Insurance is calculated by default but is not compulsory.
The amount of the premium
You will find the amount of the premium in this overview:
Invoice value |
All-risk premium |
€1,00 - €4.000,00 |
0.6% of the invoice value |
€4.000,00 - €27.500,00 |
€27.50 (ex VAT) |
More than €27,500.00 |
0.1% of the invoice value |
General insurance cover
Your wine is all-risk insured for transport damage as a result of theft, breakage and loss. The insurance covers damage for transport door-to-door and up to the amount indicated on the invoice.
Insurance coverage delimitation
An all-risk insurance covers the damage up to the amount stated on the invoice and never consequential loss, such as damage caused by leakage or a loose cork in the bottle. Cork taint or any other fault in a wine is also excluded from any cover. The insurance focuses on visible damage, where the damage must affect the drinkability of the wine. Damage to a label, without any breakage, loss or theft, is therefore not covered. Only if you are a professional trader, it is sometimes possible to successfully claim a compensation for a label that has become stained en route.
Traveling wine
The mere fact that wine has been in transit for longer than initially stated by the carrier explicitly does not constitute grounds for compensation.
Omission of all-risk insurance
When you omit the all-risk insurance, the CMR insurance of the carrier always applies, which offers a (low) kilo price in case of damage. If you do not want all-risk insurance, we ask you to confirm this in writing.
If you collect or have your wine collected yourself, the delivery is subject to so-called 'ex works' conditions and the risk for the wine passes to you as soon as the wine passes the gate at Sylvie's.
Preventing damage
We minimize the risk of damage en route through our choice of carriers and packaging. We offer you the possibility to store your wine for 6 months free of charge so that the shipment of your wine can take place in optimal conditions.
What to do in case of damage
However, should any damage occur despite our best efforts, we will compensate it in accordance with your chosen insurance policy: CMR or all-risk insurance. To process your claim, we need photos that clearly show what the damage is, unless, of course, the nature of the damage is loss or theft. This also applies if you refuse the shipment due to visible damage on the outside of the packaging.
What must be in a photo
If applicable, the photo must show:
Reporting damage
We ask you to report your damage to us within 3 working days and provide photos. Carriers generally allow 10 working days for processing damage reports after (expected) receipt. If you forward your details later, there is a risk that the insurance company (or carrier) will not accept your claim.
Courier services remove almost all shipping information after 30 days, making it difficult or impossible to receive compensation from an insurer. Nor does Sylvie's cover damages that an insurer is no longer willing to cover.
Speed of crediting
You will receive your compensation as soon as possible after reporting the damage via e-mail. However, if the estimated amount of damage exceeds €4,000.00, Sylvie's will not reimburse the damage until the reimbursement from the insurance company has been received.
When we expect temperatures below freezing or above 25 degrees Celsius prior to shipping, we will not ship wine. The reason for not shipping wine at low temperatures is to prevent bottle breakage due to frost. Below a temperature of -4 degrees Celsius, wine crystals can form. However, the quality of the wine is not affected and, should wine crystals form unexpectedly, this does not give grounds for compensation.
Free storage
We offer you the option of storing your wine free of charge during the period of weather deemed not suitable for shipment as specified above.
Shipment on request in case of bad weather
In case you still wish to receive your wine during bad weather conditions, this is always possible but at your own expense and risk. In this case, we ask for your express written consent to dispatch.
In some countries, outside temperatures are almost permanently too high or too low. In that case, the wine will be shipped in consultation with you as best we can, but the rules described on this page still apply.
Delimitation of damage due to temperature fluctuations
When wine, despite all attention to temperature during shipping, still falls below freezing but the bottles are not broken, Sylvie's rejects any claim for compensation for the wine. The same applies to claims for compensation for wine bottles that have allegedly become too warm en route without any visible signs of heating.
Reporting obligation in case of climatic abnormalities
We rely on historical data of seasons in a destination country before checking this temperature. Partly due to the influence of climate change, conditions may occur that deviate from the usual pattern. You are required to report to Sylvie's climatic - and other - abnormal conditions in your destination country when they create a risk of damage. If you fail to make this notification prior to the shipment of your wine, you will be responsible for any resulting potential damage.
Last updated February 18, 2024
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