Wine Cellar Value Poured Away With No Home Insurance

Alongside a sudden love of gastronomy, many in the UK have developed an interest in fine wines in recent years – both as an occasional tipple and as part of an investment fund. But despite investing in fancy climate controlling devices to ensure that their cellars are perfectly nurtured, many are neglecting to properly value their wine cellars for home insurance purposes.

As a nation we are now keeping roughly 40 per cent more wine in our homes than we did in 2000, say home insurance companies. Not only are we keeping more wine in our homes, it is more expensive and better quality wine, and we are also investing in fancy devices to keep it at an optimum level, they add.

Of the people visited by home insurance appraisers, two thirds of people who collected fine wine had neglected to get their cellars insured. Of those who had got their cellars insured, nearly nine out of ten had undervalued it on their home insurance quotes.

Some had underestimated their cellars value by as much as 250 per cent, said home insurance companies. Unfortunately under-insurance is the norm rather than the exception.

"Both serious and social wine collectors alike are being exposed to financial risk by not protecting themselves adequately through valuations and suitable insurance", said a home insurance spokesman.

Home storage can mean greater risks to the quality of the wine – notably when there is a lack of storage and environmental expertise. Some serious collectors will obviously have their own wine advisors, and this combined with the increase in professional cellars should help to avoid some of the storage issues.

Top tips to keep your wine in great sipping condition:

•    Keep the temperature constant – too hot or too cold will ruin the flavour.
•    Make sure the storage area is flood proof – even a small amount of water could wash off labels and make expensive wines valueless.
•    Keep the humidity constant – too damp or too dry will affect the quality of the wine.

If you would like to know more about home insurance why not ask AnswerBank Insurance.