Theft at Esquin Wine Storage in Seattle

[Frank_Drew]

Unless the thieves were absolute psycopaths, or there’s much more to the story, that part about their attempt to blow the place up, if true, doesn’t make any sense at all – it’s so far in excess of the situation. Not saying it’s not true, just who does that?

[Brian_Gilp]

My homeowner policy does not cover my wine for any loss regardless of peril. Originally, I was told by my agent that my wine was covered under my homeowner policy. I thought this was wrong so I asked a second time for clarification and was told again that it was fully covered as contents of the house. I asked a third time and this time in writting with a copy of my inventory showing total value and that got them researching the question. Turns out that my policy will cover the wine if it is for investment purposes only. There are additional requirements on my part to submit/update inventory and that I can’t drink anythink listed as investment. Otherwise, the wine is treated as food which is excluded from coverage.

[NickC]

ouch. good luck to all.

[Dale_Bowers]

@Brian Gilp

My homeowner policy does not cover my wine for any loss regardless of peril. Originally, I was told by my agent that my wine was covered under my homeowner policy. I thought this was wrong so I asked a second time for clarification and was told again that it was fully covered as contents of the house. I asked a third time and this time in writting with a copy of my inventory showing total value and that got them researching the question. Turns out that my policy will cover the wine if it is for investment purposes only. There are additional requirements on my part to submit/update inventory and that I can’t drink anythink listed as investment. Otherwise, the wine is treated as food which is excluded from coverage.

Why doesn’t this surprise me? Insurance companies are awesome when it comes to taking your premiums, sh*ty when paying claims. My advanced apologies to those in the business.

[Andrew_L]

Brutal.

[Joe_B]

@Frank Drew

Unless the thieves were absolute psycopaths, or there’s much more to the story, that part about their attempt to blow the place up, if true, doesn’t make any sense at all – it’s so far in excess of the situation. Not saying it’s not true, just who does that?

Struck me funny too.

[Nick_Gangas]

@Paul Jaouen

@Steve Saxon

@Nick Gangas

Also I find interesting that only Washington state wines are listed as missing so far.

I spoke to buddy who has a locker at Esquin, he has great old bdx, old Giacosa Red Labels and Salon right in front…his locker wasn’t touched.

Strange. Like someone said….has to be more to this story.

It’s ironic they took the most illiquid of assets. Pardon the pun.

[Tom_Lee]

There is pretty high demand for the likes of Quilceda Creek and Doubleback in the Seattle. Maybe not so liquid elsewhere but not the case here.

Tom

[Tom_D]

@Kevin Hamilton

Yes it is real. It isn’t in the news yet. Very professional job, I was down there this afternoon doing an inventory of what I lost. Almost all the large formats, case of Leonetti, Doubleback and QC. They were very selective, left the CdP that was right next to the QC. Many lockers were broken into but the thieves attempted to cover their tracks by putting things back.

Kevin - How’d you find out that your locker was hit - did Esquin get in touch with you? Curious as I have a locker down there myself.

[Tom_D]

@Tom D

@Kevin Hamilton

Yes it is real. It isn’t in the news yet. Very professional job, I was down there this afternoon doing an inventory of what I lost. Almost all the large formats, case of Leonetti, Doubleback and QC. They were very selective, left the CdP that was right next to the QC. Many lockers were broken into but the thieves attempted to cover their tracks by putting things back.

Kevin - How’d you find out that your locker was hit - did Esquin get in touch with you? Curious as I have a locker down there myself.

Just called Esquin and it looks like I’ll be making a visit tomorrow to verify inventory. Based on my conversation, having a 2nd level locker may make me safe.

And to confirm what Kevin said, I was told it was a “very elaborate job” and without saying there were explosives involved due to the ongoing investigation, they did “attempt to cover their tracks”.

[John_Morris]

It sounds like the thieves had inventories for individual lockers.

