Iknow you’re going to make fun of me, so let’s just get this over with. I bought art on a cruise ship. OK, laugh. While gallery owners and art appraisers will mock you for this, you could do worse. My husband and I faced an unusual situation at our house: a blank wall. I had moved some art around leaving a glaringly empty wall in the entryway. This wouldn’t normally be a problem, but DC and I have di erent tastes and di erent philosophies about acquiring art. I like to buy art from local artists. He likes art from “known” artists. We also both work, so don’t have the luxury of strolling through art galleries or going to art auctions at Sotheby’s. If, while out on my own, I see a piece I like, chances
Buying Art on a Cruise Ship Could Get You in Deep Water — Or Not
of getting him to see it are slim and chances he’ll like it even slimmer. So, the wall stayed bare.
“We’ll look on our cruise,” DC said a couple months back, referring to a long-planned vacation coming up. I sighed. He’s a bigger fan of cruises. The thought of these oversized ships with their central parks, ice rinks, massive bu ets and freeowing alcohol used to make me want to climb into a tent with a granola bar and read a book by ashlight. But he convinced me to try. I have come around. And that’s marriage. He has also convinced me to attend
■ See JAMESON, page 4
Copy that — Whether a work of art is an original, a signed and numbered serigraph or a poster of the same image will impact its value, said Candace Hill, a certi ed art appraiser in the Denver Metro area who o ered this example. At auction, a signed poster, left, of Andy Warhol’s “Marilyn” sold for $952. A signed silkscreen print, center, sold for $156,250 and a signed original, right, sold for $28 million.
has started and permitted with the city to convert the shop to retail and access upgrades. The upstairs addition shares the 721 Main Street address, and this part of the building has current remodel plans and a permit that can be assumed by new owners. Rough framed, plumbing and electric are finished, but insulation is not completed. Heat and air system also in. Main building could be anything you want with residential at the second floor with a deck and stairs leading down to a fully fenced 40x49’
lot and year round creek.
Marni Jameson At Home
Photo courtesy of Candace Hill
Insurance companies need more freedom in California
State Farm Insurance recently led for rate increases with the California Department of Insurance. They are seeking a 30% rate increase for most homeowners, a 36% increase for condominium owners and a 52% increase for renters. State Farm has the largest number of homeowner policies, followed by Liberty Mutual, Farmers, Nationwide, and USAA. The o cial response from Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara was “This has the potential to a ect millions of California consumers.” Do you think?
Before State Farm policy holders go ballistic with the proposed rate increase, has anyone been grocery shopping recently? Where is the outrange when a jar of Best Foods Mayonnaise is $8? College students should be protesting $10 Happy Meals. President Biden said, “in ation is the lowest since May of 2021.” So why do mortgage rates remain 200% higher?
State Farm should increase their rates to whatever they believe they need to be pro table. If that’s too much for existing policy holders, they should drop State Farm and choose another insurance provider. In a free and open market, that’s what consumers generally do. When the price of a product or service becomes too expensive, they shop for an alternative. However, a free and open insurance market doesn’t exist in California. State regulators have nearly regulated the homeowners insurance industry out of business.
The frustration with the cost and availability of homeowners insurance is understandable. It’s a mess. Premiums are too high; we don’t have enough providers and the Department of Insurance regulations and political sensitivities do more harm than good.
It’s been over a year since State Farm announced they would stop o ering new homeowners insurance policies in California. Other major carriers including Allstate, Hartford, GEICO, and Liberty Mutual have le the state or refuse to accept new applications. In the last ve years a dozen homeowners insurance
companies have le California and no new companies have come into the state. That’s because insurance companies have been losing billions of dollars from claims primarily due to devastating wild res. When a manufacturer or service provider experiences increased costs for labor or materials they pass that cost along, ultimately reaching the consumer. When an insurance company in California wants to pass along its costs of recovering wild re claims and allow for anticipated future claims, they must seek the approval of the Department of Insurance. That’s the bottleneck. It may take years for a rate increase to be approved. There are hearings and studies and reported ndings, lawsuits, and negotiations. It’s a bureaucratic endless process that most o en results in a negotiated settlement much less than the requested increase. When requesting a rate increase, insurance companies present the Department of Insurance with audited documentation as to the company’s past income, expenses and claim loss history. It’s all about numbers, and actuarial analysis. The decision to approve a rate increase by the Department, however, is also a political decision. As an elected o cial, the Insurance Commissioner is sensitive to pressure from consumers advocates and voters to keep premiums low. “Insurance Commissioner approves 30% increase” is not a winning campaign slogan.
