Category Archives: Auction Houses

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 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 Collector, Art Insurance, Art transit Insurance, Auction Houses, Exhibtion Art Coverage, Public Art, Transit, Transit Insurance, Uncategorized

Art Exhibition Insurance – The Details

As representatives of the top Insurance carriers that insure exhibitions locally, in multi-states and internationally, we know coverages.

Each company has their own distinct forms to insure the unique exposures related to exhibitions. Coverages while in transit, at the exhibition venue, and in storage vary by company.

Below are some highlighted coverages to consider when placing insurance for an exhibition, how to protect the lenders, and what is the right valuation method.

 

About Exhibition Coverage

Most Art Insurance policies not only insure the work on exhibition, but also the didactic and ancillary materials such as vitrines, hardware, technology, and supportive structures.

A typical Policy I use with my insureds exhibition policy includes:

  • Agreed Value: We usually require a schedule prior to binding, but different terms can be negotiated.
  • Worldwide coverage for transit: is important when gathering works from overseas collectors.
  • Named Location: some policy covers only named location and excludes transit
  • Scheduled or Blanket: 
    • The schedule:  Establishes the price of the work to be insured.
    • Blanket: policy usually has a per item cap along with the onus of proof of value is on the insured.
  •  Loss Payee Certificates: These are issued if a lender requires proof of coverage and insures the check will be made to them in case of a loss.

 

  • Additional Important Exhibition Coverages one should verify if covered:
    • Packing crates, catalogs, and brochures included
    • Nail to Nail coverage:Coverage from point of pick up until returned.
    • Goods in transit
    • Art in storage in-between transit

 

  • Broad, all-risk coverage
  • Blanket limits on propertyin your care, custody, and control at scheduled locations and any other unnamed locations. Beware of sub-limits.
  • Domestic and international transit: To/from list of Exhibition Locations
  • No coinsurance clause penalty
  • Valuation clauses: important to know how a loss will be settled. Our policies are designed for the art industry
  • Coverage for jointly-ownedworks of art should be disclosed and understood how a loss will be paid in those instances.
  • Special clauses for “loss buy back” or “pairs and sets”
  • Relaxed appraisal requirements with most companies
  • Based on Consignment value established at time of pick up.

 

About Exhibition Exclusions and Conditions:

These policy forms usually include the standard and not so standard Exhibition polices.

Wear and tear, moth, vermin, and insects.

Damage resulting from any repair, restoration, or retouching process.

Nuclear, radiation, biological or chemical contamination.

War, invasion, an act of foreign enemies, hostilities, military or usurped power.

Confiscated, damaged or destroyed by or order of any government or public or local authority, except if taken at the time of a fire to prevent it’s spread.

In Conclusion: Art insurance has many variables and sections which can be negotiated, if you are a knowledgeable Art Insurance broker.

Art Collector, Art Dealer, Art Gallery Insurance, Art Insurance, Artist Insurance, Auction Houses, Fine Art

Artist Studios Need Insurance Too

Many artists neglect to insure their practice because they mistakenly believe they’re already covered by a homeowner or rental policy—which are strictly limited in coverage to assets that aren’t considered part of a business. (Sorry, but at least in this case, your art, if it’s for sale, is considered a business.) Sometimes, insurance riders—essentially add-ons to a general policy—can be purchased to cover works of art or business practices, but an insurance brokerage like Bernard Fleischer & Sons Inc. / ArtInsuranceNow.com concentrates in the more complicated policies that art insurance typically requires. Our agency is experienced at navigating provenance and the complicated methods for valuating works of art and a familiarity with insuring studios and art collections.

 

Other artists hesitate with insurance because they’re unsure at what point a work of art is technically finished—at what point it stops being a conglomerate of a couple hundred dollars’ worth of material, and starts becoming a valuable “piece.” Fortunately, in this case, the insurance industry is largely unconcerned with such philosophical questions. Generally speaking, insurance adjustors will use an artist’s past sales to determine valuation. If you sold a similar painting for $1,000 (and can provide legitimate documentation), expect a valuation of about $1,000, unless you’ve started working with precious metals.

 

Certainly, the most tragic losses in the event of a disaster are those of human life. Second to that, for many people in the arts, are cultural artifacts. Therefore, it’s important to insure our cultural legacy. Meanwhile, insurance companies can feel very far removed from the arts—with their talk of “assets”—and scare collectors, gallerists, and, yes, even artists, from maintaining proper insurance coverage.

 

We at Bernard Fleischer & Sons Inc. / ArtInsuranceNow.com speak the language of the arts as well as insurance and can bridge the gap between the art community and the insurance industry to protect the legacies of the collector, gallerist, museum and artist.

Visit us at www.ArtInsuranceNow.com to learn more or call us at 800-921-1008 to speak with someone who can help with your particular needs.

Art Collector, Art Gallery Insurance, Art Insurance, Art transit Insurance, Auction Houses, Comtemporary Art Insurance, Fine Art, Insurance Claim Reporting

David Bowie’s Art Collection to be auctioned, how would a collectors policy respond?

