Jackson Family Wines sues insurer over US$430 million wildfire damage claims

US-based wine giant Jackson Family Wines has filed a lawsuit against its insurance company over allegations the firm has delayed payouts on millions of dollars in claims.

Jackson Family Wines, which counts wineries including Sonoma’s Kendall-Jackson, Napa’s Mt. Brave and many others among its portfolio, alleged in its lawsuit that insurer Zurich American Insurance Co. has delayed “four open fire claims” to avoid paying “tens of millions of dollars in coverage”.

Jackson Family Wines said that Zurich Insurance Co. had thus far paid less than $70 million on policy claims pertaining to the Pocket, Tubbs and Nuns fires in 2017, the Kincade Fire in 2019 and the Glass Fire in 2020. The lawsuit alleges that the four claims relating to damage sustained during these fires totalled more than $430 million.

“Zurich has engaged in a deliberate campaign to delay the four open fire claims and avoid paying tens of millions of dollars in coverage that is clearly owed under the three insurance policies that (Jackson Family Wines) purchased,” the complaint reads.

In the Tubbs/Nun fire, which spread from Napa to Sonoma County, Jackson Family Wines said it suffered damages to 13 structures, as well as  “numerous pieces of equipment and business personal property”.

Jackson said the fire meant that its employees were unable to pick grapes at their “optimal ripeness, resulting in 23,318 cases of wine that was not marketable under JFW’s labels”.

The 2017 Pocket Fire in Sonoma County damaged property at two of Jackson’s wineries and again meant that workers could not pick grapes at their optimal stage of ripeness, the business said. This meant 65,191 cases of wine were not able to be marketed under the company’s label, the lawsuit alleges.

Two years on from this, the Kincade Fire lead to 50 structures, including homes, being lost – and the winery said it had spend $12 million thus far on debris removal. It estimated that removing hundreds of fire damaged trees would cost a further $26 million.

The Glass Fire in 2020 damaged more than five locations, but only one residence was lost as the company had its own “fire suppression team”.

Again, Jackson said its workers were unable to pick grapes at their “optimal ripeness”, resulting in thousands of cases left unmarketable.

db has reached out to Jackson Family Wines for comment.