How Liability Insurance Protects Your Ontario Winery
Running a winery is a complex business with risks like wine spoilage, a member of the public getting injured at your premises, and equipment breakdowns. Business insurance for Ontario wineries needs to be customized to cover all risks that you can face.
A pillar of your customized winery insurance is business liability insurance to financially protect your winery from lawsuits. Without adequate business liability insurance, your winery could face significant legal bills.
Western Financial Group, a 100% Canadian company, can help you navigate your business, car, and home insurance during this period of economic uncertainty.
A Western Financial Group business insurance broker will get you commercial coverage that uniquely protects your winery/vineyard in southern, southwestern Ontario or in Eastern Ontario’s Prince Edward County.
Western is a trusted, national insurance brokerage that has partnered with Canada’s top insurance companies to provide commercial insurance. We work with our insurance partners to find the best business coverage for your needs as an Ontario vintner.
We make the process easy by getting insurance quotes for you and giving you policy coverage options that you can choose to protect your winery business. We’ll make sure that your Ontario winery insurance coverage is at the right value for you and covers your risks.
Why specialized liability insurance is needed for Ontario wineries
Specialized winery insurance provides coverage against allegations of negligence and defective products, claims of financial loss through errors and omissions, or third-party bodily injury or third-party property damage (client, supplier, member of the public).
Given the level of risk that can be involved, Ontario wineries and vineyards require specialized insurance plan that focuses on protection from legal claims and protects your grape crops. That’s why it’s necessary to have as much business liability insurance as possible to protect your winery.
Ontario’s wine regions
Ontario has three main wine regions:
- Niagara Peninsula: It’s known for its cool climate wines such as Riesling, Chardonnay, Gamay Noir, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Franc.
- Lake Erie North Shore: Located at the southernmost point of Canada, this region has a long growing season and ideal conditions for growing Cabernet, Merlot, Syrah, and Chardonnay.
- Prince Edward County: The most common grapes grown in Prince Edward County are Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, and Cab Franc, well-suited to its short growing season.
- Vineyard owners
- Winery owners
- Winery owners who host public tastings
- Virtual winery owners (Sell and market wine without owning vineyards or a physical winemaking facility)
Who needs vineyard insurance?
How Ontario winery insurance protects you
For example, a customer tripped over an electrical cord while touring your wine showroom, injuring their back and suffering a concussion. The customer has sued you. Commercial general liability (CGL) insurance helps protect your Ontario winery business if you’re found legally liable for bodily injuries.
Business liability insurance is needed for Ontario wineries against claims of negligence, defective products, cyber-attacks, and third-party injuries. It needs to be a key part of your risk management strategy.
Professional liability insurance
Professional liability insurance helps protect Ontario wineries and vineyards against claims of negligence or failure to deliver services as promised. It’s also called errors and omissions insurance.
Note: It’s important to understand the specifics of your professional liability coverage to ensure adequate financial protection of your winery.
How much product liability insurance does your Niagara Peninsula, Lake Erie North Shore, or Prince Edward County need? You should purchase as much coverage as you can afford. You will need to consider the size of your winery, number of employees, and your level of risk exposure. Do you host public tastings?
Product liability insurance
Product liability insurance is recommended for anyone who sells, manufactures, or distributes a product. Wineries need this type of insurance.
What product liability insurance covers:
- Design defects: There’s something wrong with the product’s design.
- Manufacturing defects: Something went wrong during the wine-making process.
Marketing missteps: A mistake in marketing materials, such as improper labels.
- Insufficient warnings: The product doesn’t include sufficient warning/information about potential harm.
Product liability protects your business if a product harms a customer, even if you’re not at fault or it wasn’t your intention.
Commercial general liability (CGL) insurance
Commercial general liability (CGL) insurance helps protect your vineyard business if you’re found legally liable for bodily injuries or property damage to an attendee at an event or supplier at your winery.
CGL can help pay legal and medical costs at a public tasting if an attendee slips on some spilled water on the floor and is injured.
Without commercial liability insurance, you would be responsible for paying any liability costs out of your own pocket.
