Fine Art and Antiques

Mum’s the word – Insurance for actors & celebrities

24/10/2011 in Fine Art and Antiques, High Value Homes, Jewellery and Watches, Private Clients

Macbeth insures actors & celebrities

How to Safeguard your Art & Reduce Insurance Premiums

25/01/2011 in Fine Art and Antiques, High Value Homes

Specialist art valuers and auctioneers Lyon & Turnbull have kindly agreed to us posting their 7 top tips for safeguarding art.

Don’t advertise what you own, or how it is situated and protected in your home. Unlike opportunist house-breakers, art thieves rarely attempt a theft unless they know what’s there and what defences they will be up against.

Keep detailed photographic records of your art, including photographs of the art out of the frame, with close-ups of any distinctive markings or inscriptions. If a stolen object such a map or print is recovered, you will need to prove that it is your copy. Lyon & Turnbull is the second largest provider of independent valuations in the UK, and our valuation documents provide police with the detailed images and descriptions they need to locate possessions and verify them as yours.

Keep records and documents relating to your art and its provenance in a separate place nowhere near your art, preferably in a bank deposit box. Not only is this your proof of ownership, handing these to a thief will make the work much easier to sell on. We can help – our valuations are archived in a secure location and can be quickly made available to the authorities if the worst happens.

Remember a high-tech security system is only as effective as the response it triggers. More effective are ID tags which can be embedded in artworks and can function as part of an alarm system or as GPS-locators. They are also difficult to remove quickly without damaging the art.

There is no reason to be wary of loaning objects from your collection for public exhibitions. Major museum thefts make headlines, but they are rare. Check that the museum will take legal responsibility for the work on loan, and instruct them whether or not you wish to be identified as the lender.

An astonishing number of art thefts are not reported. If something is stolen, go to the police immediately. They will disseminate the information straight away, including photographs of the missing work.

For added security you can list your possessions on the Art Loss Register, preferably before they go missing in order to ensure you have accurately recorded any distinguishing marks. While the police should report the loss to ALR, by doing it yourself you can rest assured the report has been made at the earliest opportunity, and to a high level of detail.

Art and antique insurance are typically classified as ‘low-risk’ by insurers, due to their unique and identifiable nature. By looking to the security of your home and documenting the measures you have taken to avoid damage and theft, insurance companies can often insure art collections with a very high value for a relatively small premium. For more information on art insurance, please contact Paul Macbeth on 0118 9452944 or complete one of our enquiry forms.

Tips for insuring Fine Art and Antiques

15/10/2010 in Fine Art and Antiques, Insurance Industry News

Some useful tips for insuring fine art and antiques, from a specialist:

Wide territorial limits: the cover should include whilst the art is removed from its normal location, including the transit. Examples of this include cover for when the art work is loaned out to a museum or exhibition, and whilst it is displayed at a different home (or office).

Depreciation cover: If the art is damaged and then repaired, the insurance should not only pay for the repair cost but also the decrease in the value of the painting after it has been repaired.

Cover whilst damaged by a professional restorer: If art is restored, and the professional restorer damages it, this should be covered by your insurance policy. This is because some restorers may not have the right insurance to cover this on your behalf, or may lack the financial means to compensate you in the event that they damage the art work.

Automatic cover for new acquisitions: New acquisitions of art should be automatically covered to some extent. This would give you the flexibility to add to your collection and have it covered immediately as it comes into your possession and ownership, without the inconvenience of having to notify insurers before it becomes covered.

If you would like more details of Fine Art & Antiques Insurance,please contact Paul Macbeth ACII (Managing Director) on 0118 9452 944 or paul.macbeth@macbeths.co.uk

Fine Art and Antiques Factsheet

08/10/2010 in Factsheet, Fine Art and Antiques

Insuring fine art and antiques requires a specialist insurance policy from a specialist company.

Our insurers include individual collectors, dealers and exhibitors as well as museums and galleries. We also offer insurance cover specifically designed for professionals in the world of fine art, such as auctioneers and valuers.

Cover:

1. Our broad coverage means all your possessions are automatically covered wherever you are in the world, including for breakage.
2. Agreed value approach – you can be reassured that your possessions are covered to the agreed insured value without quibble. In the event of damage or a loss, you will receive payment for the exact amount listed for the item – with no deductions.
3. Specified cover means you can agree on an insured value for individual valuable items. In the event of a loss, you will receive the exact specified amount with no deductions.
4. If an item is damaged, our insurers will pay to restore it as perfectly as possible. Plus we will compensate you for any loss in original value due to the damage.
5. Some items cannot be replaced like-for-like. So you have the choice of replacing an item with something similar from your own supplier, or keeping the full cash settlement.
6. We only require valuations for very expensive items and Macbeth has negotiated preferential rates with leading valuation companies.
7. If you lose one item of a pair or set, you can choose to receive the full replacement cost of that pair or set if you provide us with the remaining piece.

Macbeth Premier Clients have specialised in high value home insurance for over 15 years and have a wealth of experience. We will provide you with an exceptional level of personal service and a dedicated account manager will handle your policy from inception to renewal including a complete claim service so you can just relax and leave matters to us.

Tie me Kangaroo down sport!!

20/03/2010 in Fine Art and Antiques

Macbeth clients, the Lemongrove Gallery are showcasing a new collection of Rolf Harris originals at their Harpenden gallery. The exhibition starts on Saturday 20th March 2010 and runs until Sunday 28th March 2010.

As well as insuring art galleries, Macbeth also offer art insurance to individuals or corporate art collectors.

