Brewery Insurance Ontario

Insurance For Breweries In Ontario

Owning a brewery can undoubtedly be very exciting. Whether you're crafting a traditional beer with an established and proud history, a local company's more unique brand or you run a custom craft brewery that you hope will bring several new types of craft beer to the market, the opportunity to bring people drinks they enjoy can be exciting. However, a brewery also has plenty of risks. Not only do you face all of the risks of owning any business, but you also have plenty of expensive equipment, a large property, and several employees, and you also run all the risks involved in being part of the process of distributing alcohol. One way to protect yourself from all these risks is with Ontario brewery insurance.

What Is Brewery Insurance?

Brewery insurance is a type of business insurance that protects breweries from various risks beyond their control. While we trust that you are doing everything reasonably within your power to mitigate these risks, there's always the possibility something could go wrong. For example, one of your machines may malfunction and injure one of your employees or a customer or client may walk into your brewery and get injured in a slip and fall. In situations like these, a brewery owner not covered by brewery insurance may face massive legal and financial consequences that could damage the company, especially if the brewery is new. Brewery insurance can help financially cover losses, ensuring their business continues to run despite such an incident.

Who Needs Ontario Brewery Insurance?

Anybody who owns and operates a brewery in Ontario needs brewery insurance coverage. It doesn't matter if you're a large brewery that produces an iconic brand of alcoholic beverages in large swaths or you run a craft brewer that gives your beer a more personal touch; you must protect your business from the various risks involved in this industry.

Is Brewery Insurance Required In Ontario?

Although Ontario brewery insurance is not legally required by the government, not having it is a risk you can't afford to take. A single incident can cost you a lot of money and set your business back a long way. Protecting your business with Ontario brewery insurance will provide coverage that will significantly reduce the odds of having such dire consequences for such an event, giving you peace of mind that a single bad incident won't do irreparable damage to your brewery.

What Does Ontario Brewery Insurance Cover?

Ontario brewery insurance is capable of covering a wide variety of situations, depending on the level of coverage you desire and the types of risks you would like to protect against. Since each Ontario brewery is susceptible to risks, each brewery insurance policy will differ. The brewing industry has plenty of risks that companies will weigh differently. Below is a list of potential forms of insurance that have varying levels of importance to Ontario breweries. Please note that this is not a complete list of all the available coverage options. If you have any questions about which Ontario brewery insurance is right for you, or to get an Ontario brewery insurance quote, please don't hesitate to contact our brokers at Morison Insurance.

Commercial General Liability Insurance

Commercial general liability insurance protects companies against a wide variety of potential lawsuits. These lawsuits are usually related to situations where a third party suffers a bodily injury or property damage, and they hold you legally responsible. Many of these can arise from events on your property, but damage caused by your products and operations is also common. Typical incidents include slip-and-fall incidents on your property by a distributor or someone on a brewery tour, injury caused by any of the equipment that you own or rent, damage to any equipment you rent, and allegations of slander, libel, or other similar charges a competitor might accuse you of. Commercial general liability coverage covers the defence costs involved in such scenarios, meaning this Ontario brewery insurance covers a lot.

Product Liability Insurance

Product liability insurance ensures that you will be adequately covered if one of your products causes harm. For example, if one of your ingredients isn't quite right, it could easily result in a tainted product for which you might be held responsible. A piece of your brewing equipment could get minor damage, resulting in the proper amount of ingredients not being added correctly. Any of these could result in your beverege possibly dealing with contamination which could result in bodily injury. Product liability insurance is designed to protect against these possibilities financially.

Commercial Property Insurance

Possibly, a brewery's most valuable asset is one that you might take for granted: its property. It doesn't matter how well your equipment functions; you can only make your next batch of beer if you have a place to run your business. While it would be evident that multinational breweries are enormous, even small regional craft brewers require a reasonably large location. Combined with all the expensive equipment, this can make it vulnerable to events like fire. Even if your building is not where the fire starts, a neighbour's building could catch fire in the middle of the night and spread to your location. Your building could also become the victim of a random break-in. Commercial property insurance can financially compensate you for such a loss in any of these circumstances.

