Category Archives: Art Insurance

Art Collector, Art Insurance, Artist Insurance, Bad weather and Art, what to do!, Collectibles

Are Your Art and Collectibles Covered for Disaster?

Fires, floods, tornadoes, super-storms, and even man-made disasters like construction accidents can cause havoc to your home, gallery, or studio. Many are prepared with emergency plans and supplies but unprepared when it comes to keeping an up to date inventory on precious belongings, art, and collectibles in the case of a claim.

Trying to create an inventory after the fact can be just as stressful as enduring the event itself. Before starting an inventory, contact your insurance agent to ask what kind of documentation is required if you ever need to file a claim. It can be as simple as creating a spreadsheet and supplement it with photos and receipts, the more info the better. Keep a copy off-site or in your email and not near the location where the art is housed, this can be a lifesaver and prevent delays in getting the replacement value.

The most valuable tool in ensuring everything goes smoothly is having a knowledgeable fine-art and collectibles insurance broker to guide you in the process of managing your risk. Insuring art requires an experienced broker that knows how to navigate the often-confusing details of high-value insurance. At ArtInsuranceNow.com / Bernard Fleischer & Sons Inc. we know art, and what it takes to insure it properly so you don’t have to. We are your resource and can answer any questions you may have regarding the protection of your art, tools, studio space, or gallery.

Even if you never need to file a claim, an inventory pays off. A complete inventory can help you purchase the right amount of insurance and should the unforeseen happen, you can focus on rebuilding rather than scrambling for the details on what you may have lost.

Visit us at ArtInsuranceNow.com to live chat with a professional or call us at 800-921-1008 to speak to a friendly voice that can guide you through the process of risk management.

 

Art Collector, Art Insurance, Private Collectors and Corporate Collections, Transit Insurance

Protecting your Art Collection

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There are obvious dangers for an Art Collection. Fire, water, theft and even light is also a big threat, and the damage it can cause is irreversible. Even certain framing methods can destroy a work over time. What are the best ways to make sure your art is safe, secure, and displayed to its utmost advantage? ArtInsuranceNow.com has some helpful tips.

Thieves once robbed the home of an avid collector. The police asked for photographs of the stolen items but had to settle for dinner–party pictures in which several of the works appear incidentally in the background, often cropped and out of focus. This is not a good way to document your art.

You should continually evaluate your art collection, particularly when art values are high. Collectors should document their holdings and store the information (or a copy of it) off-site, not attached to, or near the works themselves. When properly insuring an item, the more documentation the better.

Technology can help organize your collection with easy to use inventory management software and apps. There is a variety of both free and paid “cloud” software (which means you can access it from any device anywhere you can connect to the internet). These applications can allow users to store an image of a work, as well as such information as price, appraisal value, purchase date, location, description, condition, and provenance. Collectors with many objects and multiple residences who don’t keep track of where everything is might not notice for months that something is missing.

Another way to protect your collection is to have a reliable alarm system for the art locations. From the stories we hear as a fine-art insurance agency, the amount of poorly maintained or even unused alarm systems at valuable properties is quite surprising. Also, if collectors get a series of phone hang–ups—six or more in a short period of time we advise you to call the police, because your house is possibly being cased. Crooks can be trying to look for a pattern to see when you’re home and when you’re out.

While there are many art heist stories to be told, transit and the environment remain the two biggest risks to works of art. We advise not to skimp when packing and shipping a work—and consider carefully where you display it. If you hang a painting in direct sunlight and it fades, most policies won’t cover it. Over 60 percent of claims are related to losses incurred in transit, including moving art around the collectors’ own homes. Bad packing and handling are avoidable problems and professional art packing and shipping have become more affordable.

No one wants to lose a piece of art but it happens, more often than we’d like to see so the best way to protect your collection is with due diligence and a fine art policy from ArtInsuranceNow.com / Bernard Fleischer & Sons Inc. We can guide you in obtaining the right fine art insurance for your unique requirements at great rates. For more info visit www.artinsurancenow.com and live chat with us, call us at 800.921.1008 or apply for a free quote below.

 

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Art Insurance, Artist Insurance

Brazen thief snatches 19th century painting, and calmly walks out

 

A man who stole a painting off the wall of Moscow’s Tretyakov Gallery over the weekend has been arrested. The suspect took a Crimean landscape by Russian artist Arkhip Kuindzhi and carried it through a room filled with visitors on Sunday evening while posing as a gallery worker, the footage aired on Russian state television showed.

