WE SET AN EXAMPLE!
CHECKED & TRUSTED to give you orientation!
Dear skippers,
With the article “Setting an example” we would like to draw your attention to further activities of our company with which we want to contribute to quality improvement in the charter sector.
Many charter companies complain to us about the increasing lack of quality among charter skippers, while at the same time yachts are becoming more and more expensive. The consequences are also increasing damage costs, which will inevitably be reflected in higher insurance premiums in the long term.
We are therefore working on a virtual training program that will provide skippers who have already obtained a corresponding license from their sailing school with knowledge that is not covered by conventional training. This virtual program can be completed from home and since it is exclusively for already trained skippers, we call it the “Post Graduate Skipper Program”.
The focus of this program is on dealing with recurring errors that we are confronted with again and again in our daily work with many thousands of claims. Mistakes that also happen to experienced skippers. Because routine can sometimes also be a cause.
Those who successfully complete this program receive a corresponding certificate from us and the title CHECKED & TRUSTED SKIPPER. Charter companies will give preference to such certified skippers, as we have been assured.
These activities are a continuation of the successful introduction of the CHECKED & TRUSTED Financial Security quality label, which indicates the financial security and sustained good service of the charter companies that we check annually in order to provide our customers with substantial guidance and protect them from negative surprises. Please note the year, because a company that is good this year may not necessarily be so next year.
And also pay attention to the CHARTER FAIRTRAG quality label with the “International YACHT-POOL Terms & Conditions” as the basis for a charter contract that is as secure as possible, which is intended to protect charter skippers from “poisonous clauses” (as BOOTE calls them) or “clauses with fatal consequences” (as YACHT writes). After all, a charter contract is a legal transaction and careless signatures are a mistake. Yacht-Pool tested, fair companies offer these “fair contracts”! Therefore, pay attention to the general terms and conditions that are attached to your charter contract. You can recognize the general terms and conditions developed by Yacht-Pool for your protection by this label. 
One issue that primarily concerns boat and yacht owners is the quality of the marina that is entrusted with the care of their vessel. This is because the quality standard is often very different and the list of defects is sometimes very long. In cooperation with leading marinas, we have therefore developed a very detailed quality code, which also focuses on damage prevention, but also on the service that can rightly be expected.
Marinas that comply with this code receive a CHECKED & TRUSTED SECURE MARINA certificate and the boat and yacht owners moored in such marinas receive a bonus on their insurance.
Following the “Checked & Trusted” seal of approval for charter companies, the insurer Yacht-Pool is now making people sit up and take notice with two more labels: A seal for skippers and one for marinas are in the works.
The word “insurance” contains the adjective “secure”. And yacht owners or charterers can feel safe either if they are helped after the damage has occurred or – which is much more clever – if they are protected from the damage in advance. This or something similar may have been the thinking at Yacht-Pool when the insurance specialist developed its Checked&Trusted seal of approval for charter companies.
The quality label has proved to be a great success, and many companies like to adorn themselves with it. This is not insignificant – especially if these charter agencies or fleet operators are not based in Austria or the EU and are therefore not necessarily subject to this legal system. If you want to be “checked & trusted” as a charter company or fleet operator, you must first and foremost undergo a comprehensive audit of your books by Yacht-Pool. “Solid finances are the basic prerequisite for perfectly maintained and well-equipped boats, absolute hygiene and perfect service. All in all, this is the sound basis for a successful charter,” explains yacht pool founder Friedrich Schöchl. Due to the success of its first seal of approval, Yacht-Pool is now going one step further and wants to develop two more quality labels – one is intended to sensitize trained skippers in the area of safety in the future, the second is specifically aimed at marinas.
CHECKED & TRUSTED SKIPPER
“We have recently heard from many well-known fleet operators that the quality and care with which skippers handle their boats is unfortunately getting worse and worse,” says Thomas Diglas, who has been managing the Austrian branch of Yacht-Pool in Tulln since January. Yacht-Pool would also like to remedy this situation in the future with a “Postgraduate” skipper program, which is completed by means of an electronic final test. “The teaching content should focus on providing information about risks, the underestimation of which we see time and again in thousands of smaller and larger claims in our daily work,” says Diglas. “As an example
I would like to cite the experience from our last fire damage, where the skipper did not have the presence of mind to realize that all electrical equipment must be switched off immediately if there is a smell of fire or smoke. Many a fire with a total loss could have
can prevent it!”
CHECKED & TRUSTED SECURE MARINA
The
quality of marinas can vary greatly. This not only repeatedly leads to disappointment among yacht owners and charter skippers, but also to avoidable damage. Yacht-Pool has therefore decided to give special recognition to marinas that provide the best possible service and thus also the safety of the boats entrusted to them. To this end, the insurance company has developed a list of criteria that must be met by marinas wishing to carry this seal of quality. The focus here is primarily on safety-related measures. The label is awarded for one year and, after a successful audit, for a further year.
CHARTER FAIRTRAG
Especially now, when many charter contracts for the new season are going over the counter, you should also pay close attention to the terms and conditions. “To ensure that the contractual conditions remain fair for both partners, we have created the “Charter Fair Contract” with the “International Yacht-Pool Terms & Conditions”, which is available in all charter-relevant languages and is used by many charter companies,” says Friedrich Schöchl.
