Winery Insurance
If you own a winery in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, your business is special. Your wine is different from all other wines on the market today and you put a lot of yourself in the product you sell. In addition, running a winery or vineyard involves a variety of risk factors that are unique to your line of business, and a "one size fits all" winery insurance policy could not possibly cover everything you need to protect. With special insurance needs like these, it takes an insurance professional who understands the wine business and this can make all the difference in the world. Take the example of Tommy R.
Tommy R inherited the wine business from his father and everyone working at the vineyard and winery was uncertain what the new boss would be like when he took over. However, their fears were soon unfounded. Tommy was a good businessman and he believed in the power of delegating authority. In fact, one of the first things he did was to hire an independent insurance agent knowledgeable on his business. This gave him expert advice on risk management at no additional expense to his company. In fact, his agent was able to help him get affordable coverage on winery and vineyard insurance which saved a considerable amount of money.
Tommy's winery located in the Willamette Valley prospered and he kept all the previous staff and workers. Everyone appreciated his honesty and willingness to try new things and at the same time, he maintained respect for the way things have always been done. He kept the tasting room and expanded his winery tours so more people could have the chance to sample the wines, and this strategy paid off in a big way. However, it also led to a lawsuit.
A few months ago, a customer was able to get more wine than normal, due to an oversight of one of the employees. In fact, the man became inebriated and then drove away from the winery. Within 10 minutes the customer was involved in a nasty accident and he sued the winery for negligence. Even though his legal claims were eventually denied, it resulted in significant legal defense fees and court costs. Thankfully, Tommy's insurance agent made sure he had sufficient liquor liability coverage, so it was business as usual.
WHAT IS VINEYARD AND WINERY INSURANCE?
Winery and vineyard coverage is designed to cover the many risk factors, those in the grape and wine industry face today. Because risks in this business are unique it takes special insurance customized to the needs of the business owner, to ensure proper asset protection.
WHO SHOULD HAVE WINERY OR VINEYARD INSURANCE?
If you run a business that raises crops designed for alcoholic beverages, you need this kind of coverage. This also includes businesses manufacturing, warehousing, or storing alcohol products. This can include:
- Vineyards
- Farmers
- Breweries
- Distilleries
- Micro breweries
- Liquor store owners
- Liquor distributors
WHAT BASIC INSURANCE IS AVAILABLE FOR WINERIES AND VINEYARDS?
Here are some of the insurance options you may wish to discuss with an insurance professional:
- Commercial property insurance
- Building contents
- Equipment
- Crop insurance
- General liability
- Liquor liability
- Insurance on product inventory - can pay you market value for your wines
- Commercial auto insurance
- Professional indemnity
- Product liability
VINEYARD AND WINERY INSURANCE OPTIONS
- Wine leakage
- Farming equipment insurance
- Wine contamination
- Labels and brands expenses
- Product recall expenses
- Inland marine insurance -covers your products to and from your business
- Farm buildings
- Umbrella liability insurance - provides the extra liability protection you may someday need.
- Leased vineyard equipment
- Scheduled property
- Loss of income coverage
- Wine stored away from your business
- Office equipment
- High value building insurance
- Pollution coverage - can include chemical drift issues
- Flood insurance
- Earthquake insurance
- Cyber liability