Collection Care:
Considering Insurance by Fran Phillips
I
t’s exciting to have your work or a quilt from your collection included in an exhibition. You expend the time and effort necessary to see that the paperwork is filled out and the quilt is carefully packed, labeled, and delivered to the carrier. Tracking number in hand, you return home and wait. Your part is finished. The rest is glory. Until it isn’t. There’s only one way for this story to end happily. Your quilt arrives at its destination, is hung properly, and the show is a success. After receiving due acclaim, it is returned to you, in the same condition it left your hands. The ways this tale could end unhappily are legion. The quilt could have been damaged during the installation or exhibition, or stolen from the venue or its storage facility. It could disappear in transit or be damaged. While these scenarios are mercifully infrequent, they do occur, and given the number of quilts travelling the world’s courier routes and being exhibited at any one time, chances are quite a few fine works will meet such a fate. While there’s no way to prevent this from happening, you can, like a good Scout, be prepared. One insurance resource you may be overlooking is your homeowner’s or tenant’s insurance, which covers your possessions as well as your residence. If the value of your quilts or quilt collection falls below the coverage limit, you probably are safe. Most such policies have a sublimit (cap) on items deemed portable and valuable, such as fine art, jewelry, firearms, etc. The cap might cover items collectively or singly, and your policy will spell this out. If your quilts are worth more, you have two options. You could schedule those items at replacement value on your policy. Or you could secure a personal articles floater, which is a stand-alone policy. The coverage is generally broader and less expensive, and compensation is at an agreed value. 12 | SAQA Art Quilt Collector
Compensation comes three ways: actual cash value, replacement cost, or agreed-upon value. Actual cash value is the market value minus depreciation — good for cars but impractical for art. Replacement cost is what it would cost to replace the item. Agreed value acknowledges that the item cannot be replaced and that it will be paid for at the price mutually agreed upon. So, what’s it worth? You’ll need to know the value of the work. An appraiser will consider such things as whether the maker is a “name” or an emerging artist, past sales, whether this work is recognizable as part of a body of work or is a new (unestablished) direction for the artist. While art appraisers may feel competent to evaluate any media, you are probably better off choosing an appraiser who specializes in textile arts. Keep in mind that in coming to a settlement, you may be offered less than the stated value but not more. If you are working with an art shipper, they will be able to guide you through their insurance requirements. Some have insurance groups with which they work, others prefer you to consult your insurance professional. All the art shippers we’ve investigated require insurance of some form. You’ll need to ask about “ocean marine” policies which cover international transport regardless of transportation method, or “inland marine” policies which cover personal items within the United States, its territories and possessions, and Canada. Let’s look at transit problems first, remembering that your first defense against loss during transit is to package the quilt securely in a sturdy container. The carrier services most often used by quilters are the United States Postal Service (USPS), United Parcel Service (UPS), and Federal Express (FedEx). All three deliver worldwide. So do you need to insure your
