Charter deposit insurance

Because you can charter wherever you want, as often as you want, whichever ship you want and for as long as you want – worldwide!

In accordance with the YACHT-POOL conditions for deposit insurance, we will reimburse justified retentions of the deposit if they were caused by the skipper and/or the crew, up to the amount of the selected sum insured, which generally corresponds to the amount of the deductible of the hull insurance. If the amount of damage exceeds the excess, this must be paid by the owner’s comprehensive insurance. The retained deposit should therefore generally not exceed the excess of the comprehensive insurance. Please make sure that only justified retentions are deducted from your deposit!

Unjustified retentions apply to damage that was not caused by culpable action on the part of the skipper or his crew, but is due, for example, to defective construction or material fatigue, such as tearing of the forestay without external influence, tearing of shrouds or the anchor chain, etc. In such cases, please clarify with the charter company why you should be liable for damage for which you are not responsible and, if necessary, inform us of the reasons.

Act as if you were not insured and do not act recklessly. You are obliged to do so in accordance with the Insurance Contract Act. The insurance relationship is an internal legal relationship between you and the insurer. Do not argue this with the charter base, as it could be misunderstood and make your legitimate negotiating position more difficult “….because you are insured anyway”. In the event of lasting “misunderstandings”, this could lead to the exclusion of certain charter companies from insurance coverage in the long term. If damage claims that you cannot defend against are withheld from your deposit, obtain a receipt from the charter company and, if necessary, a corresponding repair invoice and send this receipt with a damage report signed by all crew members immediately after your arrival home. The policyholder named in the policy is entitled to receive the insurance benefit.

Make sure that your deposit only covers damage to the chartered yacht (this should be stated in the charter contract!) and not liability damage. The liability insurance of the chartered yacht is primarily liable for this and, if applicable, the skipper’s liability insurance is also liable. You should note this when concluding the contract and clarify it in writing if necessary:

• that the deposit paid will only be retained for material damage caused to the vessel by you or your crew and that any damage must be evidenced by repair receipts,
• that there is usually no excess for liability claims and therefore the deposit is not available for liability claims either.

Check whether this is clearly stated in your charter contract. If there are any doubts, make a clarifying supplementary agreement on the above points. This will prevent any legal disputes at a later date. This is important for you. This is because it happens time and again that deposits are withheld at will. And that is then a purely contractual problem

Attention:

Many charter companies offer their own “charter deposit insurance”. However, these are often not genuine insurance policies, but a self-calculation. There are no reliable conditions and the exclusions – e.g. grounding, damage to the rudder, the dinghy, scratching and scraping damage or the outboard motor – often contradict realistic insurance cover.