This is the second incident to hit the Russian capital’s gallery in less than a year. The first was vandalism against a painting of Ivan the Terrible, which was severely damaged when slashed by a visitor. Each year, art thefts account for around four to six billion dollars of losses worldwide. Due to the magnitude of the problem, the International Criminal Police Organization, commonly known as Interpol, continually collects data about the many art thefts and recoveries. With 192 member countries, the international police organization catalogs around 50,000 stolen works of art.

While the Arkhip Kuindzhi artwork has been recovered, sadly many stolen pieces are not, and vandalized artwork often times is declared a total loss. This may be heartbreaking to the owner but the financial hit is also devastating. The good news is you can acquire the proper art coverage to recoup your investment in the eventArt of a loss. We at Bernard Fleischer & Sons Inc. / ArtInsuranceNow.com are true art lovers and we put the Artist, Collector, and/or Owner first when designing a custom policy.

Not every art owner is the same, there are different circumstances, building structures, security systems etc. We ask the right questions and evaluate them to get you the best policy at the best premium. Our online applications are tailored to your requirements and created for your convenience. For example, artists can apply for and bind a policy to cover their studio, art, art in transit, tools, and materials all while having their morning coffee at home.

Learn how you can protect your art while on public display, at home, in studio, or in transit. Visit ArtInsuranceNow.com to live chat with an agent or call us at 800.921.1008

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Art Insurance, Art transit Insurance, Artist Insurance, Artist Studio, Auction Houses, Exhibtion Art Coverage, Fine Art

5 Star Service for Art Insurance with ArtInsuranceNow.com

Are you an artist, art dealer, collector, exhibitor, or gallerist that requires asset protection? ArtInsuranceNow.com / Bernard Fleischer & Sons Inc. has provided insurance services for the art community for 70 years. We love educating our customers and giving them the right tools to create or maintain a successful art business or collection.

Many artists surveyed do not have the proper insurance or coverage for their situation, the numbers are quite alarming. Our goal is to educate and provide resources that the art community requires to mitigate the unique risks they face.

As the global art market expands, risk also increases. Artists, auction houses, and art dealers often display art at multiple locations to discover a larger number of buyers, including a growing number of art fairs around the world like Art Basel.

The high volume of art exchanging hands increases the risk of improper handling, accidental damage during transit, and theft. Therefore, this increases the number of fine art insurance claims. If your art studio or location is not properly covered, you could be headed for a loss.

We at ArtInsuranceNow.com / Bernard Fleischer & Sons Inc. take pride in our stellar customer service. (Don’t take our word for it, check our 5-star ratings on Google HERE) We will walk you through the process step by step and get you insured fast, and with great rates via our user-friendly online applications. We are uniquely qualified to handle all art related risk management solutions due to our extensive experience in the field, and to put it simply, we just love art!

Call us at 800-921-1008, apply online at ArtInsuranceNow.com and live chat with us, or visit our offices at 29 Broadway, Suite 1511 New York, NY 10006

Art Collector, Art Insurance

Fine Art Storage: A Cautionary Tale

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The continued strength of the contemporary-art market and the growing need for secure, climate-controlled art storage space is increasing as more and more art is created, purchased by collectors and acquired by museums.

Art storage facilities are supposed to be forward looking to make sure that property entrusted to them for safekeeping remains protected and unaltered while in their custody. Elements such as temperature, humidity, and pest control are vital to preserving artworks from any damage or total loss. Certain mediums like paper, canvas, plaster, metal, and clay are of course particularly vulnerable to temperature and humidity fluctuations. Yet sometimes things go wrong even with the best of intentions.

For example, a well-known storage facility received multiple lawsuits for damage, incurred during 2012’s hurricane Sandy. Ultimately, artworks in many studios, galleries, and storage facilities were severely damaged when Sandy, a tropical storm that was updated to a hurricane, hit the tri-state area.

In lawsuits resulting from those damages to art stored, the point of contention is the manner by which liability is allocated in storage contracts. Some contracts between the storage facility and its clients required clients to obtain an art insurance policy. In other instances, there may have been waivers of subrogation or a limitation of liability clause.

In addition to mother nature, accidents also happen, but not that often. A fire at Momart’s east London warehouse in 2004 destroyed hundreds of works by such noted artists as Tracey Emin, Damien Hirst, and Chris Ofili. A fire at Artex’s warehouse in Dedham, Mass., in 2005 destroyed and damaged many pieces. In 2004, Fine Art Logistics, a storage company in London, mistakenly left out for trash a 1984 sculpture by Anish Kapoor.

This is why it is so important to perform due diligence and speak with Art Insurance professionals like Bernard Fleischer & Sons Inc. (ArtInsuranceNow.com) for a clear picture on insurance coverages, to allow the art owner the ability to make well-informed decisions on obtaining insurance.

