If you're running a brewery or winery, you've already figured out that insurance isn't optional. Between expensive equipment, inventory that can spoil, and customers visiting your tasting room, the risks add up quickly. The question isn't whether you need coverage—it's how to buy it. Should you bundle everything into a Business Owner's Policy (BOP), or are you better off with separate general liability and property policies?
Here's the thing: there's no one-size-fits-all answer. What works for a small craft brewery with limited distribution might fall short for a mid-sized winery with multiple tasting rooms and distribution contracts. Let's break down when a BOP makes sense, when you need standalone policies, and how to know which path is right for your business.
What's Actually in a Business Owner's Policy?
A BOP is essentially a package deal. It bundles general liability insurance and commercial property insurance into one policy, usually at a lower price than buying them separately. Most BOPs also throw in business interruption insurance, which covers lost income if a fire or other covered disaster forces you to close temporarily.
For breweries and wineries, this means protection against the basics: a customer slips on your wet floor and breaks their ankle, a fire damages your fermentation tanks, or a storm knocks out power and spoils your inventory. The general liability portion handles lawsuits from third-party injuries or property damage. The property coverage protects your building, equipment, and stock. Business interruption picks up the slack when you can't operate.
Many insurers offer BOPs with industry-specific endorsements for breweries and wineries. You might be able to add contamination and spoilage coverage, which protects you if a batch gets contaminated or spoils due to equipment failure. Some policies include limited coverage for tank leakage or equipment breakdown. These add-ons make BOPs more attractive for smaller operations that don't need the full suite of specialized coverages.
When a BOP Makes Sense for Your Brewery or Winery
BOPs are designed for small to mid-sized businesses in relatively low-risk industries. For breweries and wineries, that typically means operations with gross sales under $5-15 million, depending on the insurer. If you're a startup craft brewery distributing to local bars and restaurants, or a small winery selling primarily direct-to-consumer, a BOP probably covers your needs.
The main advantage is cost. Bundling coverage is cheaper than buying general liability and property insurance separately. For a small brewery, you might pay $150-$200 per month for a standard BOP with $1 million/$2 million in liability limits. That's often 15-30% less than purchasing standalone policies with comparable coverage.
Another benefit is simplicity. One policy, one renewal date, one deductible structure. When you're juggling production schedules, distribution logistics, and tasting room events, having fewer insurance policies to manage is genuinely helpful. You don't have to coordinate between multiple carriers or worry about coverage gaps between policies.
BOPs work well if your operations are straightforward. You manufacture beer or wine, maybe sell some in a small tasting room, and distribute to local accounts. You don't host large events, you're not doing contract brewing for other brands, and you don't have significant retail or restaurant operations. Your risk profile looks similar to other small breweries or wineries, which means insurers can offer you a standard package.
When You Need to Consider Standalone Policies
As your business grows, BOPs start to show their limitations. The most obvious is coverage limits. Standard BOPs cap out at certain limits for both liability and property coverage. If your equipment, inventory, and building are worth several million dollars, you'll exceed standard BOP property limits. Same goes for liability—if you operate a popular tasting room serving hundreds of customers weekly, you might need higher liability limits than a BOP provides.
Liquor liability is the big one that trips people up. BOPs don't include liquor liability coverage because it doesn't apply to every business. If you're a brewery that only distributes to bars and liquor stores, you probably don't need it. But the moment you open a tasting room or taproom and serve alcohol directly to customers, liquor liability becomes essential. You'll need to add it as an endorsement to your BOP or buy it as a standalone policy. Either way, it's an extra cost and complexity that goes beyond the basic package.
Specialized coverages are another reason to go standalone. Breweries and wineries face unique risks: tank collapse, contamination from power outages, spoilage, crop damage for wineries with their own vineyards, product recall, and more. While some BOPs offer limited endorsements for these, the coverage amounts are often insufficient. A serious contamination event could cost tens of thousands to clean up and replace lost product. BOP endorsements might only cover $25,000-$50,000, leaving you exposed.
For larger operations exceeding $15 million in gross sales, you're typically looking at a Commercial Package Policy (CPP) instead of a BOP. CPPs are more customizable and can scale to your needs. You can add cyber liability if you sell online, inland marine coverage for goods in transit, employment practices liability, and other specialized policies. The tradeoff is higher cost and more complexity, but you get coverage tailored to your actual risk exposure.
The Real Cost Comparison
Let's talk numbers. For a small winery, you might pay $77-$157 per month for a standard BOP with $1 million/$2 million in general liability coverage. That same coverage bought separately—general liability plus property insurance—could run $100-$220 per month. The BOP saves you money, plain and simple.
But here's where it gets interesting. Once you start adding necessary coverages that aren't in the BOP—liquor liability, higher property limits, contamination coverage, product liability—the gap narrows. You might pay $180/month for a BOP plus $75/month for liquor liability plus $50/month for enhanced contamination coverage. Now you're at $305/month. Meanwhile, a customized CPP with all those coverages integrated might cost $350/month but provide better limits and fewer coverage gaps.
The cost equation also changes based on your specific risk factors. Location matters—a winery in wildfire-prone areas will pay more for property coverage. Tasting room volume matters—more customers means higher liquor liability premiums. Production volume, employee count, distribution reach, and claims history all affect your rates. What's cheapest for one brewery isn't necessarily cheapest for another.
Signs It's Time to Switch from BOP to Standalone Policies
You'll know it's time to reevaluate when your business evolves. Opening a tasting room is the most common trigger. Suddenly you're serving alcohol directly to the public, which introduces liquor liability exposure that a basic BOP doesn't adequately address. You need higher liability limits and specialized coverage for alcohol-related incidents.
Expanding distribution is another red flag. When you go from selling locally to distributing across multiple states, your risk profile changes. You're shipping more product, dealing with more wholesale accounts, and facing greater product liability exposure. A BOP designed for a small local operation won't scale with you.
Increasing production capacity often means exceeding BOP property limits. You've invested in new fermentation tanks, a canning line, temperature-controlled storage—your equipment and inventory value has grown substantially. When your property is worth more than your BOP covers, you're underinsured. That's when standalone property insurance with higher limits becomes necessary.
Adding employees is another consideration. While workers' compensation is separate from BOPs, having more employees increases various liability exposures. Employment practices liability, which protects against discrimination and wrongful termination claims, becomes more important. These specialized coverages are easier to integrate into a CPP than to tack onto a BOP.
How to Make the Right Choice for Your Operation
Start by honestly assessing your current operations and near-term growth plans. If you're a small startup brewery with simple distribution and no tasting room, a BOP is probably your best bet. It's affordable, comprehensive for basic needs, and easy to manage. You can always upgrade later as you grow.
If you're already operating a tasting room, hosting events, or distributing across multiple states, skip the BOP and go straight to standalone policies or a CPP. You need the flexibility and higher limits. Trying to patch together a BOP with multiple endorsements often ends up costing as much while leaving coverage gaps.
Work with an insurance agent or broker who specializes in breweries and wineries. This isn't the time for generic business insurance. You need someone who understands your industry's unique risks—tank collapse, contamination, spoilage, product recalls, liquor liability. A specialized agent can compare BOPs versus standalone options based on your specific situation and get you quotes from insurers who actually understand your business.
Review your coverage annually. Your insurance needs will change as your business evolves. What made sense when you launched won't necessarily make sense three years in. Check whether you've exceeded coverage limits, whether you've added operations that need new coverage, and whether you're paying for endorsements that could be cheaper as standalone policies. Insurance isn't a set-it-and-forget-it purchase—it requires regular attention to keep pace with your business.
