Winery & Vineyard Insurance: Protecting Every Stage of the Harvest

Between the vineyard and the wineglass, there’s a lot that can go wrong. To outsiders, the wine industry may look fun and carefree, but insiders know there’s a lot of hard work involved. Growing risks and thinning margins mean that winery and vineyard owners have to be extra cautious, and having the right vintners and growers insurance is critical.

Protection for Your Grape Harvest

The Environmental Defense Fund says climate change is contributing to extreme weather, with impacts on storms, heatwaves, droughts and wildfires. In California, the wildfire season has become longer over the last two decades, according to UC Irvine.

For growers, this is cause for alarm. Wildfires, smoke taint, storms and drought have always been serious concerns for agriculture. Now these risks are increasing. A single bad year can be devastating for a vineyard. A series of bad years may be unsurvivable, and unpredictable weather could lead to disaster in more ways than one:

• A hailstorm in spring could damage your vines just as they begin to bud.
• A heatwave or drought in summer could devastate your vines as they grow.
• A wildfire in late summer could destroy your grapes right as they’re ready for harvest, or smoke from a nearby fire could taint the fruit.

How can you protect your crops? Crop protection insurance is a staple of agricultural business insurance, and it provides protection for your bottom line. Multiple peril crop insurance offers coverage for a wide range of common perils, and it can be supplemented with crop-hail insurance.

Protection for Your Workers

Hotter weather isn’t just a threat to grapes. It’s also a threat to the workers tasked with harvesting grapes. Due to the physically demanding nature of the job, agricultural workers have always been at risk of work-related injuries and illnesses, including heat-related illness.

 According to Mississippi State University Extension, heat is the top weather-related cause of death in the U.S., and agricultural workers are particularly vulnerable. Between 2000 and 2010, agricultural workers were 35 times more likely to die from heat injuries compared to workers in all other industries.

How can you protect your workers? In addition to worker training and safety policies, a robust workers’ compensation program can take care of your workers.

Protection from Point A to Point B

Once a successful harvest is complete and your grapes have been transformed into delicious wine, you may breathe a sigh of relief – but there are still threats to your product. A fire or storm could destroy your wine while it’s being stored in a warehouse, or a collision on the road could reduce your beautiful bottles to shards of glass.

How can you protect your product? Inland marine insurance provides coverage for products during transportation and warehousing. Although commercial auto insurance can cover damage to your vehicles as well as third-party liability, it is not designed to cover goods in transport, so inland marine insurance is critical.

Protection at Your Events

Whether you’re operating a tasting room with regular hours or hosting special events, there are many ways for the good times to sour. Customer injuries are a threat to any business, and when wine is involved, the risks can increase. Businesses that serve alcohol may even be held liable for injuries that occur off premises under state liquor liability and dram shop laws. Beyond injuries, you could also face liability for anything from property damage to breach of contract.

How can you protect your business? Commercial general liability insurance provides critical protection for many businesses, including wineries and tasting rooms. Because alcohol is involved, it’s also important to secure liquor liability insurance. For special events, you may also need event liability insurance.

Protection for Your Operations

Some risks can strike at any time. A cigarette butt could start a fire at your tasting room, a ransomware attack could shut down the computer systems you rely on for daily operations, a former employee could file a lawsuit against your business alleging discrimination, retaliation and wrongful termination… The list goes on and on.

When you’re busy putting out fires – sometimes literally – it’s hard to focus on running your business. Lawsuits and losses can also eat into your profits and threaten your bottom line.

How can you protect your operations? A solid vintners and growers insurance program can help you recover from unforeseen threats to your operations. We’ve already looked at some critical elements of winery business coverage, including crop insurance, inland marine insurance, commercial auto insurance, general liability insurance, liquor liability insurance, and workers’ compensation insurance. You may need additional coverage types, including commercial property insurance, cyber insurance and employee practices liability insurance.

Is your harvest protected?

Mavrix offers specialized insurance solutions for vintners and growers. We can help you protect your harvest at every stage. Request a quote.