What You Need to Know About Craft Brewery Insurance
You’re independent from large breweries and known for new flavours, varied brewing techniques and a local presence as a craft brewery. You face unique risks in your industry like equipment breakdown, contamination costs and product recalls.
An insurance package for your craft brewery protects you so that you can confidently operate your business.
Kelowna has a number of craft breweries to enjoy. British Columbia is home to more than 200 craft breweries.
Did you know that Canada more than 1,100 small and independent craft breweries, brew pubs and their supplier partners in every province and territory?
Your Western business insurance expert will give you top-notch advice and ways to save on insurance for your Kelowna craft brewery. We’ll get you customized craft brewery insurance to protect your investment.
What is insurance for craft breweries?
Craft brewery insurance is a package of insurance coverages that protects you from risks such as equipment breakdowns, product spoilage and recall, and from lawsuits when a customer is injured at your brewery.
A craft brewery insurance package helps protect you from these 3 claims:
1. Your craft beer gets contaminated. Product Recall insurance can help reduce the costly expense of pulling any contaminated craft beer off customers' shelves.
2. A client visits your brewery slips and falls on some water on floor and severely injures her back. The client files a personal injury lawsuit against your craft brewery. Commercial General Liability Insurance, also known as slip and fall insurance, could help cover the medical expenses and legal fees.
3. Liquor Liability is needed whether you have a full service bar or offer beer tastings after tours to cover damages to persons and property caused by patrons who were allegedly over-served at your craft brewery.
How much will my craft brewery insurance package cost?
Factors that will influence the cost:
- What craft beers to you sell?
- Years of experience
- Annual revenue
- Number of employees
- Past claims
Here’s an insurance check list for craft breweries:
- Do you have the best business insurance rate for your craft brewery?
- Do you have the right amount for your deductible and regularly review to make sure it’s the right amount for your business?
- Is your number of employees up to date?
- Are you using your personal car for business purposes?
At Western, we will save you time and money by doing the insurance shopping for you to find a craft brewery insurance package that suits your business at the right value for you.
What do I need in my craft brewery insurance package?
Commercial General Liability (CGL) Insurance: It can protect your Kelowna craft brewery against common claims or lawsuits alleging third-party bodily injury, false advertising, and libel or slander. If you are sued, CGL may cover legal costs, regardless of the lawsuit’s outcome.
Without CGL insurance, you would be responsible for paying any liability costs out of your own pocket.
Ask your Western business insurance expert how much CGL insurance your craft brewery needs.
Equipment Breakdown (Boiler and Machinery Coverage): This type of insurance coverage can help with the repair or replacement costs for damaged equipment as well as cover losses from production interruption and downtime.
Spoilage and Product Recall: If a batch of your craft beer is contaminated during the brewing or packaging process, or if it spoils before distribution, a provision for spoilage can cover the initial production cost as well as lost revenue.
If a contaminated batch makes it to store shelves, coverage for product recall can help offset the costs of removing the tainted beer and replacing it.
Liquor Liability Insurance:
Do you have a full-service bar or offer beer tastings after tours of your craft brewery? Liquor liability insurance covers damages to persons and property caused by patrons who were allegedly over-served at your establishment.
Supply Chain Insurance: It covers losses resulting from decreased production or increased production costs should one or more of your suppliers be unable to provide the raw materials you need due to an insured event.
Inland Marine Insurance: This type of insurance provides coverage for property and equipment that is shipped by land, such as on a truck or by rail. Your craft beers could be spoiled due to an accident, theft, or damage to equipment. This insurance coverage reimburses the cost of goods and products that are damaged during transit.
Commercial Auto Insurance: If you use a car or truck to deliver your products to your clients, you will need commercial car insurance. Your personal car or truck insurance usually won’t cover your deliveries for work.
Commercial Property Insurance: This type of insurance can cover losses due to fire or lightning, including removing property to protect it from further damage. You can also include vandalism and malicious mischief as part of your commercial property package.
Business Interruption Insurance: It’s an additional property insurance coverage that covers loss of income if your craft brewery suffers a disaster, and your business premises need to be temporarily closed. This type of coverage can mean the difference between reopening your startup and going out of business.
Cyber Insurance: Your craft brewery likely processes debit and credit card transactions. What if your system is hacked by cyberthieves?
Without cyber insurance, you will have to pay out of your pocket for the cost of restoring your grocery store’s system if it is hacked. You may also be liable for damages to third parties whose information has been stolen and you may have to pay for notification expenses to inform customers affected by a breach.
Crime Insurance: This coverage can protect you from theft, credit card fraud, forgery, counterfeit, and other types of fraud that employees sometimes commit.
What do I do if I have an insurance claim?
- Contact your broker immediately after any business-related mishap. Waiting to file a claim can confuse insurers about the severity of the damages to your business.
- Know your policy so that when you contact your broker you are familiar with what will be covered or not.
- Document the damage. Take photos right away and write down what happened.
- Do not throw away damaged goods after taking photos. Keep the physical evidence so that your adjustor can see it.
- Do not invite lawsuits. Don’t say anything that could be used against you, especially if you aren’t sure what happened.
- Be honest about what your damaged property is worth. Damaged commercial property is generally valued according to its actual cash value or replacement value.
Western Insurance has licensed BUSINESS INSURANCE EXPERTS to get you the right insurance package for your Kelowna craft brewery. Our experts are available now to help you navigate the business insurance journey to protect you and your craft brewery.
Please share this article with your friends
Talk to an Insurance Expert
Call Us Now 888-595-3104