Before you sail
Security deposit, damage waiver and insurance
Every charter has three money-and-risk questions that are easy to mix up: the refundable security deposit, the optional damage waiver, and the yacht's insurance. Here is how each one works, why it exists and when you get the exact terms for your yacht.
Security deposit
- A guarantee held by the charter operator, not a payment to us and not a price you pay.
- It is usually blocked on a credit card at check-in. Some operators also accept cash; your offer says which.
- After check-out the yacht is inspected. If nothing is damaged or missing, the block is released. How quickly the amount is available on your card again depends on your card issuer.
- If something is damaged or lost, the repair or replacement cost is taken from the deposit, usually up to the deposit amount.
- The amount is set by the operator for each yacht and shown on the yacht page.
Damage waiver (optional)
- Some operators offer a damage waiver: a non-refundable fee that lowers the refundable deposit.
- Example from a yacht in Sicily: deposit 4,000 EUR. With the waiver you pay 400 EUR once, and the refundable deposit becomes 800 EUR.
- It reduces how much you can lose, it does not make every kind of damage free. Damage caused by negligence or misuse (for example to the engine or sails), lost items and personal belongings are usually excluded.
- You can choose it when you send your request, where the yacht offers it. The operator's exact waiver terms come with your offer.
The yacht's insurance
- Every yacht is insured by its operator for third-party liability and for damage to the hull.
- The deposit is, in most charter contracts, the part of a damage that the insurance does not pay (the excess). That is why it exists.
- The insurance does not cover the belongings of you and your crew, and it does not pay for damage caused deliberately or through gross negligence.
- Some operators let you extend the liability cover for an extra fee; the offer says if this is possible.
Insurance you can buy yourself
- Travel and cancellation insurance covers you if you cannot travel. Charter cancellation terms are strict, so many sailors take it.
- Some independent insurers sell "deposit insurance": if the operator keeps part of your deposit after a damage, the insurer pays you back. Read what it excludes before you buy.
- We do not sell insurance and we do not earn anything from it. We are happy to tell you what your operator's terms cover, so you can decide what you need.
When you get the exact terms
Deposit amount, how it is taken, waiver price and cover, insurance and cancellation terms differ from one operator to another. We check them with the operator and send them to you in writing with your offer, before anything is binding and before you pay anything.
Ask us about a specific yacht →Questions
No. It is a guarantee that the operator blocks, usually on a credit card, at check-in. If the yacht comes back without damage, it is released.
The operator releases it after check-out, once the yacht has been inspected. When the amount is available on your card again depends on your card issuer.
It lowers how much you can lose if something breaks, for a fee you do not get back. It does not cover negligence, misuse or your belongings. Compare the fee with the reduction, and read the operator's waiver terms we send with your offer.
Not completely. The yacht's insurance, the damage waiver and independent deposit insurance each reduce your risk, but none of them covers everything. We tell you what your operator's terms cover before you decide.
No. A request is not binding. We confirm the yacht with the operator and send you a written offer with the exact price, deposit and terms. You pay only after you accept it.