Not just David Bowie’s Estate sends work to the art auctions but individual collectors do also.

The most popular conversations I have are collectors looking to insure their work while in transit to an auction house like Christie’s, Sotheby’s, de Pury, and Phillips house.

Many times the auction house will either visit the collection or ask the collector to send the item to be auctioned directly to the house, either to be further evaluated or to be inserted into the auction rotation.

The preferred Collector’s insurance policy I like to sell, include and is not limited to coverage in transit and away from premises, in exhibitions and in storage and does not exclude auction houses.

The evaluation of the Art is based on two different models. Depending on the Art Insurance Company policy wording, One base is on the schedule amounts of the item on file (either with the Insurance company or the Collector) and the other is based on the current market value (onus of proof is on the collector).

In the case of David Bowie, Jim Hendrix or even Robin Williams, the auction house receives these items on consignment and will charge a hefty fee to insure them while on the premises.  I advise my clients to not use auction house insurance because most of the policies I sell have coverage for unnamed locations or broad enough to cover the works given for sale on a stated amount.

One of the downfalls of using the insurance, the auction houses give you, is how their insurance establishes values of the art at claim time.  Usually, it is not based on the artwork consignment agreement but on the lowest estimated value. The cost to you for using their insurance is usually much more expensive than what you are currently paying. The standard auction house’s most common policies have wording to the effect of;

“Property of others consigned to you for auction, at the lowest pre-sale estimate” and “Where no consignment receipt exists but the article appears on your records fully described, such property shall be valued at the lowest anticipated pre-sale estimate or the amount for which you are held legally liable, whichever is less”

This may be lower than your schedule or market value to entice attention for a bidding war.

When in doubt, call me to discuss your unique situation.

William

William G. Fleischer CIC | Principal
T: 212 566-1881 ext.111
E: wfleischer@bfbond.com
W: ArtInsuranceNow.com

 

Art Collector, Art Dealer, Art Gallery Insurance, Art Insurance, Art transit Insurance, Auction Houses, AXA Art, Comtemporary Art Insurance, Exhibtion Art Coverage, Fine Art, Galerest Insurance, Insurance Companies, Jewelry, Museum Coverage, Musical Intruments, Old Masters, Photogaphy Dealer Insurance, Photographs, Private Collectors and Corporate Collections, Sculpture, Transit, Travelers Insurance company, University libraries and collections

AXA Art Insurance Company

 
Good News! After 29 years in the Insurance Business, I have partnered up with   AXA and Travelers Insurance Company. We can now negotiate favorable terms and conditions with very competitive pricing. I now have the facility to insure all types and size collections, Dealers, Museums and Non-profit galleries.
If you are involved in the art world, I can insure your exposures.

• Commercial Art • Art and Antique Dealers • Restore and Conservators • Museums • Private collectors • Large or Small inventories. • Domestic or International. • Art Fair transportation, while at fair,     shipped to collectors • Art loaned to Museums or non- profits, • Art being shipped or carried on board, • Coverage for special events, Parties,     Gala’s, Dinners. • Non-profit organizations and more

There are special policies so broad that besides the standard theft or breakage coverage’s it actually includes mold and devaluation of the art pieces due to a loss. The premiums begin around $2,500 for about $250,000 worth of protection.

Recent successes:  An Art dealer who brings works to various fairs and sells from her private gallery just purchased this policy

$300,000 premises limit $300,000 unnamed location $300,000 while in transit We set the unnamed location limit and transit limit as matching limits to avoid any gaps in coverage. Premium is $3100 with $1,000 deductible.
The Genuine Article – “Total flexibility with market-leading security – the ultimate high-net-worth coverage for art and antique collectibles, buildings, and contents.”
Call me with your questions.

William G. Fleischer, CIC 212 566-1881 ext 111 wfleischer@bfbond.com

Dealer Insurance, Museum Insurance, Corporate/Private Fine Art, and Collectibles Insurance.

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Art Collector, Art transit Insurance, Auction Houses, Comtemporary Art Insurance, Fine Art

Insuring art work in transit to auction houses

Recently with all the Auction houses in full mode, I have been receiving many phone calls concerning artwork in transit.

The main movement of Art and Collectibles are going to the Auction houses. Most of the time, Individual’s would send the auction house information about the work, and if acceptable, the burden of insurance falls on the collector to get the work to the Auction house.

Most collectors who sell through auction houses, don’t think about coverage while it is at the Auction house.  Many Auction houses charge very high rates for this coverage , which in many circumstances are included in my design of the policy.

Granted, you can buy a one-way art or collectibles transit policy that stops once the work is received, or you can think beyond and purchase a policy which at times include insurance coverage while shipping to Auction Houses, Galleries, Storage, and framers.

Complete my form for collectors, and let’s figure out an Art Insurance program which fits your style.

