Experience with cellar damage insurance claims

We have a client who experienced a heat incident in his cellar from a faulty cooling unit. He doesn’t know the exact time/temp but estimates a few days at over 75. The insurance company sent an “expert” by to taste a couple bottles and he said “they’re fine”…so they’re disputing the claim. Has anyone had a similar experience and/or thought on this matter? With thanks…

Umm… how much over 75? :slight_smile:

Well that’s the million dollar question. I think the cap would be 80.

What’s the name of the insurance company? Are they tasting the “damaged” bottles against ones of perfect provenance?

A few days over 75 won’t do anything to the bottles. I’d dispute it too if I were the insurance company.

Tasting against perfect provenance is a “no” but a great idea assuming you can find them…it’s Canada after all and there’s no secondary market for wine. The insurer is Chubb.

Thanks for that. I read a study from UC Davis (I think) a couple years ago which discussed the chemical compound changes in a wine at certain temperatures for certain lengths of time. I recall at the time being shocked at what can occur even within an hour or two if it hits high enough temperature. A couple days at 80 was definitely within the threshold of affecting the wine, the severity, of course, depends on how much for how long. I keep looking for that study. I agree that the insurance company should dispute anything but I also think they should have a tighter policy about heat damage.

I think it would take more than a few days of a wine cellar’s temp registering above 75 degrees before the wine inside the bottles of a full cellar that had been properly cooled to actually warm up to a level where heat damage could occur.

I’m sorry, but your client ‘estimates a few days over 75’ and is filing a damage claim against an insurance company??? First, unless the timeframe is much longer than a few days, and/or the temp got well above the stated temp AND THERE IS EITHER PROOF OF THAT, OR THERE IS SOME EVIDENCE OF DAMAGE (like seepage), they have brass balls to make such a claim. If I was the insurance company, without more evidence, I would tell them to pound sand. Its CHUBB, not CHUMP. They are good and reputable.

Their wine is likely to have experienced similar temps over a similar timeframe during transit and/or sitting on a retail shelf.

Yeah man. Gotta agree with this. Putting in an insurance claim on a cellar that was at a max of 80 degrees for a few days is almost as bad as that lady who sued McDonald’s when she spilled hot coffee on herself.

Then again…pretty sure that crazy lady got PAID!!

Hard to believe the insurer even took that claim seriously enough to send an expert. Maybe he just wanted some free wine.

FWIW, that lady who spilled coffee on herself received unbelievably severe burns. Look it up - gruesome. She was hospitalized for several days and had to endure skin grafts. So not a very informed analogy.

But as i pointed out above, the wine itself was unlikely to have been overheated just because the cellar itself was too warm for a few days.

I agree with Chuck’s comments. The wine likely saw similar temperatures before it made it into the cellar.

As far as the coffee spill, I believe the woman should have only received a settlement if the McDonald’s employee spilled the coffee on her or had a role in that during the hand off. If she spilled it on herself, I don’t think McDonald’s should have been liable.

Without the size of the cellar and number of bottles involved it’s hard to say with certainty, but assuming a near-full cellar, the thermal mass of the wine itself would partially insulate against the rising air temperature. Agree with all the above, the wine is probably fine.

I think the corp liability was attributable to the unreasonably hot temp of the coffee.

Plus the fact that they had been informed on multiple previous occasions that the coffee was served dangerously hot.

Thanks…there was some seepage and protruding corks but he can’t nail down the exact duration and temp.

Wine at 75 degrees for two days doesn’t cause protruding corks.

I have a closet in my house in socal where I store wine and it’ll get to 80 frequently in the summer. Zero cork problems.

Seepage is a cork failure. 75 degrees doesn’t cause a cork to change.

I have a feeling the temp was higher than the cellar owner believed if there’s a bunch of pushed corks and seepage.

Seepage isn’t really a cork failure. Seepage is typically caused by excessive heat causing pressure and pushing wine past the cork. It wouldn’t happen without the heat.

OP. What’s the basis for the owners belief it didn’t go past 80?

That’s where my head has always been at with the McDonald’s coffee thing, but I’ve never really looked into it and definitely have not seen any pics. Certainly wasn’t trying to make light of someone getting seriously burned if that was the case, so my apologies if it came across that way. #NotTheBestComparison