Grape Crop Insurance: How Are My Winery Grapes Covered?
September 19, 2024Interest in local wineries and vineyards continues to grow and the winery and vineyard industry continues to evolve. With all of the changes and growth in the industry, common questions that continue to come up are, “Are my grapes covered?” and “How are my grapes covered?”
The answer is, “It depends.” Insurance companies handle things in different ways, so the short answer is it depends on who your insurance company is and what coverage you have. Here is a brief overview of some of the grape crop insurance options:
1. Winery Stock Coverage
Winery stock coverage is an insurance option that can offer protection for your grapes when they are in storage as stock or as product. In most cases, if you are dealing with a company that has an insurance program for vineyards and wineries, your grapes will be covered as stock, but only while they are in the bins.
They can also be covered as product when they are in the barrels or bottles. Endorsements can be added to a policy to extend coverage for wine or grape stock in transit, usually inland marine coverage. However, winery stock coverage does not cover grapes while they are still hanging on the vines. Pre-harvest grapes are considered crops and need to be insured under grape crop insurance.
2. Grape Crop Insurance
If you are looking for coverage while your grapes are on the vines you need crop insurance coverage. Grape crop insurance is a federal program administered by the USDA Risk Management Agency. It is not available in all states and counties. The Sales Closing Date for the program is November 20th.
The program is set up by grape variety and will cover your grapes while they are still on the vine. Covered causes of loss include drought, excessive rainfall, wildlife, hail, wildfire, insects, and plant disease. Frost is also a covered loss with some limitations by grape variety.
However, this program is an Actual Production History (APH) policy, which means coverage is based on a vineyard’s historical production. You need at least three years of yield records in order to start meeting the qualifications for the USDA grape insurance program. If you are a new vineyard and want this coverage, start keeping records now.
3. Grapevine Insurance Program
In 2023, the USDA released the Grapevine Insurance program to expand crop insurance options. It is designed to complement the existing grape crop insurance program and extend protection to grafted vines. This coverage is not available in all states and countries. The Sales Closing Date is November 1st.
Grapevine insurance provides coverage for the loss of grafted vines caused by natural perils. Covered causes of loss include freeze, fire, hail, flood, insects, and plant disease. This coverage is meant to alleviate the costs and time it takes to reestablish a productive vine.
This coverage is classified as a “mortality policy”, which means it pays losses when the vine is dead or catastrophically damaged. This is when the vine is so badly damaged that it will not recover in the 12 months following the loss event.
It is also based on the Tree-Based Dollar Amount of Insurance (TDO). There is an Occurrence Loss Option (OLO) for producers with buy-up coverage to get coverage for smaller losses that are at least 5%. It is available at an additional premium. If you already have recognized freeze protection practices in place, you may qualify for the Freeze Protection Option, which provides a premium discount.
Explore Winery and Vineyard Insurance With Ruhl
The importance of having an agent that has experience in your industry is invaluable. It allows the right questions to be asked so the right coverage can be in place in the event of a claim before you need it. Whether Ruhl Insurance is your agent or someone else, make sure you know whether or not they have experience in what you do. Not all industries are created equal.
If you have questions about insurance for your winery or grape crops, contact Ruhl Insurance, a Division of Horst Insurance, at 717-665-2283 or 800-537-6880. We can help you navigate coverage options for your winery and vineyard.
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Disclaimer: Information and claims presented in this content are meant for informative, illustrative purposes and should not be considered legally binding.