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MORE PARASAIL REGULATIONS AND STANDARDS IS NOT THE ANSWER TO PARASAIL FATALITIES --- PROVEN SAFETY EQUIPMENT COMBINED WITH CORPORATE GOVERNACE IS !

For the past 20 years, the US Coast Guard, Federal Aviation Administration and other regulatory agencies having jurisdiction over parasailing have encouraged parasail industry stakeholders to follow established operating standards and guidelines that have been instrumental in helping to provide safer parasailing operations and has reduced the risk of most accidents resulting in minor injuries.  Unfortunately, regulations alone will not prevent fatalities and serious accidents without a complete overhaul of the industry, including the operators mindset and the use of proven fatality prevention equipment.  

To date, only one company (the Sailpoint Group) located in Miami Florida with offices in Delaware seems to be willing to Cross that Chasm.       

Sailpoint’s strategy is to bring the benefits of consolidation to our industry through cooperative partnerships.   Simply stated, Sailpoint  intends to consolidate the industry through a national acquisition offering parasail operators the opportunity to sell their business, participate in profit sharing and benefits,  and own substantial equity in an employee owned and employee managed company.   In fact, it would not surprise me if the operator partner’s stock value ends up being worth more than their operation!

What will Sailpoint be doing differently?

As it was explained to me, you can’t effectively manage what you can’t measure, and you can’t measure what you haven’t defined.  Ask any parasail operator or manufacturer to define parasail safety, and you’re certain to get fifty different answers.  Visit any parasail related website, and you’re likely to find captions like safe operator, USCG certified captains, member of a parasail organization, USCG approved and the like; implying that it is a safe operation. 

The simple fact is that our industry hasn’t been encouraged, or amply rewarded for implementing effective safety standards together with fatality prevention equipment.  Until now, it is been left up to each individual to define safety as they see fit, without repercussion.  The implications are not favorable, and many operations  face some of the  ramifications every day - for example:

     * Marginalization of fatality preventing safety equipment
     * Difficulty in convincing operators to take recommendations seriously
     * Inefficient use of resources
     * Insurance companies and premiums dictating safety policies
     * Unwillingness to accept responsibility

As I see it, these issues spell “systemic failure”,  yet the  most common response from the operators has been to complain about the impact of change, like cost, operating days, turnaround time and competition.   “some just don’t seem to get it.” 

So how did we get here?  Many people believe that insurance companies base their premiums on risk alone.  The answer  is a murky “ Yes and No”.  Allow me to explain.  Risk vs reward models used by most underwriters is not uniformly applied to every industry including the risk associated with commercial parasailing. Why? For some of the reasons mentioned above and then some.

Under current parasail liability policies, when the insurer perceives increased  risk , they might respond by adding more warrants to the policy or by making the existing warrants more restrictive. The net result is that coverage is  reduced rather than the premiums being increased.  What is the result? There is no incentive to change and more incentive to leave the market. 

Analyzing  several years of conversations with high level insurance executives it has become apparent to me that, far more often than not, insurers understand exactly what they are doing and why. They are smart and they can be shrewd.   They live and breathe risk management as a significant and fundamental component of their careers.

In commercial parasailing, Insurers do not have the same goal as the insured.  The insurance executives are thinking “perception”, while operators are thinking profits, and sometimes at any costs.   This operator mindset has permeated the market, while the practice of writing policies with less and less coverage, instead of rewarding safe behavior is slowly consuming the industry and destroying its brand.

The good news is that SailPoint's consolidation-based approach would deliver several distinct advantages to their operating partners.  

     * Control Insurance Costs & Coverage
     * Institute Self Insurance with Comprehensive Coverage
     * Implement Safety Equipment
     * Eliminate Serious Injuries & Fatalities
     * Establish  Standards & Guidelines
     * Establish a Nationwide Identity and Brand 
     * Open up New Revenue Centers
     * Maximize Everyone’s Equity Value 
     * Capitalize on Scales of Economies & Market Diversification

My recommendation? Look into Sailpoint at www.sailpointgroup.com    It may be what you have been looking for.  After all,  it seems clear by now that we all might be just one flight away from losing coverage and your investment.