Brewery Insurance: Property Coverage

How Property Coverage Works for Your Brewery

This is it. This is the big one. This is the coverage that you think of when someone asks, “What is Brewery Insurance?”

I mean, probably no one asks that. But you get the idea.

When you think of protecting your brewery business that you’ve worked so hard to create and grow, the first thing you think of is the BREWERY.

You think of the building that you’re probably standing in as you read this. You’re thinking about the tanks that you spent hours clicking through different websites and talking to other beer pros before you came to a decision to buy.

You are thinking about the place and the equipment where BEER IS MADE.

But thinking about what you need insurance FOR and knowing what your insurance DOES are two different things. So let’s dig into this coverage and see why it is numero uno on your policy.

The Basics

Commercial Property Coverage, the name of the thing that actually protects your brewery, is a very broad set of coverages. It does a lot and can have a lot more tacked onto it.

But what are the basics, the things that all of these should have?

Building and Personal Property Coverage is the official name of this piece of protection. Let’s break it in half and see what each does.

For starters, the Building Property Coverage of your Brewery Insurance is going to cover your building, or premises. This is the place where you go to work everyday, where you have all of your equipment, where you make the beer. It may also be the place where you serve the beer, or even where your restaurant is if you’re a brewpub.

If you have multiple locations, they will all be covered under this part of your policy.

• Brew in one place and serve in another? Both covered.
• Have a chain of brewpubs? All here.
• Own a brewery, a t-shirt shop for your merch, a pizza joint and you’re starting a music venue? (This is a real place by the way.)

Okay, we can talk because that’s kind of complicated. But yes, those locations will be covered under a Building Property Coverage policy.

Now we know WHAT it protects. But what does it protect you FROM?

This part of your Brewery Insurance covers you from your biggest nightmares. You’ll be covered from things like:

• A fire from an electrical short late at night that ravages your brewhouse and pub.
• Lightning striking and shutting down the brewery.
• A customer’s car rams into the side of your building, destroying part of the wall.

These and many other kinds of accidents are all covered under the Building Property part of your Brewery Insurance. The stuff you care the most about is protected by this coverage.

The second part of this coverage is the Personal Property Coverage. This of course means your Business Personal Property, not the life sized painting and accompanying shrine of John Palmer that you brought from your garage.

All Hail the King of Home Brewing

Regardless of how you feel about Mr. Palmer, the point is that Business Personal Property coverage is a big deal. It protects anything that your business owns and is on the premises. Such as:

• Any machinery not attached to the floor or wall. Mobile bottling lines for example.
• Portable hoses, nozzles, and other mobile pieces of equipment.
• Furniture, office equipment, bar equipment, restaurant equipment.
• Stock, both brewing materials and the finished product.

This covers a ton of what you use to make beer. Not only what equipment you use to brew, but also the grains and hops you put into it and the final version, no matter if you bottle or can.

There are other things that can be added to this policy to cover even more, but for now, know that it protects your stuff, the places, equipment and products that you use to make beer.

What Property Insurance Doesn’t Cover

 

This part of your Brewery Insurance covers a lot – but it doesn’t do everything. Some property is either too specialized for this coverage, better covered under a different policy, or just flat out not right for anyone to cover.

Like what, you may ask? Items not covered include:

• Currency, paper accounts, and most other paper valuables.
• Building foundations and machinery below ground (so double check with your agent if your brewhouse is in the basement).
• Autos and vehicles (covered by your Business Auto Policy).
• Landscaping features like bridges, walkways, roads, patios, trees, etc.
• Land, growing crops (if you grow your own barley which is super cool).
• Animals (brewdog not included in policy ??)
• Piers, docks, and other water constructions.

Hopefully nothing in this stands out as an, “OH MY GOD WE ARE IN TROUBLE.” If it does, don’t sweat it. Most things can be covered by another policy added to your Brewery Insurance.

And this really is key. If you are concerned about one of these limitations, or you aren’t sure if one of the coverage options will be enough for your brewery, just ask your agent.

Odds are you can adjust your policy to increase coverage if you’re concerned about a particular place, or add coverage for something that isn’t normally there.

And there are tons of policies that cover things that aren’t really Property.

So no matter what your situation is, you can find a way to be fully protected

Do You Have the Right Business Property Coverage?

Chances are you aren’t sure. You probably have a good, standard policy, with your location(s) and most of your property listed and covered.

But there’s also a good chance you aren’t, well, standard. You may be curious about the limits of your current policy, or about whether or not the policy really reflects how much you’ve invested in your brewhouse.

Or you have a restaurant and an outdoor seating area and a stage with lots of musical equipment. How is all of that covered, and does some of it need to be on a separate policy?

If you’re reading this, you have questions about what your policy does and how it could be even better.

So why not get a second opinion from someone like, just throwing a random name out there, Alliance Insurance?

We will be more than happy to look over your current coverage, hear more about what your business looks like and what you need, and give you some detailed recommendations.

We can give you alternative quotes that can help you understand what your current policy does and doesn’t do.

And it might even open the door to a new company with better rates and better coverage.

It’s all free, easy, with no strings attached.

So what are you waiting for? Fill out the form below and let us see if we can help your brewery be protected no matter what happens.