Artist recovers full value of art after fire due to off-site documentation
A professional artist in California lost 60 original works when a canyon fire destroyed her home and studio. She was away from her home at the time, and her laptop was in her car with her. She was preparing information for an upcoming exhibition, so a computer file had details including gallery pricing about each work of art.
She collected payment from her insurance company for the full price for all her works, because her art and its value were documented.
Insurance company refuses to pay for art inventory when fire destroys records
An out-of-control grass fire crept into the walls of the J. Hudson Galleries warehouse, and the space between the interior and exterior walls acted as a chimney to spread the flames at near lightning speed. The warehouse served as inventory storage for works waiting to go into the gallery’s downtown showroom and as a work area for the restoration of antiques and vintage fine art. In total, there had been 800 pieces in the 4,800-square-foot facility. After the fire, there were only ashes.
Jay had kept records both on paper and on the computer. But the contents of the file cabinets were charred, and the computer was a melt-down. Dealing with his insurance company left him as hot under the collar as the fire had left the smoking debris.
The insurance company wanted proof for every item that Jay claimed as inventory. Even those receipts found offsite for some older purchases were questioned by the adjuster. He pointed out that the works identified on the receipts could easily have been sold during the past year. Jay bristles at the phrase he heard from one insurance representative: “We don’t pay for blue sky.”
In the end, $100,000 of the $147,000 inventory was deemed “unrecoverable” for payment from the insurance company because there was no current documentation. Jay lost two-thirds of his inventory value even though his policy limits were in excess of the amount claimed.
“Had I had records someplace else, I could have produced documentation. That’s why I found National Fine Arts Title Registry to be of interest. The inventory records would have been safe. The system automatically transfers records out of my portfolio when a work is sold, so the records shown in my portfolio are only currently owned art,” said Jay.
Note: Registration of fine art does not provide insurance coverage. Talk to your insurance agent for proper coverage and loss reimbursement policy.
