Damage deposits when chartering

[Easticks28]

On the Norfolk Broads at this time of year there are regular reports
of hirers causing damage to private craft as well as other hire boats.
They used to leave a damage deposit, but that was replaced some years
ago with a 'damage waiver' payment, currently £40. This hardly
encourages care in navigating!
Can anyone who charters, either bareboat or flotilla, what are the
arrangements regarding damage incurred during the period of hire?

 

[DavenHelen]

I recently left a damage deposit of £1000. Makes you very careful.

 

[Tranona]

On the Norfolk Broads at this time of year there are regular reports
of hirers causing damage to private craft as well as other hire boats.
They used to leave a damage deposit, but that was replaced some years
ago with a 'damage waiver' payment, currently £40. This hardly
encourages care in navigating!
Can anyone who charters, either bareboat or flotilla, what are the
arrangements regarding damage incurred during the period of hire?

The "damage waiver" is just an additional insurance to insure the normal excess. Changes nothing for a claimant. You claim off the hire company and its insurer.

The significant deposit is an alternative and is essentially self insuring as it is probably the excess on the normal insurance policy. May well have the effect of making the hirer more careful.

However, the whole insurance process is designed to spread the risk across both those who claim and those who don't claim.

I have wasted my money all these years, particularly on car insurance because neither I nor my wife have claimed for more than 40 years! However........

 

[Pasarell]

Damage waiver insurance

We chartered for the first time in Greece a couple of months ago. We had a choice of paying £1000 refundable deposit or £80 non refundable insurance premium. I went for the £80 but it made no difference to the care I took in navigating the boat. At the end of 2 weeks it was £80 wasted as we didn't make any claim - but I will do it in exactly the same way again next year.

 

[Resolution]

I used to operate a charter fleet in the Solent and so had far too much experience with the amazing variety of ways in which certain charterers could damage the yachts. We looked at collision damage waiver (CDW) schemes, cos Sunsail were running one at that time, but the mathematics were horrible and I thought the principle was totally wrong. In particular, when we were running racing events I always tried to ensure that the helmsman had a substantial amount of £££££ at personal risk. That way the "red mist" sometimes seen at mark roundings was significantly reduced!
Incidentally, Sunsail last year were requiring a security deposit on their SF37s for racing of £2,000 per boat. That certainly concentrates the mind!