Sorry, but I respectfully disagree and think you are oversimplifying the risk, at least from my point of view. Wine may sit there, but it does get moved around. It moves when it is loaded into the cellar, and it moves when it is taken out to drink. I pulled a bottle of 1995 Lafite one time to drink and dropped and broke it. Unfortunately, I didn’t think to file an insurance claim at the time, but I will next time. When my cellar failed recently and I had to temporarily relocate my bottles to offsite storage, it involved moving every bottle out, and then back in. Two inconsequential bottles were broken in the exercise by the guys who did it (yes, they credited me). So it doesn’t just sit there.
More importantly, while just sitting there, the cooling unit can and does fail. When that happens, you have the potential for a catastrophic loss, as I have experienced. In the end, the decision to insure or not insure is the degree to which you are comfortable absorbing the risk, versus transferring that risk to a counter party. In my case, I have a substantial investment in my wine collection, and I wish to offload the risk. I have been in the insurance and financial services industry for the past 37 years, so I think I have a pretty good handle on the pro’s and con’s of doing so. In my case, the decision was easy.
I think Nick is on the right track here. In addition to lack of knowledge, the lack of large numbers means there is a smaller pool of insured wine cellars to spread the risk. The numbers are tiny compared to the number of homes insured. I’m not saying carriers aren’t taking advantage of relatively wealthy cellar owners. But numbers alone has to be one factor in the higher premiums.
Well, I simply want to make sure that, in the case of a catastrophic loss by fire (or earthquake, or theft…but perhaps most likely by fire), that my wine collection that I have spent years accumulating is protected. I am not sure I would put in a claim for dropping a bottle of Rousseau Chambertin unless I was sure it would not adversely affect my rates. But in a catastrophic situation, and given the current absurd replacement values of Burgundy, I want to be sure that I do not lose a few hundred thousand bucks worth of wine without proper compensation.
Let’s just completely ignore that wine is perishable while we’re at it. I’d bet the main reason for wine insurance for many people, especially in the south is protection against power outage. And who is paying 1%-2% on their wine insurance? I’ve only seen it priced between 40 and 65 bps unless your collection doesn’t hit the minimum insurable amount and you pay up regardless.
<3% of homeowner claims are due to liability issues. The rest are loss claims. These claims average ~$10,500 - a very small $ amount compared to total insured amount. If something bad happens in your cellar, except for the odd bottle drop, it’s likely to affect your entire cellar. Claims are a much larger $ / total insured. You have to price the coverage on what you think the claim amount will be and homeowners insurance is by far the lowest claim %.
Over the years I was incorrectly told by State Farm my collection was covered under home contents. I must have asked them to look into the issue 5 separate times. Finally found out the home policy would cover a small amount of wine, around $25K. State Farm will write separate policies for wine up to 250K. I did not ask the cost.
I called AIG direct about changing all my insurance, because they will not just insure wine, and gave info for 20 minutes, received a quote in 48hrs. The most shocking thing was I was grossly overpaying for my homeowners. A real eyeopener!
Instead of giving the same info to 3-4 companies, I am going to an independent agent who deals with multiple companies. He is looking into Blue, AIG, Chubb, and Cincinnati. The agents commission comes from the insurance company. Going directly to any of the companies, gives no savings. Bundling all your insurances will same you 5-8% on total costs.
Any one know anything about or have any experiences with Cincinnati Insurance? So far the bundle of insurances is the most attractive.
I also spoke to an agent at AMWins, they did not get back yet.
This will vary based on the value of the insured cellar. For a stand-alone policy, insurers will have a minimum premium, which is usually a couple hundred dollars.
My agent is Marsh, and apparently they deal with just a few companies that cover “high net worth”, whatever that is. But the companies are Chubb, Pure, AIG, Cincinnati I believe. Anyway, they shopped our Chubb policy around when we wanted to see if our coverage was cost effective, and they as our agent had to make sure that, if we switched companies, our coverage was equivalent. My agent said they were liable if they sold us coverage that was not equivalent. There is definitely savings if all your insurance is with the same company…home(s), auto, etc. we saved a fair amount switching to Pure. We have been with Marsh for over 30 years, and if you are looking for an agent to deal with in this regard, I would recommend them. They have helped us deal with not only this but other insurance issues with our daughters’ cars, etc.
I changed over all my policies to Cincinnati Insurance Co. They were the most competitive, have an A+ rating, and my agent had great experience with them. Quotes for AIG,Blue and Chubb were close for the wine cellar, higher for the other elements [cars, home, umbrella]. AMWINS was significantly higher. I am told Cincinnati is trying to increase their presence on the east coast, so maybe when you buy the policy makes a big difference. Anyone with any questions can feel free to PM. Thanks for everyone’s help!
sent my inquiry to AIG for wine coverage 2 weeks ago and got a phone call today to follow up on this finally. Was told I have to put my house insurance with them and it must be valued over $500,000 for them to even offer wine insurance. Pretty disappointed to say the least, I am happy with my current insurer for house/auto etc but they don’t have a wine policy so it needs to be separate. Going to try Pure now and report back
For those that have made claims, what was the process? Clearly for a broken bottle, pictures probably tell the story. But what about heat damage? How do you prove that the wine is damaged? I live in TX and heat is our biggest concern.
Has anyone made a claim with any of their insurers and found out that it was not covered?
Pure insurance got back to me quick. But same result. Must insure any and everything for them to offer me a quote. Is it because I live in California that they hate me? Is Chubb the only one left ? Any other help is appreciated. I just went over all my insurance with my agent and we even saved more money and increased my coverage. Really happy with my rates currently so not wanting to switch over …again…
You’re deflecting what the original discussion was about. it was about the COST of the peril. and you just contradicted yourself… you said “average homeownwer claim is far less than the value of the home. I’d imagine in a disaster in the cellar (fire, theft earthquake) will affect far larger % of your cellar.” Oh so a fire or earthquake wouldnt equally impact the damage to the house? And regarding cooling unit failure it was asked on here has anybody been reimbursed for heat damage. (i’m not claiming knowledge on that). And of course you’re getting insured by AIG for location of wines anywhere in the world. because the premiums are outrageous given the risks! I still stand by original post. Wine insurance premiums are outrageous (relative to other insured items).
My parents made a claim for heat damage on some wine with Chubb and it was covered. Power went out for a week during the summer due to wildfires. Chubb was going to send someone to taste but given the relatively small $$ and the fact the wine may be been OK, they agreed to split the difference. This is how a great insurance Co. acts with a claim.
I know many people who had been told it was covered under homeowners only to find out later it was nowhere near fully covered when they really dug into the policy info or found a more knowledgeable agent. Do not have specific claim stories here and those folks all got riders for wine later.
Sorry, but if you are directing this to me, you are are in error. I did not say “average homeowner claim is far less than the value of the home.” The other poster said it. But I agree with it, and I have 37 years in the insurance business. I’m pretty sure I know what I am talking about. I had a six figure claim where my cellar failed and every bottle was ruined. Chubb paid me 45% more than the valuation that Cellartracker provided. So yes, experience there too that was positive. My wine insurance is cheap compared to having to replace all the wine on my own nickel.
Probably best to agree that we disagree and move on.