William G. Fleischer, CIC

www.ArtInsuranceNow.com

Art Collector, Art Dealer, Art Gallery Insurance, Art Insurance, Artist Insurance, Artist Studio, Auction Houses, Galerest Insurance, Museum Coverage

Insurance for Art Galleries

Our customized insurance policies are geared toward your typical Art Galleries, Museums, Exhibition space, and Dealer businesses.  We combine General Liability, Public Liability (Bodily Injury and Property Damage) into one straightforward policy along with non-salable contents, desks, chairs, computers, fixtures, racks and business property. Our policies can include landlords, curators, and artists as additionally insured.

 

Qualify for better pricing if you combine General Liability and Property Insurance into a Business-Owners Policy with Fine Arts Insured under a separate policy to maximize coverage while minimizing price.

 

A Business-Owners Policy includes: 

General Liability insurance coverage of an Art Gallery insurance policy is comparable to a typical commercial general liability policy, providing protection against claims of bodily injury or property damage for which your business may be liable.

General Liability means liability insurance for the cost of defending lawsuits stemming from:

  • Accidents which  cause bodily injury and/or property damage
  • Trip and Fall Incidents on premises.
  • Claims such as libel, slander, and False advertising
  • Errors or negligence from professional service is not covered by a General Liability Insurance policy. Must purchase a separate policy for this.
  • Business property insurance for physical assets, such as contents, improvements to your space including decorations and furnishings non-salable items.
  • Can cover loss of business income and extra expenses resulting from a covered loss.
  • Outdoor Sign
  • Insurance Money and Securities Insurance
  • Employee Dishonesty Insurance
  • Water Back-Up Insurance
  • Off Premises power failure

 

Broader coverage on a stand-alone fine art policy:  fine art while in the gallery, storage or while in transit,

 

The same type of coverages can be found in our Museum, Exhibition, Private Dealer, and Auction House insurance policies.

 

What is the average cost of Art Gallery Insurance? Premiums typically start around $600 but every art gallery has different requirements, property values, and coverage requirements. Prices will vary.

Please call William Fleischer, CIC at 212 566-1881 ext 111 or visit us at www.ArtInsuranceNow.com

 

APPLICATIONS:

Antique, Art Collector, Art Dealer, Art Gallery Insurance, Auction Houses, Collectibles, Old Masters, Private Collectors and Corporate Collections, Rare Books, Sculpture, Uncategorized, University libraries and collections

How to Insure Prehistoric Art properly.

Prehistoric Art is Art from Ancient Near East, Ancient Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Islamic Art, etc was created on many different types of Median, Ceramic, Gold, Silver, Tapestry, Bronze, wood, stone. etc. over the years these work of art have become scarce, fragile and valuable.

I am insuring a dealer in Indian Art who specializes in Prehistoric Art.  He reminded me that Long Island in NY had one of the largest concentrations of Arrowheads.

Addressing the Insurance coverage for those Art items which you care for, I have a very special understanding of the risk of damage, theft while in the home or in a Exhibitions.

Art Insurance policies are not all the same. Some are written through LLOYD S of London, AXA Art, Travelers Insurance Company to name a few players.  The Art Insurance company will include Transit by Sea, Air & Land. Coverage is usually extended to a Storage facility or the final destination.

To have these items insured, the underwriters in most cases will require a condition report if in long-term storage or if newly purchased, a bill of sale or appraisal.
Visit ArtinsuranceNow.com to complete the Collectors application to cover your prehistoric, Modern and contemporary art.

William

art insuranceart insurance  art insurance

 

APPLICATIONS:

• Art Dealers
• Artist Transit/Exhibition/Studio Insurance New Program
• Auctioneers
• Conservators/Restorers
• Corporate Collections
• Personal Collections
• Exhibitions
• Museum Collections
• Business Owners Liability

Antique, Antique Furniture Dealers, Art Dealer, Art Gallery Insurance, Art Glass, Art GlassJewelry, Art Insurance, Auction Houses, Collectibles, Comtemporary Art Insurance, Fine Art, Galleries, Homeowners vs Fine ARt Policy, Jewelry, Musical Intruments, Old Masters, Photogaphy Dealer Insurance, Photographs, Private Collectors and Corporate Collections, Rare Books, Sculpture, Stamps, Stately Homes, Travelers Insurance company, University libraries and collections

What Travelers has to say About Art Insurance

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Inland Marine — Fine art
What it covers

Travelers offer unparalleled coverage for the protection of scheduled fine art items. Coverage for such fine art is available at a permanent location, in transit or while loaned to others. Our Agreed Value Fine Arts Policy ensures that fine art collections are insured under a form that addresses the needs for that collection, while also making breakage coverage, special pairs and sets coverage, and flood and earthquake coverage available.

For significant corporate collections of fine art, or for artwork and collectibles in commercial settings, we offer comprehensive fine art coverage under which a broad spectrum of paintings, sculptures, prints and multiples, and more specialized collections of historical, cultural or technological significance can be insured.
Who needs it

Corporations and commercial accounts may have valuable works of art not specially covered as fine art under standard package policies that can be insured under our fine art coverage.