Wine collectors urged to protect their investment

With the recent sale of the world's most expensive bottle of white wine, a bottle of Chateau d'Yquem for £75,000, Select from Direct Line is warning that wine collectors and investors should make sure they have the right level of insurance in place.

Nick Brabham, head of underwriting at Select, comments: "Wine is still providing a sound portfolio diversification for investors and a source of immense pleasure for collectors. Domestic cellars in the UK are fast filling with reasonable sized wine collections, which are sometimes forgotten when calculating your contents insurance or when reviewing the cover under a standard household contents policy. For larger wine collections, worth over £10,000 in value, it is worth checking that the household insurance policy provides coverage should the collection suffer damage.

"At Select, our underwriters can help tailor the policy to meet the needs of the customer. A blanket policy is suitable where wine is bought, sold and consumed regularly with individual bottles typically below £2,000 in value. Alternatively, Select customers can have an itemised schedule for higher priced wines, where each bottle can be itemised and insured for a specific value.

"Storing wine in the home is important as it should be stored at 45 - 65 degrees fahrenheit. The atmosphere should not be too humid or too dry, so a cool, low humidity and dark cellar is ideal. Where temperature or humidity is controlled by a climate control system, households should check that there is cover on their policy if wine spoils due to mechanical breakdown. A rising water table can cause issues, therefore wine should be stored off the ground. A recent flood claim saw a wine collection damaged when flood water removed the labels.

"Last week, a customer requested cover for a £300,000 personal wine collection built up over many years. The customer understood the need to protect their wine cellar and, at Select, we were able to offer advice from our team of appraisers and market experts to ensure the wine was catalogued and valued. This ensures swift payment in the event of a claim.

"In order to protect your wine collection, whether as a serious collector, investor or just enjoyer of fine wine, it pays to invest in a household insurer who understands and covers your needs. We do warn, of course, that consumption of the wine is never covered."

For more information on Select from Direct Line, visit directline.com/select/select.htm.