Adding Wine Insurance to Round out Your Collection
Whether you’re a serious collector or just enjoy the occasional glass of wine in the evenings, you may want to consider adding wine insurance to round out your collection. Given that collections are built gradually, with bottles moving in and out, it’s easy to overlook how much you’ve actually invested over time as well as what it’s worth.
A true wine enthusiast understands the rewards of owning an expansive collection, but also the time and effort invested in building it. There’s a certain amount of pride that goes into nurturing a bottle, anticipating its peak age, and then enjoying and sharing its flavors. If you get a pit in your stomach at the thought of losing your collection, or even just certain bottles, then it makes sense to insure it and protect your investment.
Broader Coverage
Most people assume they have coverage under their homeowner’s insurance, without paying attention to the exclusions and sub-limits in their policy. Without a standalone wine insurance policy, even damage to an average household collection could leave you without sufficient coverage and substantially out of pocket. We regularly work with our clients to find the right solution to fit their needs.
While perils such as fire, theft, or accidental breakage are typically included in most standard policies, wine insurance policies provide broader coverage beyond standard offerings including:
- Protection against damage while items are in transit
- Protection against mechanical breakdowns in the climate control unit that damages wine
- Protection against label damage in a fire, flood or other natural disaster. For many rare, vintage wines, the label increases the value of the wine.
- Access to vendors who ship, buy and sell wine. Vendors who store wine in another location; vendors who offer security systems for your collection and vendors offering temperature-control systems
- Guidance for how to best store your collection, especially when building or renovating your wine cellar
Coverage Options
There are two options to choose from when insuring a collection under a stand-alone valuable articles policy.
- Blanket Coverage – For those who like to enjoy their collection regularly and replace bottles often, this may be the better option. Blanket coverage provides a single dollar amount of coverage for your entire collection under one policy, and allows you the freedom of uncorking a bottle without having to regularly audit your list.
- Scheduled Coverage – This is a great option for those who keep detailed, itemized lists, or who have collections containing individual high-value bottles. This provides coverage for the value of each individual bottle in your collection.
Generally, a stand-alone wine policy costs 50 to 80 cents for every hundred dollars of wine, making coverage very affordable. Our annual risk-assessments with our clients ensure we review their collections at least once per year. Collections grow and item values change over time, so it’s critical to make changes and updates regularly to both policy limits and item schedules.
Storage Recommendations
If you house a collection in your home, consider the following risk-reduction recommendations to reduce damage to your wine:
- Store wine at 55º F. The humidity in a wine storage should also be 65 to 75 percent. Anything above or below that amount can damage the label or cork.
- Do not store wine near heaters or sunlight, or in areas that are susceptible to flooding, such as beneath a bathroom or laundry room. Also avoid placing wine in areas of the home that are beneath or next to a home theater which causes excess vibrations.
- Install an alarm that warns against theft, temperature changes and moisture. When selecting an alarm, purchase one that sends a message directly to your mobile device.
- Do not store chemicals, paint or odor-producing materials near your collection. These items can permeate through the cork and spoil the wine.
Note: If you store your collection in a professional storage warehouse, the warehouse may already have wine insurance. It is wise to go over their policy to ensure it protects against the risk of fire, flood, power outage and more.
We’re Here to Help
Wine is fragile, expensive, and there’s a lot that can go wrong. We’ve seen just about everything. Contact Charlie and his team today for a complimentary risk assessment. We’ll educate you on the proper solutions we offer and the affordable ways we can help you protect your valued collections.
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Sourced in Part From: Zywave