State Farm Drone Leaves Homeowner With $20K Bill After Surprising Roof Inspection

While many still use drones as a hobby, the technology has begun to take on a variety of other roles. Cities have started using police drones, military drone technology has advanced at a rapid pace, and now, even insurance brokers are using it. Some insurance providers use drones to take a closer look at the buildings and structures they insure, making policy decisions based on their findings. In one case, a resident of Santa Ana, California alleged that State Farm performed unscheduled home roof inspections that could cost nearly $20,000.

As ABC7 reported, longtime Santa Ana resident Linda Bennett says State Farm sent her a letter telling her to fix her roof or lose coverage. Using materials deemed adequate by the insurance provider, Bennett says the job will cost about $20,000. He believes the insurance claim was based on unannounced drone findings. In response, State Farm acknowledged that the use of drone inspections is controversial, but said it was a natural evolution of the insurance company’s property photos. Bennett has until May 1 to meet the ceiling specified by State Farm or find a new provider.

Naturally, the use of drones to take subtle pictures of people’s homes is a point of concern, especially if the findings of the drones can lead to such serious action. As for whether all this is legal, unfortunately, there is no definite answer.

The legality of insurers’ use of drone footage is a bit murky. There aren’t many laws on the books, and those vary from state to state. Aerial photography for insurance purposes is allowed in Pennsylvania, for example, although it cannot be used as a direct reason for a policy cancellation. Under the Unfair Insurance Practices Act, insurers must demonstrate the risk, properly notify homeowners of non-renewals, and give them adequate time to make repairs. This practice is also allowed in Texas, with the use of artificial intelligence completely unregulated in this endeavor.

California, meanwhile, is taking steps to prevent incidents like the one in Santa Ana from happening again. In 2025, California introduced Assembly Bill 75, which seeks to introduce surveillance lines and protect policy change efforts using aerial imagery. Similar to Pennsylvania laws, it would mean that homeowners are legally notified of aerial photography and have access to the photos taken. This way, they can effectively challenge themselves if they feel they have to.

Drone technology is not going anywhere and it keeps getting better. While developments like the Antigravity A1 drone are undoubtedly impressive, it has already been shown in Santa Ana and elsewhere that these aerial wonders can give homeowners a problem, violating their privacy without going outside the law.