Insurance Policy on Art
I managed to get a healthy insurance policy on my inventory yesterday, which I thought would require a lot more footwork. I have an extensive database of my inventory, several hundred paintings, sculptures, thousands of drawings and equipment. Inventory insurance is good for the professional artist to know and exercise if there is a solid market for one’s work. I did not need an appraisal. The policy covers maybe 40% of the retail value of my inventory but even this is a major step. It is not cheap but nothing in my luxury business is. I’ve always been wary of inventory storage. As an artist you hear the war stories where an old barn goes up that contains the entire life’s work of a sad painter. So I bought a concrete bunker that is firewalled off. My only real concern is water damage, but my art is off the floor 5 inches in a structure that has no flood history. Concrete is a better storage facility than a tinder box in my estimation. 3 little pigs.
Oh, and do I have horror stories about my uninsured artist friends. First things first, a catastrophic health policy then a better health policy - look into HSA’s which are sweeping the nation for healthy young people. You don’t do this and you’re nuts. Then get your auto, a contents blanket policy for your office and home, then art. Life comes if you’ve got the critters running around, but otherwise it’s unnecessary. I cannot stress insurance enough. I pay for it and artists have to have it.
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