With the prices for the world's top wines having increased greatly in recent years – as the Liv-ex 100 shows - it would be wise to consider if your collection is fully insured? As this recent theft of £60,000 of wine (including cases of Latour and Yquem) shows, wine is unfortunately not immune to the attention of criminals. As Jancis notes on her website, this unfortunate event has certainly focused minds:
This may serve as a timely reminder for all of us to review the security of wine collections. Only yesterday I discovered the keys to one of my two cellars sitting in the outside lock.
Insurers Lloyd's have also written about wine and insurance. And as Charles Hamilton Stubber, Director for Lloyd’s broker Aon Private Risk Management, warns:
Due to the increased popularity of collecting wines, particularly en primeur (wines sold before bottling), we have seen values rising in correlation. Keep an eye on the market and the shifting value of your collection. Also, if you’re growing your collection, inform your broker as this could affect the premium and cover. You must regularly re-value your collection to be certain you have sufficient cover in case you do have to make a claim… We tend to see few wine claims from private collectors as individuals usually store their cases in specialist storage facilities. But when collections are kept at home, claims are often as a result of accidental damage or flood.
The best way to keep on top of the value of your collection is with a Liv-ex Cellar Watch package, starting at just £49.99 a year. You can even track the value of the wines you have at home separately from those you have in storage, enabling you accurately insure your collection.
