At Longspey we believe that insurance is important when building a whisky investment, but it is just as important to understand the risks and inherent vices posed by your chosen asset. We help our clients build the right collection for them, and can help you create a legacy whisky investment based on your requirements and attitude to risk.
Once you have the foundations for your whisky investment plan, insurance is the next consideration. Specialist insurance will ensure that your collection is protected to the highest level, giving you peace of mind.
A small bottle collection may be covered on household insurance, but as general insurers have a limited understanding of the values of alternative assets like whisky, basic household insurance often won’t be suitable for the needs of larger collections and higher value bottles.
For example, standard household insurance policies won’t insure bottles above a certain value, often less than £1,500. Household insurance also won’t cover bottles stored in professional or self-storage solutions and won’t insure at market value.
One Policy For Bottles And Casks
If you are building a collection of whisky bottles and casks we suggest discussing your requirements with a specialist insurance broker. This will ensure that your collection is fully insured to your requirements, especially if it is stored across multiple sites. Howden provides the industry standard for whisky insurance and can create a policy to cover bottles and/or casks of whisky.
The specialist insurance from Howden starts around £350 for up to £100,000 of cover and can be used to cover multiple sites, including a bottle collection at home, in storage and in transit, as well as casks in bond.
As they understand the nature of whisky as an asset, a specialist insurer will usually offer cover based on fair market value at the time of loss.
Inventories and Records
It is important to keep track of your collection through up to date inventories. Receipts are useful. Photographs are not a requirement but for bottles they can provide an efficient way to document both bottle and condition. A record of the current market value is useful but not always needed, as it depends on the value of your collection.
Storing Whisky
You have an inherent responsibility to look after your whisky, ensuring bottles are stored correctly etc. Suitable shelving, security and storage are all your responsibility to maintain. In addition, no insurer will cover for things like inherent vice, which would cover natural evaporation.
This article is designed to offer a brief introduction to insurance, so make sure you discuss any limitations with your insurer to check you understand any limitations, conditions and exclusions.
If you think Longspey might be the right fit for building your whisky collection, please get in touch to start a conversation about your requirements.