Just Stop Oil Protests – Highlighting the Need for Specialist Insurance?
One of the world’s most famous and recognisable pieces of artwork, Vincent van Gogh’s Sunflowers, has recently been at the centre of controversy about climate change protests. Two activists from the Just Stop Oil campaign threw tomato soup over the painting at the National Gallery in London.
Whilst the painting itself was not damaged due to it being behind protective glass, the frame itself did receive some minor damage and required repair. This follows similar incidents involving climate activists glueing themselves to a copy of Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper in July and throwing cake at the Mona Lisa in May. It’s not known where the next attack could be, and the number of recent incidents has highlighted the need for valuable possessions like art to be protected, both physically and when it comes to insurance as well.
And it’s not just paintings that are vulnerable. Seemingly anything with a link to climate change – or not in the case of the paintings – can be viewed as targets. Even one luxury car showroom was hit by an attack. It seems that anything could be a target for protestors, no matter their agenda.
But whilst infamous works of art and expensive cars are protected behind glass and are housed in high-security buildings; your painting, artwork or other valuables might not have as much protection. So what can you do to protect your high-value possessions?
Take Out A Specialist Insurance Policy
The best way to protect your valuable possessions is through insurance. There are all sorts of reasons why you might want to take out cover for your high-valued artwork, including accidental damages, mishandling and even theft – but deliberate and premeditated attacks may require further cover.
If you have a high-value item then you might require a tailored policy just for that one item. Or, if you have an art collection that’s worth over £1000, you should be looking to take out a specialist art insurance policy at the very least, as regular contents cover won’t pay out enough if your valuable collection gets damaged, lost or destroyed.
And if attacks on pieces of expensive artwork become more common, then it’s likely that premiums could increase if you don’t take effective action to mitigate against emerging threats. This not only includes ensuring that you have the adequate insurance policy in place, but it also takes into account what protective actions can be taken to minimise the risk of any damage happening to your valuables.
Specific art insurance policies are available for high-value items that are loaned to museums or displayed privately, which can take into account factors such as where an item is located, how it’s stored and how it’s handled. So risk management can be baked into a policy, but requires tailoring to ensure you have the right cover for your piece of artwork.
Protecting Your Assets
There are two ways of protecting your items from an attack. The first is by ensuring that the right risk management and prevention strategy is in place to ensure your property isn’t damaged. In the case of famous pieces of artwork, this is usually through the use of a glass screen. The second is to have the right level of insurance so that any damage that does occur can receive the correct payout.
Dover Street Insurance Brokers can work with you to ensure that your art or valuable items have the most suitable and adequate cover available to protect you just in case your property is damaged by deliberate acts. A unique policy can be created which takes into account your artwork’s age, location, value and any physical protection you have in place.