Private collection insurance

A collector owns a hundred and forty pieces spread between a Paris apartment, a house in Normandy and a storage unit. Their home policy caps valuables at a percentage of the contents, with an exclusion for thefts without forced entry. A collection policy works differently: values agreed piece by piece on an inventory, cover at home and in transit, including loans to museums and visits to the restorer. The underwriter asks for photographs, invoices, appraisals, sometimes a visit to inspect the alarm. Claims in this market are ordinary: a leak behind a wall, a frame hung too close to a radiator, a theft by household staff. Value moves with auction results. The practice is a revaluation every three to five years; without it, the collector ends up under-insured after a strong sale. Art insurers also offer conservation and advisory services, kept separate from the cover itself.