Blanket vs. Scheduled Fine Art Insurance

a close up of a paintbrush

Art of any kind is unique by nature, and fine art is even more extraordinary. It also has exceptional value attached. Both factors make fine art extremely hard to reproduce, repair or replace in case of unexpected damage or losses. As a result, the owner absolutely must insure the piece(s) appropriately.

Fine art insurance is customizable to the individual policyholder’s needs, and it’s imperative for you to work with your agent to cover your full collection as extensively as possible. Many policies offer two coverage options: Scheduled items coverage and blanket coverage. Depending on which option you choose the way you will receive compensation will vary.

Let’s take a closer look at the perks of each of these coverage items.

How to Think About Value When Insuring Art

Fine art, whether housed in a museum or owned as part of a personal collection, must be protected against loss, theft or damage. After all, any unexpected, unavoidable damage to a piece of art equals value lost, and that’s something that the owner should not have to face without insurance support to help you recoup your losses.

When insuring pieces, you want to receive adequate compensation for the value lost. However, policies can offer a couple of different forms of compensation depending on the structure of the policy.

Scheduled Items Policies: Think of a scheduled items policy as a list of each item in your collection. Under this coverage, each piece of art is listed by itself, and insured for a stated amount. The benefit of this coverage is that is ensures that you receive a specific, determined value for each piece damaged or lost. The drawback to this coverage is that it might institute per-item maximums on certain pieces, and as you sell or acquire pieces, you will have to add them to your policy individually.
Blanket Items Policies: Unlike scheduled items policies, you will calculate the value of all of your pieces, and then choose a policy limit that reflects that total value. The perk to this coverage is that you won’t have to frequently add or remove items from your policy. However, you will have to periodically adjust the value of your policy limit as the values of individual items increase.

Whether you buy a scheduled or blanket policy, you must have the items in your care appraised and collect documentation of their values. This will help you in selecting either your scheduled items coverage limits or your blanket limit. Furthermore, you will have to periodically have items re-evaluated in case your policy needs adjustment. It’s imperative that you keep this documentation on file, because you’ll need it to help prove the veracity of your claim if one arises.

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