Wine Insurance: What You Need to Know

Vintage and fine wines are quickly coming to the fore as collectors benefit from what has become one of the best performing asset classes of the last 20 years. So nowadays it’s not just fine wine enthusiasts who collect expensive wines, but also prudent investors who see them as fantastic money-making opportunities.

With fine wine values on the up, wine insurance and wine cellar insurance are becoming increasingly important. But how can wine connoisseurs be sure that their home or contents insurance includes suitable cover for their wine collection?

There is, of course, a plethora of things to look out for when insuring your wine, so our wine experts here at Octavian have put together this useful guide explaining just what you should be looking out for, before requesting any wine collection insurance quotes.

Contrary to what you may think about wine insurance, collections do not have to be investable pieces to benefit from an insurance policy. In fact, some insurance companies say that if you are spending 10% of your monthly income on wines, even if it is for personal consumption, then it is worth considering an insurance package for it.

Not least, fine wine collectors should consider insuring their wine if they are maintaining a cellar to keep it in. Home cellars are known for being difficult to maintain with the vast majority of wine insurance claims being a direct result of home cellar issues, including bottle damage from incorrect temperature control, spoilage from power issues or even theft.

Even those collectors who are confident in their storage of wines should seriously consider wine insurance. This is especially the case if your wine is worth more than £1,000.

In short, if you would be disappointed at the loss of your wine collection, or even just part of it, then a wine insurance policy should be considered. After all, the likelihood is that you have home or contents insurance on items of a less value, so it really makes perfect sense.

For a lot of collectors of fine wine, obtaining a suitable insurance policy is an important consideration, not least due to the unpredictability and spoilage of wines. Often one of the main issues with fine wine cover and a home insurance policy is that insurers have a threshold for certain items, one of which can often be fine wine.

It’s important to note that this threshold is usually adequate for smaller wine collections and personal consumption but for those looking to invest seriously, you may find that your insurance is offered at a much higher net worth. It’s for this reason that many investors of large fine wine collections choose a separate wine collection insurance policy.

Before looking into quotes from an insurance provider, it’s important that you know most home insurance policies do not cover issues with wine collection like temperature control problems or power outages. And for homeowners who are unable to add these clauses to their insurance package, a separate insurance policy is required.

For wine collectors and investors choosing a separate wine insurance policy, there are two choices; bottle-by-bottle coverage or blanket coverage.

Blanket coverage tends to be a good choice for wine collections worth less than £10,000, but for those that are worth more a bottle-by-bottle insurance package is the best choice. This way, owners can choose special protection for their most prized wines.

Considering the unpredictability of problems that come with owning an investable fine wine collection it makes sense to customise your insurance package to offer maximum flexibility.

Some collectors may choose a customisable insurance package which allows them to include a wide variety of options within their policy including theft, burglary and wine spoilage.

Similarly, owners may want to consider insuring their wine with worldwide coverage. It could be that you collect wine from around the world, or it may be that you want to travel around the world with your wine collection. This type of coverage will cover you for both and ensure your expensive wines are returned to you should they get lost.

Finally, collectors and investors may want to consider including mechanical breakdown within their insurance package. This will ensure that the machines which are used to help keep wine at the correct temperature are covered for any malfunction they might face whilst in the cellar. Mechanical breakdown cover is not usually in standard wine coverage so choose a policy that does include it.

If you wish to learn more about wine collection insurance or wine cellar insurance peruse our blog for more information, or take a look at the resources on our main site.

Alternatively, you can request an information pack from us which will inform you on everything we can offer.