This wine insurance protects your wine collection from damage, natural disasters and spoilage.
Many of us open a $15 bottle of wine, pour a glass and sip it. Other people savor the art of collecting wine, whether it’s for pure pleasure or as an investment. But some of those collectors fail to insure their valuable vino—wines that can fetch hundreds of thousands of dollars per bottle.
Your home and property insurance may provide some coverage for fine wines or spirits. However, specialized wine insurance provides flexible plans with high premiums.
Let’s look at the benefits of wine insurance and the types.
What does wine insurance cover?
Here’s what a standard wine policy insurance policy covers.
- Accidental Damage
- Spoilage
- Natural Disasters
- Theft
- Other
- Accidental Damage
There are many ways wine bottles can be damaged, including label damage and breaking. Wine insurance protects investment-grade wine bottles from damage caused by unpredicted or unexpected causes.
Delivery damage may be covered by the winery’s insurance policy or the general liability insurance of the delivery partner.
Spoilage
Wine is meant to get better with age, but it can spoil or age prematurely if stored improperly (under high temperature, UV light, or vibration exposure.)
Wine insurance can protect you from financial loss by reimbursing you for any unopened bottles that go bad.
Natural Disasters
A comprehensive wine insurance coverage will reimburse you for any damage or loss resulting from natural disasters such as wildfires (including their effects such as smoke and heat), floods, hurricanes, and tornados.
If you live in an area susceptible to natural disasters, like Napa County, natural disaster coverage can be especially helpful.
Theft
Wine insurance also provides coverage against theft or burglary. However, if you’re a homeowner with a comprehensive home insurance policy, you should check whether that covers your wine and spirits collection.
Other
Some wine insurance policies offer additional general liability coverage to protect your wine collection from power outages, mysterious disappearances, and loss.
Different types of wine insurance
Let’s explore the two main types of wine insurance plans and their key characteristics:
Blanket Coverage
Wine collectors can secure multiple bottles under one agreement with blanket coverage. This coverage comes with a price cap that limits the amount of each bottle’s reimbursement value. It’s not recommended if you have very expensive wines.
Scheduled Coverage
Any wine collector with a large collection of highly-valued, rare wines will find the scheduled wine coverage advantageous. You will need to provide the insurance company with a complete wine inventory, including the value of each bottle.
Wine collectors may also be offered a mix of scheduled and blanket wine coverage by a wine insurance carrier.
The Key Benefits of Buying Wine Insurance
Here’s why you should get a wine collection insurance:
- Accessibility: Buying wine collection insurance is affordable, at around $400-$800 per year for a $100,000 collection.
- Versatility –Wine Insurance policies allow you to ensure a small number of bottles or a whole collection of highly rare or valuable wines.
- Zero Loss: Purchasing wine insurance offers financial security and guarantees you full reimbursement at current market rates.