Can anyone recommend a good company for wine collection insurance. We currently have Mercury for our homeowners and umbrella policy. Our agent looked into it and Mercury does not offer a optional rider for wine.
Two things making this a bit more complicated, we do not want to switch our homeowners policy and the wine is not currently stored at our primary residence.
TIA!
Very hard to have two different insurers for home and wine.
Sometimes you can get a standalone from Chubb. Otherwise http://www.insureyourwine.com is probably your best bet.
When I tried to use Chubb, they would only do the wine if I switched for home.
It depends upon your area and your broker, but sometimes Chubb will do a standalone. As a general rule though, they tend to want you to consolidate coverage before they will cover wine. The three big names that come up always seem to be Chubb, Fireman’s Fund and Chartis (formerly AIG Private Client). And again, Marc’s InsureYourWine which is the only real standalone out there.
I have looked into this but it sounds like they dont cover damage caused by flood. This is my main purpose for obtaining the policy; the wine is stored in a subterranean temp/humidity controlled cellar. The only problem is that the house where the cellar is located is in a flood zone and backs up against a creek.
The more I look into this the more it sounds like I wont be able to do a standalone policy.
Tyler,
IYW most certainly does cover flood, unless you are in the highest risk flood zone as per the industry maps. If this is the case, no one would cover your flood risk.
Thanks,
Marc
http://www.insureyourwine.com/our-story/
http://www.insureyourwine.com/faq/
The insurer and its agent do not accept credit-card payments. Chubb does. Even the little store on every Noo Yawk street corner accepts credit cards.
I am surprised that the insurer is not publicly disclosed. How, then, can a policyholder regularly track the financial security of the insurer?
Any way to source an independent, audited report on its loss reserves and claims-paying ability? Thanks.
Why do you need insurance for a case of wine… 
![[pillow-fight.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/3/365d4ae6de5fe0cd9e7345760c12ceae1ed5e206.gif "[pillow-fight.gif]")
What does this have to do with anything?
FWIW, I have Chubb. My policy was originally written in 2003 as a stand-alone for an offiste storage facility, albeit not in a flood zone. When I moved back to Boston in '08 and bought a house, I siwtched everything over to Chubb. I have heard about their reluctance to doing stand-alone policies now but, as Eric says, it seems to vary and its best to check with an agent.
I don’t have a connection to either insureyourwine or the insurance company, but this information is in fact available on the website. If you look at the sample policy, it clearly states policy is underwritten by The Marine Insurance Company Ltd.
Thanks. Is it the insurer for all (or most) policies?
Does anyone know how to retrieve a recent AM Best report?
Victor,
They are working on online cc processing. The insurance biz is complex and the back office transactions are ugly. The carrier did not want to invest in the IT right away, but since it has been so successful, they are now doing so.
If you have any questions about the carrier, their financial rating or anything of the sort, please call or email me. You may not know, but there are very strict laws (that vary by state) about what information can be posted on a website, what counts as advertising, etc.
I assure you I would not use it for our clients, my storage facilities, my personal collection or any of my friends in the wine biz if there was a question.
Lets put it this way. The carrier did not have to change their name and take bailout funds ala AIG/Chartis. They have been around for somewhere in the vicinity of 500 years.
Victor, there is plenty of info in the FAQ.
Who is the insurance policy carrier?Back to Top
Due to solicitation laws, we are unable to include this information on our website. Please contact Jackie Riley at > rileyj@bgsurplus.com > to receive this information. They are an AM Best A+15 rated, NAIC approved surplus lines insurer. The name will be on the quote and email sent.
Who handles everything on behalf of the insurance carrier?Back to Top
Bliss & Glennon are the brokers who handles all the correspondence, issuances, filings, etc., for the carrier.
Hurricane vs. FloodBack to Top
A Hurricane can cause wind damage and/or flood damage; both of which are covered by the policy.Am I covered for Flood if I’m in a flood zone?Back to Top
Prior to quoting, we get a flood data report complied by FEMA to see if your covered location is in an A or V 100-year flood zone; for which there is no coverage.
The agency is in El Segundo, CA. I have had my policy for my off site storage with them for a few years.
“JOHN F. FELLOWS” fellows@browningtrudeau.com
John F. Fellows
Browning & Trudeau Insurance Associates
360 N. Sepulveda Blvd., #1054
El Segundo, CA 90245
p: (310) 406-8448
f: (310) 406-8449
I submitted an application with IYW and will see what they say about the flood coverage
thanks for all the input here
I also contacted an agent in napa in regards to a stand alone with chubb. They said that they will look into it but also recommended AXA and will pull a quote from them as well.
I also have Chubb as a stand alone policy.
To see sample policy, go here: http://www.insureyourwine.com/features-rates/ Near top it says, “To view the complete policy please click here.”
Tyler,
I’ve just gone through this and have a reputable firm that does stand alone policies. Please PM me and I can give you all the details.
Angelo
I have stand alone Chubb coverage.
The other that I considered is the new AIG breakoff. It is called Chartis. It is stand alone and not subject to all the problems that the central structure had. Very solid.
There is a wonderful lady who I met actually through Daniel Johnnes events. She frequents La Paulee de NYC and SF. Her name is Katja Zeigerlig. Here is her bio in the Robb Report.
http://robbreport.com/chartis/Wine.aspx
She is the vice president of Chartis in charge of this part of the wine insurance group. Very personable and approachable lady. They have a ton of different products for wine coverage.
FWIW.