Call us at 800.921.1008 to speak with an Art Insurance Professional and visit us at ArtInsuranceNow.com to apply for a free quote and live chat with an agent.

Art Collector, Art Dealer, Art Insurance, Art transit Insurance, Artist Insurance, Auction Houses, Transit Insurance

Art in Transit: Why we insure

The reasons for art being shipped varies greatly, a collector may move or place artwork in storage while their home is being renovated, they often sell artwork at popular art fairs and even lend pieces to museums.

A dealer or gallerist may sell artwork to a collector from out of town or even another country, the working artist sends their commissioned works to buyers, galleries, etc. Auction houses frequently send and receive works of art. There are many different reasons for art transit, including shipping art out of harms way in cases of hurricanes and wildfires.

Other than hauling that hidden ‘masterpiece’ in the attic down to the Antiques Roadshow, artwork should be handled with care, shipped by professionals, and most importantly insured.

Transit insurance is extremely important to the safety of your investment. If you have the opportunity to talk with anybody in the insurance world for fine art, most of the losses by frequency — something like 70% — are caused by damage while it’s being handled through transit. Even so, not all insurance policies cover works of art.

Standard homeowners insurance likely won’t extend to cover your art collection, which is why most artists, collectors, dealers, and auction houses purchase a stand-alone policy that often includes protection for new works while they are being shipped to your home or business but it’s important to speak to knowledgeable art insurance professionals like Bernard Fleischer & Sons Inc. (ArtInsuranceNow.com) and understand what’s covered and what is not.

It is important to know that most transporters limit their liability and folks are often quite surprised at how low their liability is. So, make sure your insurance policy covers the work of art as it’s being shipped.

Whether buying or selling at art fairs be sure that your work or investment has the maximum coverage with minimal headaches by using the Trusted One Stop Art Insurance for the Art Community since 1949, Bernard Fleischer & Sons Inc. Visit artinsurancenow.com or call 800-921-1008 we can help you with all of your Art Insurance requirements.

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Art Insurance, Artist Insurance, Private Collectors and Corporate Collections

Fair Market And Insurance Value For Works Of Art

Fine-Art Insurance valuations aren’t so complicated, as some may think. Here is the breakdown. The IRS defines fair market value as the price that property would sell for on the open market, as agreed upon between a willing buyer and a willing seller, with neither being required to act and both having a reasonable knowledge of the relevant facts.

Usually, this means the auction market (buyer’s premium included), because auction is the predominant market of open exchange. If the property in question sells predominantly or exclusively at retail (i.e. in a gallery), however, retail is the market used by the appraiser. All IRS appraisals are fair market value appraisals.

Insurance appraisals have a different criterion for valuation. Here the assumption is that the insured item needs to be replaced in a timely manner. Waiting for a similar item to come up for auction could be unreasonable and impractical. So instead of a valuation based on the auction market, retail replacement is the most appropriate valuation.

This is the price that one would expect to pay for the same or similar item in a retail setting at the present time. Oftentimes the insurance value is even a bit higher than retail to accommodate for shipping and other costs related to the purchase.

Also, check out our informative article on Schedule VS. Blanket Coverage for an in-depth look at how policies are written in terms of valuation.

As a knowledgeable Art Insurance broker, I can guide you through the process of navigating the often confusing insurance industry and properly protecting your Art. Give us a call at 800.921.1008 or Live Chat with us at www.ArtInsuranceNow.com you can even get a free quote by following the link below.

 

Art Collector, Art Dealer, Art Insurance, Uncategorized

Join us at Tribeca Art + Culture Night!

ArtInsuranceNow.com / Bernard Fleischer & Sons, Inc. is proud to be a sponsor of the TRIBECA ART + CULTURE NIGHT

As leaders in Fine-Art Insurance, we understand the importance of art and that not only should it be protected, but it should be experienced by the public. Cities gain cultural, social and economic value through art. It reflects and reveals our society, adds meaning to our cities and uniqueness in our communities.

It is free and open to the public. The event presents a program of events like a FESTIVAL, showcases venues/organizations like an ART FAIR, unlocks spaces to the public like an OPEN HOUSE, and offers art-walks to showcase exhibitions like an ART NIGHT.

It is also an ART MARATHON. Attendees can choose their own adventure mixing exhibitions with workshops, talks, demonstrations, and performances. In just 3 hours, from 6-9 PM, visitors join together to attend a curator-led tour, learn a new skill in a creative workshop, watch a live dance performance, and discover the unexpected in a contemporary gallery they may have never found otherwise. TAC Night is an adventurous playground showcasing artists, performers, curators, scientists, chefs, wellness experts, musician, designers, authors, thought leaders, and makers.

