pro | €85 | €139 | €75 | €319 |
| DJI Mini 4 Pro | €85 | €139 | €75 | €255 |
| DJI Avata 360 | €69 | €119 | €59 | €259 |
How to buy it
- When you activate your drone in the DJI Fly app. It offers DJI Care Refresh during activation: the easiest moment to say yes.
- Or on DJI's online store, with the drone's serial number, within 48 hours of activating it.
- Missed the 48 hours? DJI can still accept it after a video check of the drone, and you then have 72 hours to buy it.
Drone insurance
- Third-party insurance is compulsory in Malta for every drone, whatever it weighs and whether you fly for fun or for work, because all of Malta is controlled airspace. Transport Malta accepts any valid insurer, and asks for it when you register.
- Coverdrone, the leading drone insurer and the one most of our customers use, covers liability from €1.3 million.
- Add equipment cover to protect the drone itself against accidental damage, loss, theft and flyaway, in the air, in your bag and at home. The controller and the tablet or laptop you fly with can be covered too.
- Buy it by the day, the week, the month, or the year. Liability-only cover starts at around €21 a year (Coverdrone's own example; your quote depends on you and your drone).
How to buy it
Get a quote from Coverdrone through our link: you are covered within minutes. Keep the certificate. Transport Malta's registration asks for it (see Flying a Drone in Malta).
Want your own drone covered? Comprehensive over DJI Care Refresh
Third-party insurance is the legal minimum, and most of our customers stop there. It covers other people, not your drone. If you want your drone covered as well, the choice is between spending the extra on comprehensive cover or on DJI Care Refresh, and we recommend comprehensive:
- It covers more. Crashes, water, flyaways and theft, and it pays out if you damage someone else's property or hurt someone. DJI Care Refresh covers only your own drone, and never theft.
- DJI Care Refresh costs twice. You pay for the plan, and then a fee each time DJI replaces the drone. On a DJI Mini 5 Pro, one crash in the first year costs €85 for the plan plus €75 for the replacement: €160. A flyaway costs €85 plus €319: €404.
- One policy, one renewal, instead of an insurance policy and a DJI plan side by side. You can buy it by the month or by the year.
Get a comprehensive quote from Coverdrone and set it against those DJI figures before you decide.
Which should you pick?
| You are | We suggest |
|---|---|
| Most pilots | Third-party insurance: the legal minimum, and what most of our customers choose |
| New to drones, or flying FPV, or over the sea | Comprehensive insurance. Crashes and water are covered. Add DJI Care Refresh only if you also want DJI's quick swap, remembering you pay for every replacement |
| Worried about theft | Comprehensive insurance. DJI Care Refresh does not cover theft |
| An experienced, careful pilot | Third-party insurance; comprehensive if a crash would really hurt |
| Flying for work | Comprehensive insurance at the level your clients need; DJI Care Refresh as well if you need a replacement within days between jobs |
| Flying more than one drone | Cover for each drone: every plan and every policy is tied to one |
Not sure? Ask us at the counter or from your account: we fly these every day.
Sources
Read on 25 September 2026. Plans and prices change: if anything here differs from DJI or Coverdrone today, follow them.
DJI
- DJI Care Refresh (what it covers)
- DJI Care Refresh: frequently asked questions (when and where to buy, the 48 hours, the video check, countries covered)
- DJI Care Refresh: terms of service (replacements, flyaway conditions, what is not covered)
- DJI Care Refresh: replacement fees
- DJI's Malta store: DJI Care Refresh for DJI Mini 5 Pro and for DJI Avata 360
Coverdrone
Transport Malta
- Drones: Information and Help ("All drone operators operating their drone in Malta need to have a valid third party insurance")