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Nail to nail

Transit cover for a precious object that runs without interruption from the moment it is taken down to the moment it is reinstalled, packing and transit included.

Definition

Textbook case: an archive piece goes on a traveling exhibition. It is covered nail to nail over the whole tour, but the cover is split: each institution insures its own segment, and the lender buys a difference-in-conditions policy to plug the gaps at the junctions. Cover runs from the moment the object leaves its usual place to the moment it returns: packing, crating, road, air or sea transport, intermediate storage including customs zones, then the way back. An ordinary policy stops responding as soon as the property leaves the named location, which leaves a gap exactly where risk peaks, since specialist insurers put close to 60% of their claims down to transport and handling, and seldom to the piece hanging on a wall. What the underwriter watches closely is the seam, the moment custody passes from one hand to another and two policies may each assume the other one pays.

Its 8 cross-references, woven across the glossary's 18 categories
Nail to nail: Special risks glossary illustration, AlgoPolis
Example

Textbook case: an archive piece lent to a traveling exhibition is covered nail to nail over the whole tour, under a cover split by leg. Each institution insures its segment, and the lender buys a difference-in-conditions policy to bridge the gaps at the junctions.

Read next
Special risksCondition report (artwork)A document that describes and photographs an artwork's condition at a given moment, before and after each transport or loan, and serves as evidence to establish whether damage occurred during the insured period.Read the entry →Special risksArtwork loans between institutionsAn arrangement by which a museum or collector entrusts a work to another institution for an exhibition, governed by an agreement setting value, transport, courier, display conditions and insurance.Read the entry →Special risksMuseum crate for artworksA double-walled crate with cushioning foam and thermal insulation in which a loaned work travels, opened only after an acclimatization period; it is part of the loss prevention nail to nail policies require.Read the entry →
Put it to work
QuizModule check: the seam, and the event the contract choseAcademy questions on this concept, each one marked and explained.Test yourself →
Sources
  • Huntington T. Block (Aon), "Appreciating Art Transport and Warehousing Risks": around 60% of art damage claims arise from transport; AXA Art cited the same share of its claims
Related terms
Go further at the Academy
Also known as

Nail to nail, nail-to-nail insurance

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