If you own or operate a Craft Brewery, then it is critical that you know everything there is to know about Craft Brewery Insurance.
Craft breweries are not like other businesses. They have different needs and face different risks that are found in most industries.
Here we will cover everything you need to know about insurance for your brewery, including:
- Common risks brewery owners are facing
- Key coverages available for your brewery
- Why these key coverages may be necessary for your Craft Brewery
Common Risks Craft Brewery Owners Face
Every business, regardless of industry, has an inherent set of risks and dangers that must be addressed in order to protect both the employees and customers.
Craft breweries are no exception. There’s more than just liquor liability to consider when it comes to safety issues that may have a major financial shock on the company in case of a claim.
The most frequent risks and hazards that breweries face include the following:
Machinery and workplace hazards
Serious injuries can be caused by contact with equipment’s rotating components, such as grain hoppers, mills, augers, keg fillers, and more. During clean-up operations, setup activities, repair work, or troubleshooting issues, employees may be exposed to potential injuries from the maintenance or handling of the equipment.
Many breweries also use mobile equipment like forklifts that might unintentionally tip over, move forward, or hit objects or people. Additionally, compressed gas cylinders are also used in breweries, and if not handled correctly, they may be the cause of harmful situations.
Potentially dangerous working conditions
Brewery employees are likely to engage in repetitive motions, lifting heavy things, or stand in uncomfortable postures for extended periods of time, all of which can result in muscular aches and injuries.
Hot surfaces, flammable chemicals, boiling liquids & fumes
People who work in craft breweries work near piping hot objects and are prone to thermal burns, resulting from contact with hot metal surfaces such as tanks or steam pipes or by coming into direct contact with boiling water.
Also, there are several risks associated with the use of cleaning solvents and sanitizing chemicals in breweries which can lead to more severe skin injuries. Ethanol vapors, for example, can seep into tanks or casks and cause fires if they leak into an enclosed area with a source of ignition, such as a gas boiler, and can lead to an unwanted explosion.
Key Insurance Coverages For Your Brewery
As a craft brewery owner, you should know that there are many different insurance coverage options for your business. For example, if you are only focused on brewing but do not run a restaurant or a pub, your liability for incidents or injuries will be lower, resulting in lower insurance premiums.
Some of the potential risks involved are equipment breakdowns, tank spills and leaks, and contaminated batches. Let’s take a closer look at the most crucial coverage options for insurance for a brewery.
Liquor Liability
Any business that sells alcoholic beverages, regardless of the size of its operation, must have Liquor Liability coverage. This insurance covers alcohol intoxication injury claims. Even if the brewery owner is not to blame for the customer’s alcohol tolerance limit, the company can still be held liable.
General Liability
General Liability insurance provides coverage to claims arising out of bodily injury, property damage, or personal and advertising injury caused by an accident arising out of their business operations. For example, if a customer slips and gets hurt while inside your pub, or an intoxicated customer gets involved in a car accident, as the business owner, you might be held liable. Serving the beer will bring in more money, but this situation exposes your brewery to a higher risk. So, it is in your best interest to be prepared.
Property Damage, Equipment Breakdown & Business Interruption
Property Insurance provides the same level of protection for your business as a homeowner’s insurance would for your home. Make sure you talk to your insurance agent so that you are not just covering the building or production line but also have Equipment Breakdown coverage as well. You want to make sure that any loss of production due to a covered event or cost of repair or replacement will be reimbursed so that production may resume.
Business Interruption Insurance is a coverage that reimburses you for additional expenses incurred as a result of an unforeseen loss. If your brewery shuts down because of damage to production equipment, the business interruption insurance will cover this type of loss.
Product Spoilage, Product Leakage & Contamination
Product Spoilage protects any perishable goods; finished beer; aging beer; and raw materials from spoilage due to physical damage, interruption of service (Power outage), or contamination from a refrigerant release from your cold storage.
Product Leakage is needed when a Vessel, Fermentation, Brite tank, or keg is damaged or punctured, resulting in leaking of the beer. The valuation of this needs to be retail value.
Contamination provides protection for your product when a foreign substance (not used in the beer-making process) accidentally enters the beer and causes it to become contaminated.
Workers Compensation
Even though producing craft beer can be a lot of fun, it also carries certain specific risks and dangers. As a brewery owner, you must ensure that your employees have access to proper Workers’ Compensation Insurance and the required support in case of any potential work-related injuries like slip and fall, burns, or cuts.
Workers’ Compensation Insurance covers injuries or death sustained by employees on the job. Craft breweries often employ young and inexperienced workers, so it is important to ensure the business has this coverage in place.
In Closing
Our agents understand that every craft brewery operates in a unique way and are experienced and capable of helping you through the process of getting insurance for your Craft Brewery. Fill out the form below to start your quote for craft brewery insurance.
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