According to David Russell, professor of Insurance and Finance at California State University, Northridge, “The reason people are having trouble getting insurance is that regulators haven’t let premiums keep up.”
If insurance companies had been allowed to adjust their premiums 5% yearly since the Camp re in 2018 we would not be in this situation today. Insurance companies can absorb billions of dollars in claims as long as they have the ability to adjust their premiums to recover past losses, account
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Marni Jameson GRAPHICS
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the ship’s art auctions, which I used to think were cheesy because, in fact, some of the art for sale is cheesy, like the kind where two olives hold hands and dance in a martini glass. This isn’t a judgment. It’s simply a fact.
Park West, the company that runs art auctions for many cruise lines, knows what its cruising customers like. The organizers also know that when vacationers are out to sea with all their cares on a distant shore, they are primed to splurge. These mates hold a glass of champagne in one hand and a numbered paddle in the other. They sit on velvet chairs in a room with others in the same boat, literally. Next, a fast-talking auctioneer unveils artworks on stage,
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All real estate advertising in this newspaper is subject to the federal Fair Housing Act which makes it illegal to advertise “any preference, limitation or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, physical handicap, familial status or national origin, or an intention to make any such preferences, limitation or discrimination.” California also extends protection based on age and marital status. The Mountain Democrat makes every effort to comply with these federal and state regulations. We ask your assistance in maintaining an acceptable standard of advertising. While they may seem inconvenient at times, these laws are written to protect you, our readers and advertisers, as well as ourselves. This newspaper will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate which is in violation of the law. Our readers are hereby informed that all dwellings advertised in this paper are available on an equal opportunity basis. For further information, you can call the Dept. of Fair Employment & Housing at (916) 445-9918 or the State Dept. of Consumer Affairs at (800) 344-9940.Note: Rental ads that contain the phrase “Single Occupancy” refer only to the physical characteristics of the dwelling and are not intended to state a preference of either marital or familial status.
extols the virtues of the artist and the piece and explains why you must that minute become its owner.
Numbers and money (from $50 to ve- gures) y. Gavels bang. And next thing you know, someone is going home with a signed, numbered, framed Salvador Dali. It’s crazy. But I’ve decided if my husband and his wallet are open to buying art on a ship, I’m on board.
We agreed on this. We wanted a contemporary, preferably original work, about 30 inches by 40 inches with blues and oranges, a water motif since we live in Florida and, oh, in our budget. Although the chances of nding a piece that hit that sweet spot was as likely as nding a casino on Mars, we told the auctioneer what we were looking for. He opened his laptop and pulled up several works on the ship, including one from a rising Florida artist that miraculously checked all our boxes. He showed us the actual piece and price. We researched the artist online to nd out what his pieces sold for. The opening bid for the
framed original was much lower. “Sailing at Dawn” is on its way to our home. The whole experience made me realize I needed a ne-art refresher. Whether on land or sea, the uninitiated can quickly get into deep water buying art. Back home, I called ne art appraiser Susan Filebark, of Vero Beach, Fla. Filebark learned her cra from her mother, who appraised art for museums, and had as one of her maxims: “Never buy art on a cruise ship!”
We got that laugh out of the way. Then she helped me break down what a ects art value, so if you ever nd yourself with a paddle in one hand and champagne in the other, you’ll be ready.
• The artist. How well-known the artist is will a ect sales price. Some collectors only want signed originals or limited-edition art from listed artists, de ned as an artist who has sold art at an auction.
