Do any of y’all have wine insurance? I was checking out the site off the CT site - looks pretty reasonable, but not sure if I really need it. Most of my stuff is locked up in a Vinotheque refrigerated unit at home. Would be interested to get the board’s thoughts on this, thx.
If you’ve got good stuff, I say absolutely. I’m sure it is quite cheap.
Theft is one risk, but there are other risks you may want to insure against, like flood or fire, that locking your wine up in a Vinotheque unit won’t solve. If your collection is valuable, it is probably a smart move to get wine insurance. Just make sure you read the fine print. Some policies don’t cover the risks that are most likely to occur - like heat damage during the summer in the event of a sustained power outage or failure of your cooling unit.
I have a Chubb homeowners policy with a supplemental wine policy. It seems to be one of the better options, although happily I have not yet needed to make a claim!
As a Texan in the Gulf Coast hurricane zone, it is an absolute must. I have Lloyd’s of London for homeowner’s and they have a decent supplemental wine policy.
Yep, I do Firemans Fund for homeowners, collectibles, and wine.
What happens when you drink the insured wine?
You don’t have to pay for insurance on it any more 
Greeeeeat answer Berg. I’d expect nothing less. Haha. I remember I looked into it briefly and there was mention of having to have an inventory that wouldn’t be consumed for a year.
I would think you update it once a year. Not sure. Also looking into insurance as it doesn’t look like State Farm will cover heat dmg on it.
I looked into it recently as well. From what I read you pick how much insurance you need by dollar amount and provide them with a CT or probably any inventory. Face it, most of us will probably have to periodically increase the amount we need. One of the upsides I liked was they insure wine coolers/refrigerators and any other wine related items you have on top of your wine.
I have a Chubb policy. No inventory needed for blanket coverage. Simple and inexpensive.
Tried to do Chubb and Firemans Fund but it appears they will only do it as a rider on a homeowners policy, not standalone. Not sure if that is a hard rule or a regional thing.
Looked around for a few other standalones and didn’t find anything that looked solid and trustworthy like the ones mentioned above.
I use State Farm. They ask for a yearly inventory; easy to send an Excel spreadsheet using Eric L’s little Internet creation.
what! they said they didn’t do it. do you have a link to it on their website? my guy is even a wine collector O_O
Charlie,
I’ll try to take a photo of my policy and email it to you. It’s an adjunct to my homeowners’, much like a jewelry rider.
In some states (NC is one), homeowners insurance cannot cover wine by law, and you must buy a separate policy. I have AXA, which covered my wine both in the U.S. and Italy, and also in transit up to $10,000 (critically important if you ship wines). It even pays if you drop a bottle or a rack breaks in your cellar and dumps bottles, if your cooling unit goes out and your wine is heat damaged, the whole nine yards. Your Vinotheque can be completely useless without electricity or in a good dozen other circumstances. Also, after an initial inventory is provided, some insurers do not require updates. In a major loss, they will do an inspection after the fact. They are a trusting lot. I, for one, find wine insurance a fair deal, but not at all cheap compared to homeowners insurance. Lastly, those of you that can use homeowners insurance for wine, with or without a rider, should read the fine print carefully and ask questions. There is almost no chance that you have the coverage for all eventualities that wine insurance gives you, although you may be paying a lower premium.
thanks!
Well I was tired and had a bottle of wine in me at that point last night 
I have a combination of itemized and blanket coverage with FF…all my “high end” bottles are itemized, the rest is just under the blanket coverage. With the blanket coverage there’s no inventory, it just covers up to a certain dollar value of wine, and with the itemized stuff, I just send FF an update when I feel like it, usually once or twice a year. There’s no requirement to do updates that I’ve seen or they’ve asked for. I don’t think they really care; if you drink a bottle and don’t update them, you just continue paying for the insurance on it, and I don’t think they mind that.
FF told me it was about dollar value of the cellar…if it’s high enough they’ll do a standalone, otherwise it’s a rider to the homeowners.