The short answer. Art should be insured on an agreed-value, all-risks fine art policy, with each significant work itemised at a value set by an independent valuation and revalued regularly. Ordinary home contents cover is built for replaceable, depreciating belongings and usually limits single valuable items; a unique painting has no like-for-like replacement. The clauses that decide what a claim pays are the settlement basis, the average (underinsurance) clause, cover for newly acquired works, loss of value after restoration, and transit. Underinsure and an average clause can cut every partial claim in proportion — the worked example below shows how much.
This guide is about paintings, works on paper and sculpture. If you hold several categories — watches, wine and cars as well as art — the step-by-step process for the whole collection is in how to insure a luxury collection.
Why home contents cover falls short for art
A household policy assumes objects that lose value and can be replaced from a shop. Art does neither. Three gaps recur when you read the wording:
- Single-item and valuables limits. Contents policies commonly cap any one valuable and the total of valuables. Read both figures against your most valuable work, not against the average.
- Replacement or depreciated settlement. A policy that pays what it costs to buy "a comparable item" has nothing to compare a unique work with, so the figure becomes a negotiation after the loss.
- Exclusions. Accidental breakage, gradual deterioration and "mysterious disappearance" are often excluded or restricted — and those are exactly how art is damaged or lost.
What a specialist fine art policy offers: one insurer's published terms
Specialist wordings differ, so read the policy rather than a brochure. As a concrete reference point, Chubb's US collections page (read 16 October 2026) states:
| Feature | Chubb's published term |
|---|---|
| Total loss settlement | "100 percent of the agreed value as a cash settlement" |
| Market appreciation | pays "up to 150 percent of the amount itemized" if market value has risen above it |
| Newly acquired items | temporary cover for "up to 90 days", capped at "25 percent of the itemized coverage" |
| Appraisals | required only for items "valued at $100,000 or more" |
| Deductible | most collectible losses covered "with no deductible" |
| Territory | "flexible, worldwide coverage options" |
This is one US insurer's published terms, not a recommendation and not a market standard. Use it as a checklist of what to ask any insurer or broker for.
Worked example 1: the average clause
An average clause lets the insurer pay only the same proportion of a claim as your sum insured bears to the full value. Howden, the broker, quotes a typical wording — "We may only pay the same proportion of any claim as the sum insured bears to the full value of the property" — and notes it can apply to the fine art section of a policy.
Say a painting is insured for £60,000 but is worth £100,000 when it is damaged, and the restoration claim is £12,000:
| Line | Calculation | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Proportion insured | £60,000 ÷ £100,000 | 60% |
| Insurer pays | 60% × £12,000 | £7,200 |
| You pay | £12,000 − £7,200 | £4,800 |
Nothing was lost in full, yet you carry 40% of the bill because the schedule was out of date. In the UK the Financial Ombudsman Service says it will usually find it unfair to apply an average clause if the insurer did not ask for the full replacement cost, asked unclear questions or did not warn about underinsurance — but relying on a complaint is not a plan. Keep the valuation current.
Worked example 2: market appreciation and newly acquired works
Using Chubb's published caps above:
- Appreciation cap. A work itemised at $40,000 that is worth $70,000 when it is destroyed: the policy pays up to 150% × $40,000 = $60,000, leaving a $10,000 gap. The cap is generous, but only up to a point; revaluation closes the rest.
- New purchase cover. With $400,000 of itemised cover, automatic cover for new purchases is capped at 25% × $400,000 = $100,000 for up to 90 days. Buy a work at a $100,000 hammer at Phillips New York, where the standard buyer's premium is 29% up to $2 million (rates effective 12 April 2026), and you have paid $129,000 for a work worth more than the temporary cap. Schedule it before you collect it.
The clauses that decide whether a claim pays
- Agreed value against market value. Agreed value fixes the settlement at the outset on a valuation the insurer has accepted; market value settles at whatever an appraiser argues it was worth on the day.
- Loss of value after restoration. A restored work can be worth less than before. A strong policy pays the restoration cost plus the reduction in value; a weak one pays only the restorer's invoice.
- Pairs and sets. If one of a pair or one panel of a series is damaged, check whether the policy pays for the loss of value to the whole set or only the damaged part.
- Territory and transit. Many losses happen in transit or installation, not on the wall. Confirm cover follows the work to a restorer, a fair, a loan exhibition or storage, and survives a commercial carrier.
- Newly acquired works. How long, and up to what limit, a new purchase is covered before it is scheduled.
What the insurer will ask for
Assemble these at purchase, not after a loss:
| Document | What it proves at claim time |
|---|---|
| Purchase invoice | Ownership, and what you paid |
| Independent valuation | The sum insured is not self-declared |
| Condition report with dated photographs | Damage is new, not pre-existing |
| Provenance file | The work is what the schedule says it is |
| Framing and installation records | The mount and hanging were appropriate |
The condition report is the document most often skipped and most often decisive. Photograph each work under even light, front and back, including stretcher, labels and inscriptions, and keep the images off-site. What the provenance file can and cannot prove is covered in what the paperwork actually proves.
Revaluation discipline
Howden recommends that art, jewellery and watch valuations are updated "at least every five years"; for a collection that is moving in value, more often is safer. A workable rhythm:
- Every year: review the schedule for anything bought, sold, lent or moved.
- Every two to three years: fresh valuations on the most valuable works, where the exposure concentrates.
- After a market move in an artist or segment you hold heavily — the art market trends 2026 page explains why segments move separately.
A free first estimate from our valuation tool can tell you whether a schedule is obviously stale; it is not a substitute for an independent valuation.
Where cover ends and prevention begins
No policy gives you back a particular object — it gives you money. For anything you would not replace with a cheque, finish the insurance conversation with the environmental one: light, relative humidity, the wall and the mount. Those decisions are in caring for and framing fine art at home, and which materials last at all is in what art survives a century.
Frequently asked questions
Does home insurance cover artwork?
Usually only up to the policy's single-item and valuables limits, and often with exclusions for breakage, gradual deterioration and mysterious disappearance. A specialist fine art policy, with works itemised at agreed values, is the usual answer for valuable art.
What is an average clause in art insurance?
A clause that lets the insurer pay only the proportion of a claim that your sum insured bears to the full value. If a £100,000 painting is insured for £60,000, a £12,000 restoration claim pays £7,200 and you pay £4,800.
How often should art be revalued for insurance?
Review the schedule yearly and revalue the most valuable works every two to three years. Howden recommends updating art valuations at least every five years; sooner after a purchase, a move or a market change.
Are newly bought artworks insured automatically?
Only if the policy has a newly acquired items clause, and only up to its limit and time period. Chubb's US terms, for example, cover new items for up to 90 days, capped at 25% of the itemised cover — so schedule a significant purchase straight away.
What is the difference between agreed value and market value cover?
Agreed value pays the figure accepted at the outset on a total loss; market value pays what the work is judged to be worth on the day of the loss, which can lead to a dispute.
