Hurricane season opens June 1. By the second week of June, the major CAT firms — Pilot, Eberl, Crawford, Worley, Allcat — will be standing up storm centers along the Gulf coast and the Carolinas. By the first named system, they will be calling adjusters off their rosters in priority order.
That priority order has changed quietly but completely over the last five years. The adjusters who get called first are no longer the ones with the most CAT seasons under their belt. They are the ones who can put a drone over a roof.
If that's not you yet, this is the article to read before June 1.
Quick summary. All major carriers now prefer or require Part 107 for property work. CAT firms factor it into deployment priority. The FAA test takes 2-3 weeks of evening study and a $175 fee. Adjusters who add Part 107 close more claims per day during CAT season and earn 15-30% more during peak months.
In 2017, the average CAT adjuster could inspect 4-6 residential roofs per day during a deployment. The bottleneck was physical: ladder up, walk the roof, count damage, ladder down, drive to next site. Hot day with steep pitches? You might get 3.
In 2026, the average drone-equipped CAT adjuster does 8-12 roofs per day. Same eight hours, same body, double the throughput. The drone removes the ladder time, the walk time, and most of the weather risk. The photos are higher resolution and they hold up better in subrogation.
For an Independent Adjuster billing by claim, that's not a small efficiency gain. That's the difference between $1,500/day and $3,000/day during a busy week. Multiply by 30-45 deployment days in a busy season and the math gets attention.
The list has gotten longer every year since Hurricane Harvey. As of 2026, the following national carriers all prefer or require Part 107 for property claims involving roof inspections:
The major CAT firms — Pilot, Eberl, Crawford, Worley, Allcat, and EFI Global — have all confirmed that Part 107 is now a factor in deployment priority for hurricane and hail response. The CAT firm management style varies, but the underlying logic is identical: when you have 400 houses to inspect in 10 days, you want the adjusters who can do 10 a day, not 5.
The FAA Part 107 knowledge test is a 60-question multiple-choice exam, 120 minutes, 70% to pass. It covers 12 knowledge areas drawn from the broader Airman Certification Standards for commercial pilots, scaled down for small unmanned aircraft operations:
The two areas that most heavily weight the test — and where most adjusters lose points — are airspace classification (15-25% of questions) and regulations (about 30%). Those are also the topics adjusters need to know most for actual operations, which is good news.
For a working adjuster studying 30-45 minutes a night, the realistic timeline from "I'm starting" to "I passed" is two to three weeks. Here's what the path looks like:
Read the FAA Part 107 ACS (Airman Certification Standards) and work through chapter-by-chapter study material covering the 12 knowledge areas. Most candidates spend 5-7 hours of evening time here. The goal is comprehension, not memorization — understand the concepts before drilling them.
Switch to practice questions. The actual test uses a rotating bank of around 400 questions; your prep should expose you to all of them. After each session, review the wrong answers and re-read the relevant chapter material. Most candidates spend another 8-10 hours here. You're aiming to consistently hit 80%+ on practice sessions before moving on.
Take 2-3 full timed 60-question simulations. If you're consistently scoring 80%+ on the simulator, schedule the real test at a PSI testing center near you. The actual test is $175. Most adjusters who reach 80%+ on simulations pass first attempt with scores in the 80-90% range.
Test logistics. The Part 107 test is administered at PSI testing centers nationwide. Most cities have one within 30 minutes. Schedule at faa.psiexams.com. You'll need a government-issued photo ID at the test center. Results are available immediately when you finish, and your Remote Pilot Certificate arrives within 6-8 weeks via IACRA.
Once you pass the knowledge test, the operational steps to be CAT-deployable with a drone are short:
Total time from "I passed" to "I'm drone-deployable" is typically 2-4 weeks, mostly waiting on the physical certificate from the FAA. For 2026 hurricane season, an adjuster who starts studying today can realistically be drone-deployable by the first major named storm.
The honest math: it's already too late to be drone-ready for the very first hurricane of the season. The certificate timeline alone is 4-8 weeks, and that's after the test. But the season runs through November 30. Most CAT deployment volume happens between mid-August and mid-October, with the peak weeks usually in early September.
An adjuster who starts studying in late May and passes the test by mid-June will have the physical certificate in hand by late July — well before the August surge. Translation: you have time. You don't have a lot of it, but you have enough.
The adjusters who lose the season are not the ones who started in May. They're the ones who said "I'll start studying next month" and kept saying it through July, August, and September. Don't be that person again this year.
GetDroneReady is a Part 107 study tool focused on the working professional — 420+ rotating practice questions, timed exam simulator, mobile-friendly so you can drill between claims. 12 chapters of FAA knowledge area coverage, recently expanded to 92 pages with 62 figures including sectional chart practice. $47 one-time, no subscription.
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See the adjuster page →If you start studying in late May and pass the test by mid-June, your physical Remote Pilot Certificate will arrive by late July — well before the August-September peak. The FAA usually issues certificates within 6-8 weeks of IACRA application.
Yes — once you've passed the test, applied via IACRA, and received your "temporary airman certificate" (issued instantly via IACRA), you can legally operate commercially. The physical card just confirms your credentials for carriers who require documentation.
If you hold a current Part 61 certificate with a flight review in the last 24 months, you can skip the Part 107 knowledge test entirely. Complete the FAA online course ALC-451 (free) and submit Form 8710-13 via IACRA. No PSI fee. Estimated time: 2-3 hours total.
Most IA firms and direct carrier contracts require $1M general liability coverage that includes drone operations. The major providers — Skywatch, BWI, Verifly — offer hourly, monthly, or annual policies. Annual policies for commercial sUAS run $500-$1,500 depending on coverage limits and your operating profile.
That's the path. The hard part is the next two weeks: starting and not stopping. The exam itself, once you've done the reading and the practice, is straightforward.
Hurricane season opens in 8 days. The 2026 CAT cycle starts soon after. The adjusters who pass the test this June will get called first for the August storms. The ones who keep putting it off will spend another season watching their drone-equipped peers move up the deployment list.
Pick the side you want to be on.