Professional fine art shipping is a delicate process that entails working with artworks of exceptional value. Therefore, many nuances and peculiarities may surface in the process of fine art handling. To avoid legal and financial trouble for the client and the shipping service provider, both parties have to document the property’s value before the transportation process begins – that’s when proof of value is needed. Here are the details of documenting proof of value when shipping art work.
Why Do We Need Proof of Value When Shipping Art Work?
Anything may happen during fine art transportation, even if you’re working with proven experts with many years of experience. Some circumstances simply don’t depend on your art handlers, such as a natural disaster, aircraft landing trouble, etc. Therefore, as soon as some unexpected damage occurs during transportation, the insurance company will always require documentation proving that your work of art indeed costs as much as you’ve indicated in the insurance file. The bitter truth is that you won’t be able to receive full compensation if you don’t have those documents; only proof of value can become a substantial ground for insurance payment.
Where to Get It?
Generally, there are two ways to get a proof of value for shipping art work with full insurance guarantees. You can provide a bill of sale that clearly states the value of your art object – that is, the price you paid for it. This information will be enough to secure you from any trouble with an insurance company in case anything goes wrong and you need insurance coverage. Another source of objective value assessment is an expert art appraisal you can order locally from an art appraisal expert. Their evaluation, signed and sealed by a licensed authority, is also a legitimate proof of value for the insurance company.
Secure Your Belongings with Appropriate Documentation
Evaluating your art objectively and accurately is one of the milestones of safe artwork transportation, with your rights secured inside out. If you take proper care of appraising your art or store the bill of sale for evaluation, you have the right to full value coverage in emergency cases. Therefore, we at Fine Art Shippers always recommend that our clients prepare the proof of value-related documentation at the early stages of shipping art work. Contact our experts at (917) 658-5075 to order your artwork’s shipment or get more information on the preparation of shipping documents.