Tips on Protecting your Wine Collection
A common mistake of port lovers is not properly protecting their collection. Whether you’re collecting antique cars, jewelry, fine art, or wine; it’s pertinent that these investments are covered with insurance.
When you’ve invested a large sum of money into a wine collection, a standard homeowner insurance policy will not suffice. More often than not, standard policies cap itemized coverage. This means that only a fraction of your ports will be protect from unforeseen events. Although many wine collectors go through excessive measures of collecting their ports (e.g. temperature controlled storage, security systems, and back-up power sources), events out of your control do happen.
Tips on Protecting your Wine Collection:
Tip #1: Hire an appraiser to evaluate the value of your wine collection. Then, create an inventory with up-to-date values on each wine. This will speed up the claims process, in the event that the wine bottles are damaged or destroyed by a fire, theft, etc.
Tip #2: Store your wine collection in a temperature controlled area. If you plan to store your port in a cellar or storage facility, ensure that it meets the following requirements:
- Consistent temperature of 55 to 60 degrees
- Away from light
- Connected to a powerful generator
- Humidity levels should be between 60% to 80% (high humidity may cause mold and low humidity can cause dry corks and air seepage
- Constructed of materials that are resistant to natural disasters, such as earthquakes, hurricanes, etc.
- Bottles should be laid on their side to ensure that oxygen does not enter the bottle
Tip #3: Insure your wine collection with an agency that specializes in high value items. SRFM’s wine collection program insures collections worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. In addition, their programs cover a wide spectrum of perils, including coverage for losses due to power outage or mechanical breakdown of heating, cooling, and humidity control equipment and more.
Sinclair’s Private Client Group division works with several clients who have an extensive wine collection in their home. We understand the value of such a collection and the need for specialized insurance to protect against fire, theft, flood, and breakage in addition to unique exposures that can cause a significant loss. Give one of Sinclair’s professionals a call at 203.265.0996.
Source: Wine Mag