FINE ART, JEWELRY & COLLECTIONS

Insurance for the Things That Matter Beyond Their Price.

A painting. A ring that was a grandmother's. A collection built over thirty years. These things carry meaning that standard contents coverage does not understand. BCU does.

Valuation, Movement, and Insurance for Collections.

Most homeowners insurance policies cover personal property up to a capped limit, with sub-limits that often exclude the items collectors actually care about. Fine art is excluded or severely limited. Jewelry is capped at a few thousand dollars. Wine and watches are treated as ordinary contents. Collectors who rely on homeowners coverage for their collections are almost always underinsured.

A BCU collection program treats the collection as what it is: a set of unique assets that require their own valuation, their own coverage structure, and their own attention when they move, travel, or are loaned out.

What a BCU collections program addresses

• Fine art and collectibles on dedicated valuable articles coverage
• Jewelry and watches on scheduled or blanket coverage depending on the situation
• Wine collections, including in-home storage and off-site cellars
• Appraisal strategy and regular valuation updates so coverage keeps pace with the market
• Transit coverage for works moving between homes, to restoration, or to exhibition
• Storage coverage for items held in vaults, freeports, or third-party facilities
• Exhibition risk for private loans to museums, galleries, and shows
  

Built for Collectors, Not for Contents.

BCU works with serious collectors and with clients who inherited collections and are not sure what they have. Both groups tend to be underinsured, for different reasons. Collectors often assume their coverage has kept pace with their acquisitions. Inheritors often do not know the values have moved at all.

Most collections clients fall into one of these categories

• Private collectors of art, sculpture, photography, or decorative objects
• Jewelry and watch collectors with pieces beyond standard insurance limits
• Wine collectors with meaningful cellars at home or off-site
• Families who inherited a collection and need a valuation and coverage review
• Foundations and philanthropic collections held in private residences
• Collectors who loan works to museums or public exhibitions
  

Collections Require Specialist Handling.

Review

We review current schedules, appraisals, and storage arrangements. Most reviews surface items that have not been reappraised in years.

Design

We work with specialist carriers who understand collectibles and structure coverage around how the client actually uses and moves the collection.

Advocate

When something happens to a piece, handling matters as much as the payout. We coordinate with restorers, appraisers, and carriers to preserve value wherever it can be preserved.

Related Practice Groups

When Was the Last Time Your Collection Was Appraised?

If the answer is more than three years, there is a meaningful chance your coverage no longer reflects the collection's current value. We can help you find out.