Thursday, June 24, 2010

Basic facts about art and insurance

In the previous post, we emphasized how you need to ensure a comprehensive home insurance plan to cover your collectibles. This is the fact underlined in a recent Bloomberg news report. Although written in the context of US, the contents of it are equally relevant to art lovers in India as it discusses practical aspects related to art and insurance. The report cites the case of collector Ross Brudenell, who while decorating his second home in with precious pieces from his collection worth $2 million, realized that the approach towards insurance needed a major change.

Reason: Collectibles form part of your total assets, and they cannot be ignored. The crux of the matter is that if you are having a lousy insurance and something untoward happens, when it’s all gone, it’s truly gone! Here is what the article outlines on the crucial topic of art insurance:

The return of Wall Street bonuses, attractive pricing for collectibles and volatility in the stock market mean more investors are looking to diversify their portfolios and put money in hard assets that will appreciate. Sotheby’s sold $195.7 million of Impressionist and modern art in May, triple the tally of their year-earlier sale.

At Christie’s International, US jewellery sales were up 114 per cent and wine was up 25 per cent in the second quarter of 2010 compared with a year earlier. (This also is the case in Indian market, as the recent strong auction results suggest.) On the other hand, prices for wine will have increased about 10 per cent by the end of this year compared with last year in part because of first-time buyers looking to enjoy it and also to flip it as an investment.

As more investors buy artwork, wine or coins, they may not really know their standard homeowners’ insurance policies do not necessarily offer sufficient coverage following any sudden loss, theft or damage.

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