Your CGL policy also can help protect you from libel, slander, copyright infringement, and false advertising allegations.
The size of your Ontario winery, number of employees, locations, revenue, and claims history will be factors in how much CGL insurance you need.
Cyber liability insurance
You keep sensitive financial information and data belonging to your clients and to your Ontario winery. It could be hacked by cyberthieves. Cyber liability insurance will help protect you financially should there be a cyber-attack.
Depending on the size of the data breach and the information that was taken, the customers who are affected can hold you liable and sue you for damages. Cyber liability insurance helps cover the costs for this.
Directors and Officers liability insurance
Does your Ontario winery have a board of directors? Directors and officers insurance provides financial coverage for legal expenses to help defend a board member or officer against negligence claims. It typically covers misleading statements, reporting issues, and inaccurate disclosure.
This type of insurance also covers:
- Negligent acts and allegations of misrepresentation
- Breach of legal or fiduciary duties
- Decisions that result in adverse financial consequences for shareholders
- Wrongful dismissal and employee discrimination claims
- Failure to adhere to federal and provincial laws and regulations
Event liability insurance
If your Ontario winery’s services include organizing social events and tastings at your location or at rented venues, event liability insurance is recommended to cover third-party bodily injury or third-party property damage claims that may arise at an event.
Liquor liability insurance
Adding liquor liability insurance to your business insurance policy offers protection from potential lawsuits. It will help cover third-party bodily injury and property damage claims caused by an intoxicated attendee at a wine tasting, for example. This type of insurance will also help cover legal fees if a case goes to court.
Commercial umbrella insurance
You may want to consider commercial umbrella insurance for your Ontario winery business. Commercial umbrella insurance addresses liability coverage gaps. It’s used when the primary liability coverage, for example on your commercial general liability insurance or product liability insurance, has reached its coverage limit.
It’s important to understand that umbrella insurance applies only to expenses related to liability such as legal fees, court fees, and legal settlements.
What other insurance coverages do Ontario wine producers need?
Product recall insurance
Product recall insurance protects wineries and vineyards from financial losses that can result from a product recall. It helps cover the costs associated with removing a product from the market, including customer notification, shipping costs, disposal costs, replacement costs and loss of revenue costs.
Equipment breakdown insurance
Equipment breakdown insurance provides coverage for property damage from the sudden and accidental breakdown of insured equipment not automatically covered by a standard commercial property policy.
Commercial property insurance
Commercial property insurance provides financial support to replace or cover repairs to your Ontario winery if it’s damaged by a flood, fire, or severe weather. It also covers vandalism and theft.
Commercial property insurance also covers contents such as computers, furniture, tools, equipment, and inventory. Commercial property coverage also extends to protect others’ property that is under your care.
Crop and crop inputs insurance for wineries
Crop insurance typically protects against losses to crops caused by natural perils, such as drought, hail, and frost.
Crop inputs insurance covers such things as spray drift and misapplication and helps cover you in the event losses occur from chemical application errors, such as windy days or with dirty tanks.
Inland marine insurance
Inland marine insurance helps cover wine when it’s being transported on land, such as by truck or train.
Business interruption insurance
This type of insurance supports you when your Ontario vineyard can’t operate due to a covered loss.
There are a number of losses that can force your business to shut down. Some examples are:
- Damage to your equipment from fire or vandalism
- A major reduction in revenue due to a client/supplier facing losses of their own
- A disruption in your supply chain
Business interruption insurance can help with these expenses:
- Payroll
- Rent
- Utilities
- Property taxes
- Alarm monitoring
- Relocation of your business
Commercial auto insurance
If you are using your car for your job in Ontario’s winery business, it won’t be covered by your personal car insurance policy. You will need commercial coverage as part of your fashion insurance package. If you have 5 vehicles or more for your winery, you will need fleet insurance.
How much does Ontario winery insurance cost?
There isn’t a set price to protect an Ontario winery with business insurance. The following factors are usually considered when determining the cost of your insurance:
- Location(s)
- Services provided
- Number of employees
- Years of experience
- Annual revenue
- Past claims
