Do want to find out more about insurance for art and artists?

  • Do you need insurance for your art, artistic assets or artist's studio?
  • Are you exhibiting your art - and need insurance re. damage or public liability?
  • ​Are you planning an art class and need insurance for public liability?
  • Are you working from home - and need to ensure you don't invalidate you domestic cover?
  • Are you opening an art school and need full cover for all relevant risks and liabilities
  • Are you opening an art gallery and want full cover for all business risks?
  • Are you moving your art - and need cover for transportation of paintings, sculpture etc?
  • Do you need insurance for an art installation?
  • Do you need insurance cover for an art collection - but haven't got a clue where to start looking?

In Summary - what this site covers

This site aims to
  • Provide information about insurance - SPECIFICALLY for artists and art collectors - assemble links to all current and relevant resources about insurance for art and artists and art collectors on the Internet
  • Make insurance information for artists geographically relevant - organise information about insurance for art and artists by country. 
  • ​Highlight insurance specifically designed for artists and art collectors - Over time, I also aim to try and crowd-source recommendations about different insurers - and which to avoid.​ ​
QUICK LINKS: ​Art Insurance POLICIES for Art, Art Studios, Artists, Art Galleries and Art Collections
Contents are listed below....
Together with a note about what this site NOT cover!

ART INSURANCE: Contents of this page

WHAT SORT OF INSURANCE DOES AN ARTIST NEED?
​
Overview of different types of insurance relevant to art and artists
  • insurance for an artist's assets and art business liabilities
  • public liability insurance relating to third parties
  • specialist insurance for artists - e.g. in relation to an art installation
  • specialist insurance for art businesses
Plus notes on common uninsured risks e.g.
  • under-insurance and
  • failure to properly protect assets from known risks
PRACTICAL REALITIES - and WHY YOU NEED INSURANCE
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Stories from scenes of fire, flooding and tornadoes affecting artists, art schools and art galleries - if you need reminding

Plus case studies, images and videos.

INSURANCE: INFORMATION AND ONLINE ADVICE

More about insurance for art, artists and the art business
  • Insurance for Working from Home
  • ​Insurance for Art Teachers (on a separate page)
  • Insurance for Art Collections
  • Insurance for Art Galleries and Art Fairs
  • Insurance for Commissions / Public Art
COMPENDIUM: INSURANCE POLICIES - IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES

ON OTHER PAGES: Check out what insurance policies for artists and art collections are available...
What aspects of your art and art business do you insure?
The results of very first Insurance for Artists Poll on my blog - 43% of bloggers have no insurance for anything related to art or their activities as an artist (From "What aspects of your art and art business do you insure?" 30 Mar 2012)

What this site does NOT cover

PLEASE NOTE:
  • I do NOT provide insurance 
  • I do NOT sell policies
  • I do NOT provide quotes
  • I do NOT offer advice as to the most appropriate insurance strategy or policies for YOU. Guidelines are generic i.e. general.
  • I am NOT liable for any problems you have as a result of reading this page or any site it links to. YOU make the decisions not me.
I'm in the same boat as you - just looking to see what's out there.

The only difference between you and me is that I created a website which tries to pull relevant information together in one place!  

This site might help you but it can't provide definitive answers to all situations. I also cannot advise you on your personal situations

Only you can satisfy yourself as to what insurance cover you need and whether the policy you buy does all it needs to.
PLEASE NOTE
I don't know which adverts you see (Google tailors them to you and YOU control what you see)
I do not specifically endorse any services offered by advertisements.
I'm also not responsible in any way for the services provided at the other end of a link.

INSURANCE FOR ARTWORK, ARTISTS & YOUR ART BUSINESS

Types of insurance relevant to artwork and artists
​

What sort of insurance does an artist need? 
​
These are some of the different types of insurance which artists might need - depending on:
  • what they do
  • how they work
  • the assets they own or use
  • the liabilities they have to third parties - in terms of public and professional
  • the extent to which they allow access by third parties to their studios and other spaces they own or rent and
  • the country they live in!
Below you will find explanations of the different types of insurance, what risks they cover and why you may need them.

What do you insure as an artist?
​

Artists take a variety of approaches to the insurance of their work.