What exactly is high net worth insurance?

20/03/2010 in Fine Art and Antiques, High Value Homes, Jewellery and Watches

High net worth insurance is intended for individuals with higher than average buildings and contents. Typically these types of policies cover homes valued over £500,000 with contents exceeding £100,000. High net worth insurers can cater for the higher levels of fine art, antiques and jewellery than standard insurers can cope with.

Although premiums are likely to be more than standard home insurance, the cover is always much wider with far less exclusions and claims are dealt with quickly and sympathetically.

If you would like more details about high value home insurance, please contact Paul Macbeth ACII (Managing Director) on 0118 9452 944 or paul.macbeth@macbeths.co.uk

Tips for insuring Fine Art & Antiques

13/01/2010 in Fine Art and Antiques

Some useful tips for insuring fine art and antiques, from a specialist:

Wide territorial limits: the cover should include whilst the art is removed from its normal location, including the transit. Examples of this include cover for when the art work is loaned out to a museum or exhibition, and whilst it is displayed at a different home (or office).

Depreciation cover: If the art is damaged and then repaired, the insurance should not only pay for the repair cost but also the decrease in the value of the painting after it has been repaired.

Cover whilst damaged by a professional restorer: If art is restored, and the professional restorer damages it, this should be covered by your insurance policy. This is because some restorers may not have the right insurance to cover this on your behalf, or may lack the financial means to compensate you in the event that they damage the art work.

Automatic cover for new acquisitions: New acquisitions of art should be automatically covered to some extent. This would give you the flexibility to add to your collection and have it covered immediately as it comes into your possession and ownership, without the inconvenience of having to notify insurers before it becomes covered.

If you would like more details of Fine Art & Antiques Insurance, please contact Paul Macbeth ACII (Managing Director) on 0118 9452 944 or paul.macbeth@macbeths.co.uk

Macbeth are Chartered Insurance Brokers based in Reading with a premier client division dedicated to providing advice and insurance solutions to wealthy individuals. Our area’s of expertise include high value homes, fine art and antiques, valuables, second homes and overseas homes and high value cars.

New high value home policy launched

17/12/2009 in Fine Art and Antiques, High Value Homes

Ecclesiastical Insurance have recently launched their Heritage Residential product which has been designed for clients with high value properties and/or fine art collections. Ecclesiastical estimate that as many as 72% of listed properties are either under or over insured.

One of the main benefits of the new contract is the expert building valuation service using a dedicated in house team. Ecclesiastical have a wealth of experience insuring listed properties and are committed to sympathetic restoration in the event of a claim.

If you would like more details of the Ecclesiastical policy or would like to discus listed property insurance further, please contact Paul Macbeth ACII (Managing Director) on 0118 9452 944 or paul.macbeth@macbeths.co.uk or visit www.macbeths.co.uk
Macbeth are Chartered Insurance Brokers based in Reading with a premier client division dedicated to providing advice and insurance solutions to wealthy individuals. Our area’s of expertise include high value homes, fine art and antiques, valuables, second homes and overseas homes and high value cars.

It’s a recession, so it must be a Rembrant sale

08/12/2009 in Fine Art and Antiques

Ahead of Christie’s forthcoming Old Master sale tonight (8 December) in London, Robert Read, fine art expert at specialist art insurer Hiscox, comments:

“If ever there was a painting to test the recessionary times it’s Rembrandt’s ‘Portrait of a man with arms akimbo’ which was last sold in 1974 during the oil crisis, and prior to that was sold in the Great Depression of the 1930s.

“That it’s up for sale again at the tail end of what many have labelled as the deepest recession since the 1930’s may be a coincidence but a world record price would be no surprise, given its quality, rarity and strong provenance.

“Both the Rembrandt and Raphael’s ‘Head of a Muse’ which is also included in tonight’s sale would, if they sell well, reinforce the pronounced shift in collectors’ appetite over the last year for more established, traditional and painterly works. Richard Wright’s Turner prize winning fresco, though temporary in existence, also proves that it’s not just the Old Masters reinforcing today’s demand for more ‘traditional’ art whether new or old, rooted as it is in the skills of the Renaissance fresco makers.”

If you would like to discuss your fine art insurance insurance further, please contact Paul Macbeth ACII (Managing Director) on 0118 9452 944 or paul.macbeth@macbeths.co.uk or visit www.macbeths.co.uk
Macbeth are Chartered Insurance Brokers based in Reading with a premier client division dedicated to providing advice and insurance solutions to wealthy individuals. Our area’s of expertise include high value homes, fine art and antiques, valuables, second homes and overseas homes and high value cars.

Pop memorabilia market still strikes a chord with investors and collectors alike

09/07/2009 in Fine Art and Antiques

London, UK – Ahead of tomorrow’s (July 1) rock and pop memorabilia sale at Christie’s, Robert Read, collectables expert at specialist insurer Hiscox, comments:

“This pop memorabilia sale is likely to be spirited as particular performers will always drive demand and prices upwards. The Beatles are a great example of a band that, in terms of buying or selling, are to memorabilia what Picasso is to paintings.

The death of Michael Jackson is boosting the market for anything Jackson-related. That ticket holders for the cancelled concerts are being offered the chance to buy the actual tickets themselves as an alternative to a refund, is a real sign that the pop memorabilia market has matured significantly. Ten to 15 years ago such an option would have been inconceivable.

“Lot 54 in Christie’s sale which is a photograph of the Jackson Five dedicated and inscribed by the band members, has a guide price of £400-£600 and I would expect it to go for much more.