Policy for art
Jewelry, an icon, a favorite picture, an engraving and a clock of grandfather – these things are precious to us, they keep the memory of centuries, the history of family, clan, country. Jewelry, sculptures, rare books, manuscripts, design projects, photo-audio-video archives, unique musical instruments, postage stamps, awards, medals, awards and memorable signs – all this was created by more than one generation of labor. Objects of art have long been one of the highly profitable means of capital allocation. For the majority of their owners, it is inappropriate to raise the issue of price, because for them they are priceless!
For a long time in our country the insurance of works of art was not allocated by insurance companies as a separate type of service – it was thought that it was better to insure them as property. ART UKRAINE’s partner, IC BROKBUSINESS, identifies it as a separate type of property insurance, because, according to the company’s specialists, artistic values are simply “doomed” to be insured separately from the rest of the property.
Those interested in insuring works of art can be divided into two categories: the first is the organizers of temporary and “visiting” exhibitions, and the second is private collectors, private museums and galleries, and holders of corporate collections. As for the organizers of the exhibitions, the “wall-to-wall” / “wall-to-wall” insurance formula, or “from nail to nail”, is valid for them. Such insurance conditions were developed in the form of Lloyd’s syndicates in London and are applied worldwide in the field of art. Thus, the insurance coverage protects apriceless all movements of the exhibit – it is insured when it is packed, taken out for transportation, transported, stored in temporary exhibition places, mounted and displayed.
The need to insure exhibits caused by the requirements of current legislation. Insurance coverage of various types of art, including antiques, is usually carried out on “against all risks”, including fire, gas explosion, lightning strike, natural disasters, falling of aircrafts and their parts, water, sewage, heating accidents , fire and other systems, climate system accidents, illegal actions of third parties, including kidnapping and causing harm by negligence, a terrorist act. Insurance begins to operate from the moment the exhibit is removed from its place of permanent storage and ends at the time of return to the owner
The attention of domestic insurers is increasingly directed to insuring art objects in private collections. Such interest is due to three circumstances: firstly, in Ukraine there is a gradual legalization and an increase not only in the market of art objects, but also in private collections themselves, secondly, works of art, the cost of which is constantly growing, become an effective tool for investing money, thirdly Their acquisition is increasingly becoming an element of the image of private individuals, or corporations.
How do you practically insure art values? It should be noted that ensuring confidentiality when concluding an insurance contract is, in most cases, resolved positively. Most often, the issue of valuing the exhibits becomes relevant. For example, when concluding a policy for a work of art, be prepared that you will be asked if the necessary documents are available for it: a conclusion about its authenticity (art history and technological expertise) and a document confirming the cost of the painting (expert opinion or purchase check). This is necessary so that when an insured event occurs, you can get the correct insurance amount. Ideally, this amount is determined on the basis of the expert opinion of professional appraisers who, for their part, seek to take into account all factors that can affect the value of the work: its condition, creation period, storage conditions, belonging to certain periods of the author’s work, participation in prestigious exhibitions, publications in authoritative catalogs, the presence of the original signature – just do not list. It happens that the examination of the subject of art calls into question its authenticity. According to various estimates, up to 80% of works of art that “rotate” in the domestic art market are fakes.
In a situation that has developed in the state, corporate collections and collections of private art galleries are most often regarded as promising objects for insurance. This is due to the fact that these insurers are deprived of unnecessary worries about the unwanted publicity of their name, because the property of legal entities in this sense is more impersonal. Secondly, they have experience in insuring their core business and are more inclined towards the services of insurers. Thirdly, corporations or art galleries do not raise the issue of trust in an insurance company.