​However I now know four artists who have lost their studios and everything in it to catastrophic events - and it makes you think and reassess just what should be covered.
(see below for their stories)
​
Try the Poll (in the yellow box) and see how you compare to other artists. 
  • You can choose multiple responses
  • Check the responses to date (see right of Vote button)​
  • View charts from past polls (further down this page)
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ARTIST - Assets
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ART BUSINESS - Liabilities
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ARTWORK - Despatch
Insurance depends on
  • how you transport your artwork
  • what you terms you state in your invoice / note of consignment
  • despatch of artwork to/from client or exhibition (domestic or international)

ARTWORK - Exhibition
You need insurance for artwork that is consigned to:
  • a gallery - whether or not it is on display (ie gallery owner or exhibition organiser who does not own artwork and accepts no responsibility for insurance)
  • an exhibition - in a gallery and/or run by an art competition or art society. 

THE ARTISTS STUDIO
Insurance for the structure and facilities
  • at home (ie separate workspace at home and not residential - and hence not covered by a domestic policy)
  • in a leased unit (with/without insurance in the rent)
Note that some artists report that it's very difficult to get insurance for studios which are NOT built using noncombustible materials

ART MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENT
As we all know art materials and equipment are sometimes far from cheap - and accidents do happen
  • accidental damage to art materials and/or equipment
  • dispatch of art materials to another country
ART SPACE WITH VISITS FROM THE PUBLIC (eg Art Gallery; Artist's Studio)
The following require public liability insurance (see below for more details)
  • a dedicated art gallery
  • artists own studio - used for open studios / clients visiting studio

See What happens if you break an artwork? - the professional response from most museums is they call in the insurers and they pay to fix the artwork

ARTIST RUN WORKSHOPS AND ART CLASSES
  • Liability for your own professional practice and advice to students
  • 3rd party public liability insurance cover for host premises (included in the rental or not)
  • 3rd party public liability for students in art workshops you're running
  • students' insurance (make sure they bring their own!)

COMMISSIONS - PUBLIC INSTALLATIONS
cover for the risks associated with:
  • completing commissions to deadline
  • liability for health and safety of the public

PROFESSIONAL INDEMNITY
  • professional indemnity insurance for those providing professional advice

PRODUCT LIABILITY
  • indemnity insurance for those providing an artistic product and/or installation (e.g. re. health and safety)

ARTISTS AS EMPLOYERS
  • employer liability if employing e.g. studio assistants
REFERENCE
  • Buying insurance? Be certain you understand it | Be Smart about Art - explains why the insurance you have may not cover everything you think it does - and why you need to think carefully about what you need and read the small print

Public Liability Insurance (UK)

Legal aspects of your 'duty of care' - covering your liability as an artist towards third parties - will vary from country to country.
Below is an overview of the situation in the UK.

What is Public Liability Insurance?

This covers you for your legal liabilities if you cause any injury to people (including death) and/or damage to the property of third parties. These liabilities usually arise when people are working in and/or present in a property (including the associated land) where you have a legal duty of care to provide a safe and healthy environment.

Your artwork might also cause injury or death or damage and public liability insurance also covers this - including the installed artwork for those who commissioned it.
Why does an artist need public liability insurance?

To be able to work or hold any activities in any public space - or a space which members of the public can access (eg open studios, workshops in the artists studio) you must have public liability cover. If renting the space this is often a condition of the rental.

Unless you can provide adequate cover, you will will be unable to work or deliver activities in any public space (eg live events) or any space which members of the public can access

If you own the space you can risk being sued for injury or death or damage if anything untoward were to happen. Public Liability Insurance cover often runs to millions of pounds.
Information about Public Liability Insurance
This was the result of an earlier version of this poll. Note the score for Public Liability Insurance!
Picture
Results of POLL: Being an Artist - what do you insure? (Version #1)

