Wine isn’t just an alcoholic drink; it is art, with the combination of different grape varieties, soil, vinification and increasing quality through ageing- for the best ones. Every bottle is made with a lot of effort and has a story of its own.
Hong Kong is known as the wine hub of Asia due to the benefits of importing and growing market. However, owning a wine business in Hong Kong or importing to Hong Kong wine merchants comes with many advantages and many risks.
A Wine business can be any company that works with wine. The businesses include wine cellars, wine shops, vineyards, wine bars, wine merchants or even online wine shops. The common risks consist of property damage, financial loss, cyber-attacks and even liability lawsuits.
Each business involved in the wine industry needs specific protection against possible risks. Hence the article will describe the top insurance for a wine business in Hong Kong and how different insurance can protect every company in the industry.
Top insurance for a Wine Business
Property All-Risk Insurance
Cellars don’t have to be in a farm or wooden barrels anymore. A growing number of wine businesses own modern electronic wine cellars. Such as Watson Wine has its own cellars in its stores in Hong Kong. Wine cellars, vineries (vineyards) and even aged bottles all fall under a wine business property and are incredibly costly.
Property damage to any wine asset can result in substantial financial loss. For example, An auction in Hong Kong sold the most expensive lot of wine ever, with 114 bottles of Burgundy sold for HK$12,556,250 – (imagine dropping even one of those bottles). The property damage could be a fire in a vineyard to broken bottles during importing/exporting.
It is a must for wine companies to purchase property all-risk insurance to ensure their wine business assets. The insurance will cover the repair or replacement costs of business assets if they are suddenly damaged. Depending on the policy and asset, the insurance will reimburse the property cost at replacement or market value. It can save a business from massive financial loss and prevent business shutdowns.
Cyber Insurance
An increasing number of wine businesses have an online presence—a website they sell wine and experiences to their customers or clients. Online wine shops are great for the industry, allowing users to read and learn more about the wine through the product description. As a result, Hong Kong online wine shops have become more popular, and more customers and businesses prefer their wine delivered weekly.
Unfortunately, a wine business with an online presence can also be a cyber-attack victim. For example, an online wine seller was hacked in 2022, and half a million worldwide customer information was stolen due to the data breach.
Wine business in Hong Kong must have cyber insurance when working and collecting data online. The insurance will help deal with most types of cyber-attacks. Cyber insurance will provide financial cover for cyber experts’ advice, threat removing, data recovery, informing third parties and financial loss.
Trade Credit Insurance
Numerous wine merchants sell in bulk to other businesses and, over time, build a B2B relationship. Trade credit payment is a common practice in B2B relations. The other business could be a bar, grocery shop or local event company.
Sometimes clients will request products and persuade wine businesses they will pay later. There are risks when running the business through trade credit, as the client may file for bankruptcy or become insolvent. In such cases, the clients cannot pay their dues, which can be a significant amount when bought in bulk.
Wine merchants in Hong Kong can purchase trade credit insurance to prepare and avoid such business situations. The insurance will protect the wine business from client non-payments or significantly late payments due to insolvency, bankruptcy or political risks. The insurance covers a percentage of the unpaid amount, allowing the selling company to keep functioning and focus on other deals.
Public Liability Insurance
When the public is allowed to enter a physical wine shop or enter a vineyard for wine-tasting events, there are public liability risks. When a public member is injured at the premises, or the business activity causes property damage, the business will be liable. These accidents may result in public liability claims against a wine business.
A customer could slip & fall in the shop, or a bottle on a shelf may fall on the customer. Both accidents can result in serious injuries, and the affected customer may sue the business for third-party damage.
Public liability insurance is perfect for wine companies that deal with physical locations. The insurance will cover the cost of lawsuits due to third-party injuries and property damage. The insurance will only cover accidents at the site or due to business activity. Public liability claims are unpredictable and can happen at any point.
Product Liability Insurance
All wine businesses are in the product industry, with the wine they sell being the product. Producing, packaging and selling wine comes with various responsibilities toward the end consumer. Each wine business must ensure the product doesn’t cause injuries, illness or property damage.
A wine business will be liable if the wine product (full bottle) causes illness, injuries or property damage. For example, a man painfully injured his hand due to a faulty wine bottle that exploded as he opened it. Asda, the wine distributor, compensated the man £2,500.
These accidents are unpredictable, so every business manufacturing, packaging and selling wine should purchase product liability insurance. The insurance covers claims linked to product defects. Hence the insurance covers lawsuits when a wine product defect causes injury or property damage. The insurance will cover most costs associated with the case, such as legal, medical compensation, damage and settlement costs.
Benefits of Insurance for a Wine Business
Insurance is always beneficial to any business and, likewise, is crucial to the wine industry. The combination of these insurances can make a huge difference during challenging situations and lawsuits.
The first and main benefit is the financial cover, and the funds saved by a wine business in Hong Kong when they make an insurance claim. As long as the situation is covered and the claim isn’t a fraud, the insurance company will reimburse costs to help recover and move forward.
Additionally, just knowing that there is a safety net when running your wine business is a benefit in itself. Companies working with wine can focus on creating art and pleasing customers’ tastebuds, rather than risks.
These set of insurance is perfect for vineyard owners, wine merchants, wine dealers and wine bars. Insurance can help your business grow and improve over time, just like wine.
To Learn More about wine business insurance and protect your company and its activities in Hong Kong & Asia, contact Red Asia Insurance.
