Artwork insurance, rising prices supply the market

The crisis of 2009 is no more than a distant memory in the field of art. After a few years of decline, art trade has reached new heights. The proof lies in the fact that ten of the largest works of art transactions in history were carried out after 2012.

Pointing ManIn 2017, the total turnover of the global art market reached 63.7 billion USD. The United States was the largest market. China and the United Kingdom came next. These three markets combined accounted for 83% of total sales.

Price inflation is mainly caused by the emergence of new buyers, especially from the Gulf countries, China and India.

The growth of this sector reinforces the need for insurance. Museums and collectors are more focused on securing their nuggets.

Between 2009 and 2020, the average annual global art market reached 51 billion USD.

Due to the health crisis, the sale of works of art at auction decreased by 22% in 2020. However, a rebound of 117% was recorded between summer 2020 and summer 2021. Digitalization and the increased use of online sales are among the factors that have supported the recovery of the art market.

The most expensive artworks in history: top 10 according to the insurable value

ArtworkArtistInsurable Value
Salvador Mundi
Leonard de Vinci450.3 million USD
Women of Algiers
Pablo Picasso179.36 million USD
Red Nude (or Reclining Nude), (front view) (1917-1918)
Amedeo Modigliani179.4 million USD
Red Nude (or Reclining Nude) (seen from the back) (1917)
Amedeo Modigliani157 million USD
Three Studies of Lucian Freud
Francis Bacon142.405 million USD
Pointing Man (or Man Pointing)
Alberto Giacometti141 million USD
The Scream
Edvard Munch119.9 million USD
Young girl with a flower Basket
Pablo Picasso115 million USD
Untitled
Jean-Michel Basquiat110.5 million USD
Silver Car Crash
Andy Warhol105 million USD

Artwork Insurance: major claims that may affect masterpieces

The fact that more and more works of art are moving around the world makes it indispensable to insure them. Today, collectors shift their art pieces between several premises. Museums multiply loans to supply the schedules of temporary exhibitions. Auction houses send their key works on world tours before the sale.

Insurance coverage and shipping are now among the largest items of expenditure for most commercial galleries and museums. The stakes are high and the insurance products offered are increasingly numerous.

According to Joe Dunn, President and Chief Executive Officer of specialized broker Huntington T. Block, 85% of the claims affecting works of art are generated by transit losses. Natural catastrophes as well as acts of terrorism represent another threat for art collectors.

Burglaries are also a significant risk. The most spectacular recent example is the robbery of the “Musée d’Art Moderne” of Paris in 2010 where art works worth more than 100 million euros were stolen.

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