Specialist Insurance for Art Businesses

BUSINESS INTERRUPTION / REVENUE PROTECTION FOR ARTISTS
  • Indemnity if you are the main breadwinner and you are unable to work and/or you are suffering a business interruption due to a major loss/damage to your art materials and artwork eg due to fire
Issues:
Over and above the need to think seriously about insurance, it can take time to get back on your feet.
Do you have a back up plan for
  • if you lose your premises for whatever reason
  • if your art equipment / materials are stolen or damaged beyond repair
VEHICLE INSURANCE
  • Use of a vehicle for business purposes. 
Issues:
  • if you are using the domestic family car for business purposes and have not declared this you could find you EITHER don't have any insurance cover in the event of an accident or incident AND/OR the insurer will blacklist you 
GOODS IN TRANSIT
  • This insurance is typically only available from specialist insurers whose customers are the couriers and haulage forms which typically transport goods and need insurance against theft, loss or damage.
  • However if hiring your own van and/or transporting your own artwork this is the cover needed for anything that happens in transit
  • ​Theft of artwork or equipment or materials from unattended vehicles 
Covers business items being moved from one place to another from theft, loss or damage
Issues:
To establish a claim re damage you need:
  • ​Documentary evidence
  • Proof of Valuation - by a reputable source
  • Evidence of proper packing. Photograph how you pack artwork before it moves
  • Evidence that the exhibition or gallery packed your artwork according to you instructions/specification. If you didn't provide these you might be held responsible if anything gets damaged.
  • How it is handled – insurance provided by mover

Specialist Insurance for Artists
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HEALTH INSURANCE FOR ARTISTS 
(e.g. for those who don't have access to the NHS in the UK)
  • Working with hazardous materials
  • Payment of bills for healthcare

REALLY IMPORTANT!!  Risks not covered by Insurance
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UNDERINSURANCE
  • Failing to value the whole risk covered by the insurance for an adequate sum. You are underinsured when (1) the sum insured (i.e. the maximum payout in the event of total loss) is less than (2) the value of the items/business insured (i.e. you can't cut costs by failing to obtain a proper valuation for insurance purposes)
  • Artwork completed and not yet sold only has a hypothetical value. You need evidence of past sales to justify stock loss
FAILURE TO PROTECT PROPERTY
If a property is in an area known to be at risk from a flood then the assumption is made that assets (e.g. artwork and art materials) are stored off the floor
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The practical realities - if you should need reminding...
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If you're not one for putting your head in the sand....

Here are some stories of the practical realities faced by artists, art schools and art galleries when disaster stared them in the face.
I highlighted most of the stories below on my blog when it happened because it seemed to me everybody needs to remember that one day it could be YOU!

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FIRE DAMAGE

Picture
Firefighting, Glasgow School of Art. Source: Wikimedia Commons

FIRE: CASE STUDY - Art School UK

FIRE: CASE STUDY - Art School USA
In 2014, fire raged through the iconic Grade A Listed Mackintosh building of the Glasgow School of Art designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh. After the fire they had a very major project to work out how to reinstate this iconic building - and how to raise the funds to do this.
On 13th February 2013, The Pratt Institute in New York was seriously damaged by fire which took nearly 170 firefighters to extinguish. It destroyed the studios of the Fine Art Seniors and their artwork for their senior projects. The Institute focused on resilience and reputational issues as well as the need to rebuild.

FIRE: CASE STUDY - Art School UK

On the night of 15/16 June 2018, fire AGAIN raged through the Mackintosh Building at the Glasgow School of Art (see ANOTHER Major Fire at Rennie Mackintosh's Glasgow School of Art). It lost its roof and top floors - and all the refurbishment done after the last fire in 2014.

Questions will be asked as to what additional fire protection and precautions had been added after the last fire....
Picture
Aerial view of what remains of the Mackintosh Building after the fire in June 2018 - released by Police Scotland

FIRE: CASE STUDY - Artist USA

What on earth do you grab when you think ... maybe ... your house will burn down??? I grabbed:
1. my computer
2. my purse (with new iphone)
3. some clean underwear
4. all my small paintings
.....The good news is, we have fire insurance.
Carol Marine
Carol Marine (Painting a Day) and her family used to live in Texas - until a fire storm burned down their house and her newly built studio and all her materials and equipment on 4th September 2011. They got out with minutes to spare.  This is their story.
  • Before the Fire and Update cover the fire.
  • Building My Studio is so sad. It covers the process of building the studio and includes photographs of how much is left after a fire burns everything to the ground.
  • Her husband then wrote about Our Plans and their move to Oregon.
  • The aftermath goes on for a long time - and a lot of it is good! Her family lived in a camper for a whole month after the fire and then Carol recorded her family's subsequent move to Oregon, finding a new home, getting her studio back in action and her new life in A New Beginning.
If they didn't have fire insurance it could have been very different.