Equipment Breakdown Insurance

Both larger breweries and smaller players in the brewery industry depend heavily on their equipment. Everything in the production process, from the creation of beer itself to the packaging process, is either done or assisted by machinery. This is great for efficiency until these machines break. This situation can lead to costly repairs that could set the brewery back. Equipment breakdown insurance can protect against sudden breakdowns, such as providing coverage for repair. It should be noted, however, that equipment breakdown insurance covers premature breakdowns, not repairs that are needed due to wear and tear or poor maintenance.

Commercial Vehicle Insurance

Commercial vehicle insurance is the only form of business insurance that is legally mandatory. This means your brewery must be insured commercially if it has any vehicles. Even personal vehicles used for commercial purposes must have commercial insurance. This includes vehicles for distribution, completed beer, and any ingredients needed to create the beer.

Business Interruption Insurance

Almost any business is set up to work great when everything is running smoothly. However, one of the first things any business owner learns is that there are very few times when everything runs smoothly. Although a well-run business can overcome this, there are points where even the most expertly run brewery can get shut down as a result of covered physical loss or damages. Business interruption insurance can help cover employee wages, leasing costs, and more in these cases. This gives you peace of mind that your business will be protected even in harsh situations.

Employers Liability Insurance

Your employees are your most valuable asset as a company. Your beer will only be made with a large group of qualified, hard-working individuals. However, you are responsible for keeping them safe, which can be challenging because brewery operations often require complicated machinery. This means that if an accident happens and an employee gets injured, you are the one who will be held legally responsible. Suppose one or more of your employees suffers an injury and decides to go after you in court. In that case, employer liability insurance is designed to protect you from the financial repercussions of such an incident.

Commercial Cyber Insurance

Commercial cyber insurance is becoming an increasingly important protection for all companies due to technology's increased role in our lives. Depending on how direct a role you play in the distribution chain, you may have a lot of confidential information on your employees, distributors, customers and clients on your computer systems. While nothing is inherently wrong with this and is almost expected, it leaves all this information vulnerable to cyber criminals, leaving you legally responsible for cleaning up a huge mess. Cyber crime insurance will provide you with financial protection to cover the expenses and allow you to land on your feet if such a situation occurs.

How Much Does Brewery Insurance Cost In Ontario?

Brewery insurance in Ontario does not have a set cost. This is because each brewery, as well as each brewery owner, is different. There is a large variety of factors involved in determining the costs involved. This means that no two breweries will face the same premiums. To get an Ontario brewery insurance quote, you are advised to contact your Morison Insurance broker to find out more.

What Factors Determine The Cost Of Brewery Insurance?

A large variety of factors could impact the cost of Ontario brewery insurance. These include the following:

• The size of the brewery
• The number of employees
• The cost of the equipment
• The safety and maintenance precautions at the brewery
• The claims history of the policyholder
• The brewery experience of those in charge
• The location of the brewery
• If tours take place in the brewery
• Level of coverage desired

Please note that this is not an exhaustive list. If you would like to know more factors that may impact your Ontario brewery insurance quote, we recommend that you speak with your Morison Insurance broker, who will be happy to answer any questions.

How Can I Lower The Cost Of Brewery Insurance?

It is understandable to want to lower the cost of brewery insurance since it would open up the opportunity to invest your savings into other areas of your business. Luckily, there are a few ways to lower the cost of brewery insurance and save some money.

• Increase workplace safety practices
• Increase your deductible
• Avoid making claims on minor incidents to keep your claims record clean
• Maintain equipment to reduce the risk of a breakdown or accident

Note that this is not a complete list. If you want to know more ways to lower your brewery insurance premium, don't hesitate to contact your Morison Insurance broker.

Where Can I Get A Quote For Brewery Insurance?

You can get an Ontario brewery insurance quote from Morison Insurance. Morison Insurance is a 5-star insurance brokerage that has been in the industry for over 100 years and is dedicated to providing our clients with the right coverage. We are a family-run business, and we treat each client as an extension of that family. Your brewery insurance and other insurance needs will be in good hands with us. For a quote, please contact us by calling 1-800-463-8074 or filling out the form below.

This content is written by our Morison Insurance team. It is provided for general information only. Insurance needs differ from person to person, and this article is therefore not a substitute for professional advice about your individual insurance needs which can be obtained by speaking to one of our brokers.