LONDON CARGO MARKET SET TO ESCAPE MAJOR WINE LOSSES FROM 2017 CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES

London’s cargo market looks set to have escaped a worst-case scenario from wildfire damage to vineyards in northern California’s wine-growing region in the 2017, according to a claims specialist in wine and fine art. The Tubbs and Atlas fires, which began on October 8, 2017, directly impacted Napa and Sonoma, two of the world’s most well-known winemaking regions. Addressing an Insurance Institute of London lecture, Tiina Ruhlandt, president of US marine consultancy firm EIMC, said early indications were that damage to the winemaking sector from the October 2017 fires was less than had originally been feared. While 27 wineries were damaged by the fires, most of the damage was to property and buildings, with considerably less damage to vineyards and stock. Only around 1% of vineyard acres were damaged with less than 0.5% of crop value lost, Ruhlandt said.