Here’s a question you don’t see everyday: “Should I insure or get insurance for my fine art collection?”  It’s a complicated answer because the answer depends on what your fine art is.  Well, we’re here to talk about just this issue and hopefully make it a little easier for you to make that decision for yourself.

Let’s start off with this fact: the price tag on art, especially to replace it, is not the same for every piece out there.  The drawing that your toddler made has a very different value than a one-of-a-kind original from one of the great masters.  You can quickly replace the simple crayon drawing in a heartbeat and I’m sure that your child would be happy to do so.  Other kinds of art are not so easy to replace.  This is why we consider insurance.

If you’re like me (and I’m sure that you are on this particular point), then you want to protect the money you have put into a high end purchase like fine art.  Since time is money and your time is precious, the money you have invested into a quality piece of fine art, no matter what kind of art it is, should be treated as a valued asset.  It took time to earn that money and time to pick out just the right piece of art.  You should protect your investment if you can.

Sadly, fires and thieves happen.  Homes get flooded or blown away by the wind, tornado, or hurricane.  People aren’t as careful as they should be when standing in the vicinity of art.  Unforeseen events happen to damage or destroy property.  In short, life happens.  We can’t protect against everything every time.  However, our pockets need not suffer from the unforeseen.  This is the very principle upon which insurance is founded.

You insure your home and your car for a reason.  I know that part of that reason is the law or that your lending institution requires you to do so.  Homes and cars are still very big ticket items.  They represent a sizable chunk of money and investment of your time.  A loss of either one is both devastating and handicapping.  I’m not saying that you should view a fine art loss that way but, if you view fine art as an investment, you should be doing everything you can to protect it.

Now, we can’t live our lives in fear that something bad might happen to a prized possession.  We won’t be able to live at all if we have that attitude.  We need to do some planning ahead instead.

Should some unthinkable disaster happen to your home, you want know you can reacquire the art you once had or at least receive compensation for its loss if you can’t reacquire it.  Insurance is the way to make up for these losses should you face them.

So, should you insure your fine art?  The answer is absolutely.  There’s no question about it.  The next question becomes “what should I insure?  What will my insurance company cover?”  Stay tuned next week when we answer more questions about insurance for fine art with the advice of an insurance agent.