What We Cover
From a carefully curated home cellar to investment-grade collections held in bonded warehouses — specialist policies cover wine and spirits wherever they're stored.
Investment-Grade Wine
Bordeaux First Growths, Burgundy Grand Crus, Rhône, Italian, and other fine wine collections — agreed-value coverage at current market pricing using auction and secondary market data.
Rare & Collectable Spirits
Aged single malt Scotch, Japanese whisky, cognac, armagnac, and other rare distillates — individually scheduled or covered on a blanket basis with agreed value.
Home Wine Cellars
Dedicated cellar rooms, climate-controlled wine cabinets, and built-in storage — covered for temperature and humidity failure, breakage, theft, and mysterious disappearance.
Offsite & Professional Storage
Wine held in bonded warehouses, professional climate-controlled storage facilities, or merchant storage — covered with documentation of the offsite holdings.
Wine in Transit
Auction purchases, direct-from-winery deliveries, sales, and cellar relocations — transit coverage protects bottles in motion from point of origin to destination.
Mixed Collections
Collections spanning wine, spirits, and beer — covered together under a single specialist cellar policy rather than across multiple fragmented homeowners riders.
Key Coverage Features
Specialist cellar policies address risks that standard homeowners coverage never touches — temperature failure, breakage, and market value shifts among them.
Agreed Value
Coverage is written at full scheduled or blanket agreed value — no actual cash value depreciation, no deductions at claim time. The insured value is the settlement value.
Temperature & Humidity Failure
Power outages, HVAC failures, refrigeration equipment malfunction, and temperature or humidity excursions that damage the collection — all covered. This is specifically excluded from standard homeowners policies.
Breakage
Accidental breakage during handling, storage, or transit is covered. A dropped case or cracked bottle during a cellar reorganization is a covered loss under a specialist policy.
Transit Coverage
Auction purchases, cellar deliveries, sales consignments, and cellar moves are covered in transit. No gap between pickup and delivery for high-value shipments.
Mysterious Disappearance
Unexplained loss — bottles unaccounted for when the cellar is inventoried — is covered under specialist cellar policies, just as with other personal collections insurance.
Market Value Revaluation
Some carriers allow periodic revaluation of the insured cellar against current auction market data (Wine-Searcher, Liv-ex) to keep agreed value aligned with a rising market.
New Acquisitions
Newly purchased wine and spirits are automatically covered for 30–60 days (varies by carrier) from the date of purchase while you update your cellar schedule — no coverage gap at acquisition.
What Carriers Look For
Cellar policies are straightforward to underwrite when you have basic inventory and storage documentation in order.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does my homeowners policy cover my wine cellar?
Standard homeowners policies typically sub-limit wine to $500–$2,500 and rarely cover temperature damage or breakage. A specialist cellar policy covers agreed value, power outage and temperature failure, breakage, and mysterious disappearance — none of which are standard homeowners features. The gap between what a homeowners policy provides and what a cellar collection requires is substantial.
Is investment wine covered?
Yes — investment-grade wine held in bonded warehouses or professional storage is specifically covered by specialist cellar policies. The inventory records and storage documentation you'll need are straightforward for professionally stored collections, since warehouse operators typically maintain detailed records of holdings and storage conditions.
What about temperature damage from a power outage?
Temperature and humidity damage caused by equipment failure, power outage, or HVAC malfunction is a core coverage feature of specialist wine policies — and is specifically excluded from most homeowners policies. This is one of the primary reasons collectors insure their cellars separately. The cost to replace wine damaged by a failed chiller can exceed the annual premium many times over.
How do I establish agreed value for a cellar?
Agreed value is typically established using a combination of purchase records, current auction market data (Wine-Searcher, Liv-ex), and in some cases a professional cellar appraisal for collections above $100,000–$200,000 in value. We'll walk you through the documentation requirements and connect you with qualified wine appraisers if needed.