Craft beer demand creates opportunities for specialist insurers
The growing craft beer market is presenting specialist insurers with new opportunities. Nottingham-based Russell Scanlan, a broker that focuses on brewery insurance, has seen a boost in take-up for tailored Masterbrew insurance products from producers of craft beers and gins. "No two breweries are the same … which means ‘off the shelf’ insurance does not tick the box," said marketing director Mike Dickinson. The policies include coverage for beer festivals. In the US, demand for barley to supply new breweries has led the Department of Agriculture to offer New York state growers crop insurance. 
Albany

Malt barley farmers in upstate New York can now receive insurance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The expansion comes amid a recent growth in the state's craft beverage industry, for which malt barley is a crucial ingredient. Brewers had previously said the lack of protections was preventing further expansion in the statewide industry,

New York currently has about 2,000 acres of the crop, a number far short of what experts say is necessary to meet production demands as more and more brewers open up across the state.