In 2021, there were approximately 9,250 breweries across the United States. The sheer number comprises micro-breweries, craft, large craft, and non-craft breweries.
The beer industry is steadily growing in response to the high demand for the beverage among US consumers.
Interestingly, as the industry grows, players must deal with inherent and emerging risks in the sector. For instance, due to high competition, breweries may apply cost-cutting measures affecting their ability to protect employees from workplace hazards.
To that end, breweries must appreciate these risks and put contingency measures to protect their investments. Luckily, brewery insurance is designed to shield brewers from unforeseen risks and hazards.
Here’s what you need to know about brewery insurance.
A brewery has a chain of production lines that expose employees to risks of injuries. Common injuries that employees suffer include traumatic brain injuries, burns, broken bones, spinal injuries, and sometimes death.
Unfortunately, when an employee suffers an injury in the line of duty, the brewery is held liable for the subsequent costs. Worse still, the settlement process involves hefty legal suits and costs capable of ruining your finances.
Here are a few sources of injuries in a brewery.
Fire hazard is predominant in any brewery necessitating a comprehensive fire risk assessment before setting up a brewery.
Here’s a list of typical sources of fire in a brewery:
A point to note: Fire hazards pose huge implications in a brewery. Previous reported fire incidences have resulted in huge losses, property damage, severe injuries, and deaths.
The production line in breweries is machine intensive. A brewery requires different sets of machinery to produce, store, cool, and pack. The standard machinery found in breweries includes a malt mill, heat exchanger, Brite tank, filtration system, kegs, brewhouse, valves, and pumps.
If any of the above machinery fails, it can disrupt the operations leading to a massive loss. For example, if the gauge of the coolant malfunctions, it affects the subsequent processes resulting in a damaged batch.
On the other hand, if the packaging machinery fails, it can result in breakages, chipping, defective caps, and ultimately contaminated beer.
A brewery doesn’t operate in a perfect business environment, which makes it vulnerable to business interruptions. Sadly, an interruption affects its operations, profitability, or financial prospects.
Here are a few examples of disruptions:
If a brewery encounters any of the above risks, its normal operations become disrupted. As such, it’s prudent to procure brewery insurance to keep the business running while dealing with the risks.
Here’s the breakdown of coverage offered by brewery insurance:
Brewery insurance can pay for damages to your building, machinery and processing equipment, accounting records, fence and landscaping, and inventory in case of damage. The common risks covered under this category include fire, weather events, theft, vandalism, civil unrest, and other causes.
Here’s how coverage of property damage enhances your recovery:
Any establishment that serves, sells, manufacturers, or distributes alcoholic beverages requires liquor liability insurance. Its primary objective is to shield brewers from legal liability. Liquor-related claims occur after a bodily injury or property damage occurs following a misdemeanor of an intoxicated customer.
For example, an intoxicated customer stumbles toward another patron who falls and breaks their leg. The brewery insurance helps to settle the resulting medical bills, ambulance services, and the cost of emergency care. Alternatively, in the event of a legal suit, the insurance can cover any legal fees, court costs, and settlement amounts.
Lastly, brewery insurance can cover the cost of property damage caused by a customer under the influence of alcohol.
Beer production is a sensitive process that can easily suffer contamination. As a brewer, you’d be facing unimaginable losses if an entire batch of beer becomes spoiled. There are different forms of bacteria that can cause contamination in breweries.
The harmful bacteria vary based on the stage of production, whether mashing, cooling, bottling, or conditioning. The common bacteria include Acetobacteraceae, Thermophilic lactobacillus, Coliform bacteria, or Hafnia sp.
A brewer who notices contaminated products can prevent further losses by stopping selling or distribution. If a consumer takes contaminated beer and develops health complications, the brewer may be sued for negligence.
Ultimately, brewery insurance shields breweries from financial loss and legal liability associated with product contamination.
Breweries mirror production lines in manufacturing companies exposing their employees to accidental injuries. The hazardous working environment exposes brewery employees to chemical burns, falls, brain injuries, fractures, amputations, and musculoskeletal disorders.
The Occupational Health and Safety(OHSA) Act requires all employers to provide a safe working environment to their workforce. Equally, employers must compensate employees who suffer injuries or harm as a result of safety violations.
Remember, quality medical care is expensive and can impact the finances of any organization. That said, worker’s compensation coverage is vital in protecting breweries from employee-related risks.
Here’s how workers' compensation coverage protects breweries:
Brewing is a machine-intensive process that puts a brewery at risk in case of machine breakdown. For instance, if the boiler breaks down, it can disrupt the planned day’s production.
In addition, once a component breaks down, it may take months or weeks to fix. The equipment breakdown coverage meets the cost of repairs or replacement following a sudden or accidental breakdown. It can also offer cash injection to calm the effects of business disruption, such as lost revenue.
Ultimately, the breakdown of critical machinery may result in production delays, inability to fulfill orders, increased cost of business, and reduced profit margins.
In the event of machinery failure, an entire batch of beer can become spoiled, resulting in losses. It’s, therefore, prudent to acquire brewery insurance to protect your business during uncertainties. FACE Insurance is dedicated to offering the best insurance coverage to breweries. Contact us online or call us at 916.721.2845.
Your should contact the police as soon as possible. The quicker you act, the faster the authorities will be able to collect information regarding your stolen item. Your insurance agent should also be notified right after you have made contact with the police.
The most common way art is stolen is Burglary. It’s important that your installations have proper security in order to prevent these crimes from happening. Its also very important to make sure that the staff you higher to give your building maintenance has a clean record and has no criminal history.
Its responsibility of the insurance carrier to work with the FBI to recover the art that was stolen. It’s possible that you may be asked to work with the corresponding authority.
If your valuable art items are not insured, your efforts will have to be focused on working with the authorities to recover your stolen items. The odds of recovering your stolen items is very low.