Artist Proof Studio burned to the ground on March 9, 2003, ten years after its founding, Artist Proof Studio burned to the ground.
Picture
All that remains of Carol's brand new studio after the fire. Her home was also levelled. They had insurance to start again...
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WIND & WATER DAMAGE - HURRICANES, TORNADOES, FLOODING

TORNADO: CASE STUDY

it took only seconds to blow our house apart, snap off every one of our beautiful  oaks, flatten the surrounding forest, sweep away the barn, trash both vehicles, and bury everything we own under a mountain of debris.
Debby Kaspari
Debby Kaspari is an artist who draws birds (see Drawing the Motmot). She lost her home and studio in Oklahoma on 10th May 2010 due to an EF4 tornado which was half a mile wide and travelling at 60mph. She and partner were prepared and survived in their underground steel box in their garage floor. She wrote about the experience  in a short series of posts which graphically illustrate why "total destruction" needs to be considered to be a practical reality
Picture
Debbi Kaspari's home in shambles under fallen tree trunks, branches and crowns.

HURRICANES, FLOODING & WATER DAMAGE: CASE STUDIES
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Below you can see articles and images relating to destruction associated with:
  • Superstorm Sandy (2012) - which hit art galleries in New York very badly
  • Hurricane Harvey (2017) which hit artists homes / stock / studios in the southern states of the USA
  • Hurricane Irma (2017) which hit artists homes / stock / studios in Florida

Many dealers are not openly discussing their losses pending talks with restorers, insurance agents and lawyers, not to mention artists.
Insurance companies now routinely send engineers to individual galleries, and have specific requirements about conditions. ​
...premiums will likely vary on a number of factors.  These include the type of art (some types being more fragile than others), the geographic location (risk of flood, hurricane, or wildfire), the specific location (public display or private collection), whether the art is stored in a vacant facility or not, and how frequently the art will be moved.  Lexology
“Climate change is a great concern to the art insurance industry, particularly because of the hurricanes we are seeing,”
Colin Quinn, director of claims management at AXA Art Insurance.
New York Art Galleries were hit hard by Superstorm Sandy in 2012 when it flooded the city - reaching five feet in depth in some of the Chelsea streets where many art galleries were located.  Afterwards the priorities were renovation of the buildings and restoration of the art
TIPS FOR ARTISTS, ART GALLERIES AND ART COLLECTORS
  1. Don't Cut Corners
  2. Artists Studios need insurance too
  3. Mediate Risk with Design and a Disaster Plan
  4. Risk Allocation: Know Who’s Responsible, and When
  5. Cooperate With Your Insurance Company
  6. Appraise Your “Assets” Regularly
  7. Help Each Other Out
Read the stories behind these tips in The Art of Art Insurance: A Practical Guide for Artists, Galleries, and Collectors ​ 

Did you know that if the artist is still living that only they can determine whether and how the artwork is repaired?

FLOODING CASE STUDY - HOUSTON
Houston Art Galleries were prepared for the devastating rain and flooding associated with Hurricane Harvey.
Houston Artists were less prepared. Many have suffered significant losses of artwork, materials and studios.  Many don't have insurance to help support their recovery. However the local arts groups have rallied around and are supporting artists getting back on their feet

FLOODING CASE STUDY - HURRICANE IRMA

Insurers are getting more savvy about how to protect their clients from submitting huge insurance claims!
Believing that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, some insurers will send in specialists to prepare a home for disaster, for instance, while others will pay to move valuables out of harm’s way.
New York Times
Museums and cultural institutions across Miami are preparing as well, announcing widespread closures and watching the weather in advance of potential landfall. .... museums in Miami have well-developed plans for securing and transporting artworks in the event of extreme weather.
Artsy
In general, artists had better warnings about what they needed to think about both before and after the flooding associated with recent hurricanes.
​Below is a very useful video about what to do if a flood damages your studio - including WARNINGS about the risks associated with floods (e.g. toxic mould which can damage your lungs)
A flood is not water. A flood is a toxic substance usually. 
Protect yourself video

Insurance: Information & Advice 

Posts providing information and advice for artists about insurance are few and far between - hence why this resource was developed in the first place. As I find new and useful links to advice online I'll be adding them into this section.

