As you may have heard, fine art shipping companies may refuse to ship an artwork or antique without insurance. This is especially true when it comes to shipping high-value items. As professionals in the field of art shipping, we state directly: art transport insurance is a must if you are thinking about moving your valuable art. But how to get one? Read our blog post to find out.
Art Transport Insurance: Preparatory Steps to Get It
The first step is always the same, whether you choose an insurance provider or a wellness center, you should do some research to choose a good company. Not all companies offer art transport insurance, so it is worth filtering out unsuitable companies already at the first stage of the research. Then you can safely refuse the services of companies with low ratings and bad customer reviews on Google: as a rule, negative reviews don’t lie. If you have the opportunity to ask for advice from a friend who already has experience in art insurance, this would be ideal. However, it’s a bit premature to contact a potential insurance provider right after you’ve found the perfect one because you’ll need to discuss your specific needs. We recommend that you ask for a free quote (the more companies you ask, the better), and while you wait, try to clarify all the details that will be necessary to accurately calculate the cost and order the service.
The documentation required to obtain art transport insurance typically includes:
- inventory list;
- art appraisal;
- condition report.
Of course, these documents are usually prepared by professionals, not the owners of the collection. For example, for valuable artworks, insurance companies may require recent appraisals or certificates of authenticity to verify the authenticity and value of the pieces. This can only be done by external experts. It’s a little bit easier to prepare an inventory list and condition report yourself, but there’s always the risk of missing an important detail. A condition report can be crucial in the event of a claim for damage in transit because if you don’t have documentation of an item’s previous condition, you won’t be able to get insurance. That’s why specialists always include photographs or descriptions of any damage or imperfections.
In the case of international transportation, this list of documents may be also supplemented by a certificate of ownership. In this way, the state protects itself against the illegal export of cultural property. To prove your ownership, you can submit documents such as purchase receipts or a will.
The art transport insurance provider will also need information about the mode of transportation and sometimes the method of packing. By providing the details about the mode of transportation, the route, and the security measures during transit, you help the insurance company assess the risk associated with the transportation. The same is true for the packing method: insurance providers may want to ensure that proper precautions have been taken to protect the items during transit.
Finally, when all the preliminary work is done and you already have some quotes, make a final choice and contact the chosen insurance company. We hope that this experience will be great for you, and from our side, we would be happy to assist you in the following fine art shipping process.