Schomacker secures company future
The Hamburg-based yacht insurance company Schomacker has been sold to Hanseatic Broking Center GmbH, or HBC for short. This is a large brokerage organisation also based in Hamburg. Nothing will change for the customers of the specialised boat broker; both the name and the business model will remain unchanged. This was announced by the company at the beginning of the week.
In particular, the contact persons and contact details will remain the same for customers, and the insurance conditions and benefits will not change. The two managing directors Volker Reichelt and Andreas Medicus will remain on board and continue to manage the company. They explained the reasons for the sale: "As a succession plan from within our families was not possible, we wanted to set the course for the coming years at an early stage in the interests of our employees and customers. The sale of our company to HBC ensures the sustainable, long-term continuation of the business."
Takeover is a "stroke of luck"
For Hauke Martinsen, CEO of the HBC Group, the takeover is "a stroke of luck", according to a statement from Schomacker. Martinsen: "It allows us to expand our portfolio and draw on the complete infrastructure of a highly qualified crew. Together, we can broaden and further expand the group of companies. Employees, yacht owners, charter crews and insured companies will all benefit from this."
The industry service "ProContra" assumes that HBC wants to expand its own business and tap into new markets with the takeover. "The customer group of wealthy yacht owners is likely to be particularly lucrative," it says. "ProContra" quotes the CCO of the HBC Group, Tibor von Janko, as follows: "The close cooperation and cross-selling between Hamburger Yacht-Versicherung and the HBC companies opens up new opportunities in the private customer segment, as well as beyond."
Volker Reichelt also mentions "the added value for existing and future customers" resulting from the merger: "Our new size gives us even more room for negotiation with the insurance companies and we are certain that we will be able to further improve our proven quality as a result."
Renowned companies in the insurance sector
For more than 50 years, Hamburg-based yacht insurance company Schomacker has been offering comprehensive insurance solutions in the water sports and private sectors. With just under 20 employees, the company is one of the leading insurance brokers and agents in the boating sector in Germany. As an independent insurance broker, Hamburger Yachtversicherung Schomacker is not tied to any insurance company and works with several major insurers such as Allianz, Provinzial, Ergo, Axa, Signal Iduna, Nürnberger and Zurich.
The HBC Group is one of the leading insurance brokerage groups. With a broad product range, the companies in the group serve both business and private customers. The HBC Group has over 350 employees.
The YACHT insurance guide
Berlin EIS is now called Sealogy
The Berlin-based insurance broker Sealogy emerged from the former EIS - European Insurance & Services, which has specialised in yacht insurance for 25 years. Over the past 25 years, the company has developed from a small exclusive agency into a globally active underwriting agent (multiple agent) for yacht insurance. Today, according to Managing Director Daniel Hoffmann, Sealogy insures boats worth up to 20 million euros on behalf of several of the world's leading yacht insurers.
Due to the increasing internationalisation and strong growth of the business, Daniel Hoffmann and Ulf Remmel joined the company as shareholders in 2023, and last summer they took over the company completely.
International orientation to be emphasised
One of the first measures was the rebranding to Sealogy, "in order to establish a new, strong brand that reflects the international orientation of the business beyond the borders of Europe and also symbolises the company's entry into a new era," says Hoffmann.
Thanks to an "innovative approach to assessing the risks to be insured", Sealogy and its thirty-strong team are able to insure even very specialised vessels, such as classic yachts or high-tech boats.
Unlike a broker, who first and foremost acts on behalf of the customer, Sealogy acts in the name and on behalf of the insurers it represents. Like other providers in the market, the Berlin-based company has also developed its own yacht insurance rates.
New agent in Salzburg has started business
A new yacht insurance broker called Callidus, based in Salzburg, has been launched in Austria. Its insurance products are aimed primarily at German-speaking yacht owners. Callidus primarily offers liability and hull insurance for sailing and motor boats of all sizes as well as charter and skipper insurance.
The two Callidus founders Johannes Prack and Herbert Orasche want to score points with low-threshold access to professional yacht insurance services. Insurance policies can be taken out quickly and easily online via the website. They also want to react quickly to current problem situations for boat owners and then offer customised insurance packages - for example, currently an "Orca collision insurance" for sailing yachts, according to a company statement.
Respond flexibly and quickly to customer needs
The company co-operates exclusively with well-known insurance companies from Austria and Switzerland. Wiener Städtische is the Callidus insurance partner for hull and liability insurance for yachts.
Incidentally, they founded their company because they couldn't find a suitable offer on the market when looking for boat insurance. The two have been sailors themselves since their youth. Dipl.-Ing. Johannes Prack was born in 1988 and studied industrial engineering and mechanical engineering. Herbert Orasche was born in 1971 and has been working as an insurance expert for decades.
