Do You Need It?

The craft beer scene is gaining traction every year, and as more brewers enter the picture, competition tightens. While this is great for the craft beer enthusiast, it means increased work for brewers and increased risk in a field where the smallest thing can often cause a company to go under. About 60% of breweries fail in just three years, and costs are almost always to blame.

Risk, competition, and tight margins can make breweries think twice about spending money on insurance, but that’s dangerous. If something should happen, the right coverage can mean the difference between being able to pay your people while you shut down and get things fixed, then come roaring back stronger than ever…or failing completely.

Isn’t Commercial Insurance Enough?

General insurance covers the everyday business needs of any company, and that’s fine for some things. But breweries need more. Let’s lay out exactly what you should be considering for your operation:

General Liability for Commercial Operators

Commercial general liability insurance covers things like personal injury for those on your premises and property damage caused by your business operations. It’s vital, but it doesn’t cover everything. Make sure you talk to your insurance agent to be sure your coverage is for all your equipment and operations, so you’ll be reimbursed if something fails and don’t have to spend a fortune replacing it (and lose a fortune waiting for the replacement to come in).

Material Coverage

This is where you insure your brews before they get to market and the raw materials used to make them. Just remember here that you shouldn’t cover your raw materials only at the wholesale cost. That doesn’t account for the time and effort it took you to source them, store them, and then use them. It’s smarter to insure them at the retail price to give yourself a cushion.

Business Interruption

If you had to close down for two weeks while something got fixed, would you survive? What if it was a month? If you managed to pay the bills and stay afloat, would you also be able to pay your people, and would they stick around if you couldn’t? Very few companies can afford to pay workers who aren’t working, but that means people move on, and you’ll be spending even more finding and training replacements. With interruption coverage, your income is protected if you do have to close down for a bit.

Liquor Liability

Anyone who makes liquor should have special coverage. Even if you don’t allow the liquor to be consumed on your premises, someone could try to come after you in a lawsuit if one of your customers gets intoxicated on your brew and then causes harm.

To keep your brewery, and all the hard work and love that goes into it, safe, contact us at ISU Armac today. We work with businesses to ensure they have exactly the coverage they need at prices they can afford.