[scott_davis]

@Kevin Hamilton

Homeowners is saying 10% of loss due to it being stored offsite without a special rider. Still working with them though as that seems like a BS amount. Theft of a “collection” is proving much more complicated than theft of other property like car stereos or what have you.

Kevin:

Most homeowner’s policies cover "personal property owned or used by an insured while it is anywhere in the world.” But then, there are limitations that differ from insurer to insurer.

The standard homeowner’s policy may limit coverage for “personal property” located at an “insured’s residence", other than the “residence premises,” to 10% of the amount insured (not the loss amount). But that would not apply here. Your reference to 10% leads me to wonder if someone may be misinterpreting this provision.

The standard homeowner’s policy does not specifically limit coverage for wine. Going off memory here – but I do not believe “collection” is a defined term either.

My point - you fulfilled your obligations to the insurer, and therefore, have an expectation that your property is covered against the peril of theft and your loss is recoverable under your policy. I might push this issue a little more with your agent or broker until someone can specifically show where this loss is excluded (or limited) by your policy.

Scott

[scott_davis]

@Brian Gilp

My homeowner policy does not cover my wine for any loss regardless of peril. Originally, I was told by my agent that my wine was covered under my homeowner policy. I thought this was wrong so I asked a second time for clarification and was told again that it was fully covered as contents of the house. I asked a third time and this time in writting with a copy of my inventory showing total value and that got them researching the question. Turns out that my policy will cover the wine if it is for investment purposes only. There are additional requirements on my part to submit/update inventory and that I can’t drink anythink listed as investment. Otherwise, the wine is treated as food which is excluded from coverage.

Brian - does your homeowner’s policy have a specific exclusion for food?

[rfelthoven]

And I thought I had been ripped off by Esquin in the past. This sounds much worse than what happens in the retail shop. Best of luck to all affected. Bummer around the holidays in particular.

[Dav1dZ]

@Paul Jaouen

Sorry for the losses. This should wake people up though. If you do not have a rider on your homeowner’s than you should insure through the wine storage facility’s insurance offering.

For reasons that are becoming clear in the WineCare case, it is better to insure with homeowners than through the storage facility.

[Rick.T]

Do you know of any wine storage facilities that insure? IMO, it’s best to insure through homeowners or a separate policy like through Insure Your Wine (.com).

[Carlos_Delpin]

Domaine offers third party insurance as a service to its customers.

[Bill_Klapp_deactivated]

Usually better to get a wine policy, unless you have a kickass wine rider. Homeowner’s insurance cannot cover alcohol by law in some states (NC is one), and is excluded or limited unless scheduled like jewelry, furs and art in others. Never assume that you have any wine coverage in a homeowner’s policy unless you have express language to that effect…

[Philip_N_Jones]

Here is an interesting exercise: Find your homeowner’s insurance policy and read it. You might be very surprised by the exclusions (what it does not cover). This exercise is often much more educational (and eye-opening) than calling your agent and asking about coverage.
Also, it is my understanding that many insurance companies use forms developed for them by third parties, in order to comply with the various requirements of state law. So if you switch carriers, you might end up with exactly the same policy. (Please correct me if you have specialized knowledge on this subject.)
Phil Jones

[Bill_Klapp_deactivated]

@Philip N. Jones

Here is an interesting exercise: Find your homeowner’s insurance policy and read it. You might be very surprised by the exclusions (what it does not cover). This exercise is often much more educational (and eye-opening) than calling your agent and asking about coverage.
Also, it is my understanding that many insurance companies use forms developed for them by third parties, in order to comply with the various requirements of state law. So if you switch carriers, you might end up with exactly the same policy. (Please correct me if you have specialized knowledge on this subject.)
Phil Jones

All true. And most laymen are not capable of making sense out of their homeowner’s policies, which are ugly exercises in serpentine legalese in most cases. They are crafted to make you believe that you are broadly covered (and for some things, you are), but what they give with one hand up-front, they take away with exclusions and riders…