Generali France and Rescue Zone, enhancing safety at sea

In a significant move to improve maritime safety, Generali France has recently entered into an exclusive strategic partnership with Rescue Zone, a mobile community platform designed to enhance safety and mutual assistance for boaters and sailors.

Thanks to a free mobile app available for both iOS and Android, Rescue Zone supports sailors and boaters in getting and providing assistance while out at sea in the case of emergency or disaster. The app is an innovative venture backed by Generali France and co-funded thanks to the Generali Innovation Fund, the initiative thai aims to stimulate and accelerate innovation across the Group.

Launched in April 2023, Rescue Zone has rapidly gained popularity among the maritime community, with over 31,000 accounts opened in its first summer season. This success is attributed to the app's innovative features, which not only simplify communication at sea but also bridge the gap between emergency services and boaters.

Coastal navigation boats are still poorly equipped with VHF (marine radio) which allows instant communication between boats and AIS (geolocation system). As many as 70% of boats under 7 meters do not have the appropriate tools or skills to be supported by the emergency services in France.

Rescue Zone’s app provides users with key features such as:

• Geolocalized Alerts: users can issue authorized alerts such as mayday or breakdown without the need for a VHF radio, ensuring precise and efficient communication.
• Assistance Levels: boaters can offer various levels of assistance, from minor to critical, to nearby vessels, fostering a sense of community and mutual aid.
• Contact Emergency Services: the app provides a direct channel to reach out to emergency services, improving response times and coordination.
• Localized Dangers and Alerts: users can set tags for localized dangers or alerts, such as rocks or floating obstacles, helping others avoid potential hazards. Additionally, the community alerts about weather and pollution updates keep everyone informed.

Water sport practitioners, such as people using kiteboards, kayaks and stand-up paddle boards, can also benefit from using the application.

The Rescue zone app ensures secure navigation along the coastline, covering a span of approximately 6 nautical miles. The user should activate the application when embarking on a journey out to sea, indicating how many people are on board and when they expect to return. If something were to happen during the time that they are on the water, e.g., breakdown or a more severe occurrence, users can swiftly notify both the local boating community using the app and rescue centres with a mere click. The application provides swift and tailored assistance thanks to the geolocation and a rich repository of available data.

Rescue Zone set out to create an efficient, free, and user-friendly tool, fostering mutual support and assistance to boaters and improve the connection with security services, something that ultimately would enhance safety and prevent incidents. Generali’s partnership with Rescue Zone is guided and boosted by the shared objective: risk prevention. Additionally, Generali is also actively exploring the possibility of introducing this pioneering solution to its subsidiaries, making Rescue Zone the default alert application in Europe.