• Original or limitededition. Although a oneof-a-kind signed original will command the highest price, if an original by an artist you like is out
of your price range, look for serigraphs, stone lithographs or engravings by that artist. These limited-edition prints are produced in multiples yet still considered ne art. Because the printing plates deteriorate with multiple impressions, production stops when the artist, who generally oversees the printing, no longer approves the quality, thus making a limited edition.
• Signed and numbered. In the bottom margin of a limitededition print is a fraction, such as 42/150, written in pencil. That indicates it is the 42nd print in a run of 150. The artist typically signs each print. Usually, these print runs are fewer than 250. Runs much over that make the print less valuable.
• Giclées. An ink-jet printing technique that transfers digitized scans of ne art directly onto canvas, giclées allow for realistic reproductions at a ordable prices. To tell the di erence between a giclée and an original, look closely with a magnifying loupe for any pixelation or cross hatching. Also
feel it. A giclée won’t have any paint build up from brushstrokes. The exception is with handembellished giclées, where the artist (presumably) paints over parts of a giclée to give it an authentic look, and signs it. Though this will raise the value, it’s still a giclée underneath.
• Open-edition prints. These are basically posters with large press runs. They are worth only their decorative value. Sometimes artists sign posters, say at a museum exhibition, which may increase the value, but doesn’t make it a limitededition print.
• The value hierarchy. If Filebark were to use dollar symbols like in a dining guide to assign value from most to least expensive, an original would be $$$$$, a signed limited-edition ne art print $$-$$$ and a giclée $. I have all of these in my home.
“If you want to buy art by a certain artist,” Filebark said, “look in the secondhand market. Watch for works to come up at art auctions or nd the artist and buy direct from his studio.” Galleries are also an option. Or, if you like having a wide selection, a choice of frames, the cost of shipping included, and free champagne, check your snobbishness at the door and consider buying art on a cruise ship.
Marni Jameson is the author of seven books including the newly released “Rightsize Today to Create Your Best Life Tomorrow,” “What to Do With Everything You Own to Leave the Legacy You Want” and “Downsizing the Family Home.” You may reach her at marnijameson.com.
Serving El Dorado County
for anticipated future losses, and still make a pro t.
It’s prudent for state government to insure an insurance company is nancially capable of meeting its potential obligation. But why should the state be regulating what a private company charges for their service? Regulated insurance rates set by the state is unfair to policy holders. Currently, the “state approved” premium for a $500,000 policy is basically the same regardless of the home’s construction and defensible space. If insurance companies were allowed to charge whatever they believed they needed to be pro table, premiums would likely be higher, but consumers would have more choices. Insurance companies would decide the amount of risk they would insure and at what cost. Individual e orts for wild re prevention would be evaluated and a rate for a policy determined by re prevention e orts.
The California insurance market is where every insurance company wants to be. We have millions of homes all requiring
insurance. In addition to property insurance, a good many of the state’s 39 million people have additional insurance needs. The opportunities are here if the Department of Insurance would allow companies broad discretion in their rates.
If legislative changes are not made to the Department of Insurance, more companies will abandon California, more properties will be insured through the California FAIR Plan and more homeowners will be uninsured. According to a study by the Consumer Federation of America, 14% of California homeowners are uninsured.
These Californians likely understand the importance of having insurance, and the risk of not having coverage. They simply could not a ord the premiums. The FAIR plan isn’t the solution. Free and open markets are the best for business and consumers. Let insurance companies and homeowners decide what ‘s best for them.
Ken Calhoon is a real estate broker in El Dorado County. He can be reached for questions and comments at ken@kencalhoon.com
OPEN HOUSE DIRECTORY
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11-2
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Sunday, July 14, 2024
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POLLOCK PINES $1,100,000
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Placerville Ranch home on 5 useable acres! You will spend lots of time at the Built in swimming pool w/spa, pool area fenced. Or in the 2 SHOPS! Man cave. Solar. Tall R/V-Boat port. Updated kitchen, 4+ bedrooms, 3 baths. Local views. 5 oak treed acres, partially fenced & mostly useable! Home needs a bit of fixing up, but has potential plus! Call Ty & Marysue for a tour!