 

Art Insurance

Will the Glasgow School of Art rise from the ashes again?

Mackintosh Building at The Glasgow School of ArtDesigned by Charles Rennie Mackintosh and fully completed in 1909, the Grade A-listed Mackintosh Building is one of the Glasgow’s most cherished architectural works, and one of the finest examples of Art Nouveau in the world. Before the recent fire broke out, the building was undergoing an extensive £35 million restoration following a previous fire in May 2014, in which 90% of the building and 70% of its contents were saved. The building was due to reopen sometime in 2019.

The restoration, which began in 2016, centered on the Mackintosh’s iconic library, using original wood species and historical documents. As part of the restoration, a fire suppression system was being installed which was reportedly weeks away from completion. In a cruel irony, large pumps needed for the water mist system had arrived at the construction site just one day before the fire.

After news that the art school would be rebuilt, recent drone footage and laser scans have revealed that parts of the facade have to be dismantled because they are unsafe, putting the future of the building in jeopardy.

The Mackintosh library at The Glasgow School of Art.
The Mackintosh designed library.
The Mackintosh library after the fire
The Mackintosh designed library after the second fire.

The school has produced many of Britain’s leading contemporary artists, including Douglas Gordon, Alison Watt, David Shrigley, along with three recent winners of the Turner Prize: Simon Starling, who won in 2005; Richard Wright, 2009; and Martin Boyce, 2011.

The building had attracted around 25,000 visitors each year before the 2014 blaze, with tours conducted by art school students. It is a tragedy that this storied institution has been devastated and we hope it will be returned to its former glory.

Mackintosh Building Gallery
Mackintosh Building Gallery
Mackintosh Building Furniture Gallery
Mackintosh Building Furniture Gallery

Worst case scenarios sometimes happen, and while insurance cannot always bring back what has been lost, It can help to restore what has been saved.

Call us at 800.921.1008 and visit ArtInsuranceNow.com to get an evaluation of your current policy or a free quote.

 

 

 

 

 

Art Collector, Art Dealer, Art Gallery Insurance, Art Insurance, Artist Insurance, Artist Studio, Comtemporary Art Insurance

The Art Police

Detective Don Hrycyk , LAPD Art Theft Detail, shows a fake Jim Dine painting, left, and a fake Renoir painting “La Loge (also called Au Theatre)

If you believe Hollywood’s version, the average art thief has many gadgets, scales walls, and dances through laser beam alarm triggers to steal Rembrandts and Renoirs. But when Detective Don Hrycyk of the LAPD Art Theft Detail solves an art crime, the guilty party is usually a trusted friend or business associate of the victim, not Tom Cruise in a catsuit.

The problem isn’t always smart criminals, Many leave themselves vulnerable to opportunists, with state of the art alarm systems that are never turned on, treasures locked away in safes with the combination left in an unlocked drawer nearby. Detective Hrycyk has seen it all.

The Art Theft Detail was formed by the LAPD in 1983 in response to a rash of unsolved High-value art thefts. It was a smart decision as they have recovered $122,999,616 in artwork since 1993. It is the only law enforcement unit in the country dedicated to fighting art crimes full-time.

They investigate by publicizing thefts and staying in constant contact with local galleries, museums, auction houses, and collectors. They tackle everything from phony estate sales stocked with fake antiques to consignment fraud, home burglaries, art-related insurance scams, and occasionally dramatic heists.

Picasso’s 1937 drawing “Faune”, for example, was recovered back in 2001 after a man tried to sell his $100,000 “ugly painting” to Christie’s in Beverly Hills. An alert appraiser checked the LAPD website, saw the stolen work and called the police. Turns out the thief was a chauffeur who had broken into the house of his movie-producer boss.

Sometimes it isn’t a very happy ending though, sculptor Kewal Soni had a break in and lost a $10,000 sculpture that he worked on for a year. The burglar then took it to a metal recycling plant and sold it as scrap for a measly $9.10. Although later the thief was caught and convicted.

The importance of insuring your art cannot be overstated. Art is a passion for most and when you love something it’s natural to want to protect it. Allow us to help by providing easy to understand comprehensive insurance coverage for your artwork.

Already covered? Let us examine your current Artist’s, Collector’s, Dealer’s, Conservator’s, Gallery’s, or Museum’s policy. Maybe you’re overpaying, under protected or have the wrong coverages.

Our policies have diverse coverages to meet the specific requirements of the Art Community. We help clients select adequate coverage and to help mitigate potential exposures, we provide recommended loss control procedures.