Art & specie
In this chapter of our Annual Insurance Review 2024, we look at the main developments in 2023 and expected issues in 2024 for Art & Specie.
Key developments in 2023
In a year that has seen the British Museum reporting around 2,000 artefacts missing, stolen or damaged, there have been renewed calls for accountability for the failure to take care of cultural property of other countries, and for items to be returned to the countries of origin. In China there have been calls for the British Museum to return Chinese artefacts. The Greek government has renewed calls for the return of the Parthenon Sculptures, also known as the Elgin Marbles, and Nigerian officials have also called on the museum to return the Benin Bronzes.
The lack of a full record of artefacts held by the museum has been criticised, but this is certainly not unique to the British Museum. Glasgow Museums have been unable to locate a sculpture by world famous sculptor Auguste Rodin, said to be worth £3m, and this is said to be just one of almost 1,750 items currently listed as missing or stolen. The Imperial War Museum, National History Museum and Museum Wales have all also reported large numbers of missing items.
The recovery of artefacts will be hampered by a lack of evidence of provenance, and the length of time over which it is thought these artefacts have been stolen. The British Museum has said that it will now digitise its entire collection.
No doubt insurers will be giving renewed scrutiny to whether their policyholders have in place a comprehensive inventory of all artworks and adequate security as well as the risks of policyholders inadvertently dealing in something which turns out to be stolen.
What to expect in 2024
2024 will continue to see technological advances to manage and monitor the risk of damage.
Whilst shipping works of art by sea has in the past been unpopular due to its higher risks and resulting higher insurance costs, that has changed as part of the transition to net zero carbon and the introduction by the Gallery Climate Coalition (GCC) and Lloyds Market Associate Joint Specie Committee's best-practice guidelines for the insurance of artworks travelling using sea freight. Technology can assist in managing the risks involved and generating data which will assist underwriters in making decisions.
Advances in risk mitigation technology such as the ability to detect early signs of deterioration, and the ability to monitor and control the temperature, humidity, illuminance exposure and visibility can mitigate risks and keep insurance costs down. Real time environmental monitoring data and virtual tracking systems, including the ability to track shock and tip of a shipping container for instance, can also be used by underwriters to assess risks and determine future pricing.
More generally, technological advances also assist in supporting decisions as to authenticity and condition (including pinpointing when any damage took place, and the extent of that damage). The ability to obtain a digital fingerprint of painting surfaces will assist in combating art fraud and support insurance of high value artworks. Such technologies are set to be of increasing assistance in claim disputes.
Written by Karen Malik.