Making A Mark: insurance for art, artists and the art business
More about insurance for art at peril from the weather / natural environment
  • Shielding Art From Wicked Weather | | Risk and Insurance (By: Steve Yahn October 15, 2015)  - In response to a need to protect fine art and other collectibles from natural catastrophes, the art warehouse industry is on the rise. 
More about insurance for artists and art businesses
More about insurance for art being transported
  • Art on the Move | Risk and Insurance (By: Steve Yahn April 8, 2015) - Underwriting the transportation of fine art is tricky, but some large insurers are keeping the market covered. 
federal law permits interstate freight carriers to limit their responsibility to a nominal sum even when the damage is caused by their negligence

Insurance - Working from Home

Working from home may
  • involve activities not covered by your domestic insurance.
  • invalidate your domestic buildings and contents insurance

For example: third party public liability arises if people have an accident in your home (eg during tuition provided at home; visitors to your home studio). They are NOT there as domestic visitors and covered by you home insurance. They are there because of your business and hence you're NOT covered by your house insurance - and indeed you may be invalidating your house insurance by running a business from home

Then there's
  • employers’ liability insurance - if you employ anybody to help you
  • cover for all business oriented equipment and stock kept at home (i.e. non-domestic contents)
  • cover for goods in transit or products liability

Don't forget - dealing with the insurance aspects does not mean you have addressed all the other relevant matters such as planning permission; mortgagor or leaseholder consent and tax implications on sale of your house (see Selling Art from Home)
DO NOT FORGET TO READ THE SMALL PRINT!
Even if you secure insurance for working from home, you have not finished.

Check whether the domestic insurer for your house and contents is happy with this. I recommend you start by reading all the small print and the statements you make in agreeing to insurance cover to ensure that one does not invalidate the other!

Why? If you don't tell your insurer re buildings and contents that you work from home and you make a claim in the future, the insurance company may decide not to pay out.

Check whether any agreement or discounted price ties you to an insurer for a specific time period longer than a year.

Why? You pay far more than you need to for longer than you need to.

INSURANCE POLICIES for artists and art collections

Over time, I aim to try and crowd-source recommendations about different insurers - and which to avoid.  If you have any specific recommendations please email me (see form at end)

This is a link to information on separate pages about 
Insurance for Artists in Ireland - I recommend you review Insurance for Artists by Visual Artists Ireland which provides information and recommendations about insurance brokers in Ireland who deal with artists
DISCLAIMER:
The inclusion of a link to a website does NOT endorse or otherwise indicate the organisation provides either a reputable and effective service.

However one has to start somewhere when inviting quotes!

Insurance - Commissions / Public Art

A very specialist area of art insurance relates to:
  • the delivery of artwork for corporate commissions and/or
  • public art installations

You cannot assume that an insurer covering art will automatically provide this cover.

As an artist you also need to be very clear as to who is liable (the artist or the commissioner) for what aspects of damage covered by insurance
e.g. failure to deliver to 'time is of the essene' deadline and damage to the art after installation.

If you are liable as an artist then the cost of the insurance premiums rolling forward need to be prived into the quotation given for the piece.
REFERENCE:

Are you disaster resilient? Do you use risk management?
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One of the ways of
  • reducing the need to make a claim
  • reducing the premium you need to pay
is by adopting a risk management strategy towards your art collection, art studio, art storage, art gallery, art school etc etc 

READ MORE about risk management 
The International Council of Museums has decided it needs to develop a NEW ICOM-Disaster Resilient Museums Committee.

REFERENCE:

Would you care to share?
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QUERIES:  
Do you have any queries about insurance for art and artists?
(I can't promise to be able to provide answers but your questions will help inform the development of this page.)


RECOMMENDATIONS:  
Do you know of any companies or sites which you would be happy to recommend?
​

PLEASE SHARE:  
If you think this site would be useful to other artists you know please share it - social icons can be found below and at the top of the page.

    Feedback and Suggestions
Header Image: Photo by Hermes Rivera on Unsplash
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DISCLAIMER
  • I'm not a professionally qualified expert in this area.
  • However everybody has to start somewhere and the aim of this website is to get you thinking about the right questions to think about and ask if and when you need to get professional advice.
  • The links contained on this website are those which could be found by anybody doing extensive research on the Internet. This is your shortcut to the hours it took me to put this site together!
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