The calculator and the quote form below are in Dutch. Prefer to do this in English? Email info@finassverzekert. nl or call 072 - 509 24 56 and we will take it from there.
Work out for yourself what it would cost.
Enter your details; you will receive a proposal within one working day.
We compare the offerings of several insurers
An adviser checks whether the cover suits your situation
A premium indication, not personal advice. Prefer to talk it through? Call 072 - 509 24 56.
In brief
Art cannot be insured as home contents. There is no replacement value as new and no depreciation table. There is a value that an expert has established. A valuation carried out in advance binds you and the insurer to that amount, within the limits that Article 7:960 of the Dutch Civil Code sets on payment above the loss suffered. Without a valid valuation the burden of proof shifts to you after a loss. See also our page on art insurance in general.
The cover is usually comprehensive on the item: any sudden, unforeseen event, so including a fall from the wall or a knock while rehanging. That is a fundamentally different structure from the list of perils in a home contents insurance, where only the named causes count.
We compare this cover with what other parties offer, including the art products of Hienfeld. For business assets and technology of an altogether different kind, see our page on insurance for tech companies.
The structure of the cover in three parts, with an overview per situation below.
Basic cover
The basic cover insures the core of your fine art insurance. We show what Hiscox and other insurers offer within it.
Fire & lightning strike
Burglary & theft at home
Explosion & smoke
Water damage at home
Extended cover
As well as the basic cover, also protection against loss, damage and theft away from home, including from external causes.
Theft outside the home
Loss
Damage from dropping or knocking
Valuation & appraisal
Comprehensive worldwide
The most complete cover. We compare Hiscox's extended version with the market.
New-for-old settlement
All risks: any sudden damage
Worldwide cover
Disappearance without a cause
What is covered
Situation
Extended
Comprehensive
Fire, smoke and water damage in the home
Yes
Yes
Theft after forced entry
Yes
Yes
Knocks and falls at home
No
Yes
Loss or theft away from home
Provided that
Provided that
Damage during transport, repair or exhibition
Provided that
Provided that
Wear, shrinkage, damp and insect damage
No
No
A home contents policy has sub-limits: for jewellery, audiovisual equipment and collections a lower limit applies than for the rest of the contents. If your items exceed that, you insure them separately on a valuables policy, usually on the basis of a valuation (7:960 DCC). Underinsurance leads to a proportionately lower payout.
What we do
What we do
At Finass
Direct with Hiscox
Comparison across several insurers
Yes
No
Advice based on your own situation
Yes
Sometimes
One point of contact for claims
Yes
Sometimes
Cancellation with your current insurer arranged
Yes
No
We determine whether Hiscox is the best choice
Yes
No
Advice fees for you as a customer
No
No
This overview concerns our service, not the cover. What is actually covered is set out in the policy conditions and on the insurer's insurance card (verzekeringskaart); you receive both before you take out cover.
Where things go wrong in practice
Four points that make the difference between a policy that pays out and one that does not.
The valuation determines the payment, not the auction price
A valuation report from a recognised expert fixes the value for an agreed period. If the market for an artist moves sharply, your sum insured falls behind and you pay the difference yourself in the event of a total loss. So agree a revaluation period and update after a purchase, gift or inheritance. For works below a certain threshold, a purchase invoice is often used instead of a full report.
Loss in value after repair is a separate item
A successful restoration rarely produces a work worth as much as before. The damage history stays attached to the item. Good policies pay for that fall in value alongside the restoration costs, on the basis of a valuation after repair. Note the other side: if something goes wrong during the treatment itself, that is the restorer's error and recovery runs through his professional indemnity insurance (BAV), not through your policy.
The risk moves with the work to the exhibition
As soon as a work leaves the house, the risk picture changes: packing, loading, waiting in a store, hanging in a gallery. Cover during transport and loans must be arranged explicitly and often reported in advance. Unskilled or inadequate packing is a classic exclusion, as is damage arising while work is being carried out on the piece. Record the condition with photographs on departure and on arrival.
Gradual effects are not sudden damage
Fading from light, craquelure from dry air, mould behind an outside wall, woodworm in a frame: those are processes, not events. Along with inherent defect and wear and tear they fall outside virtually every comprehensive cover. The insurer may also impose requirements on the climate, the hanging system and the security of the place where works are kept. If you do not meet them, that affects the cover for damage that is sudden as well.
Theft & loss
New for old
What does your premium depend on?
Valued amount of the collection. The total of the established values is the basis of calculation; individual key works are often named separately.
Composition. Works on paper, photography and sculpture have different vulnerabilities from oil on canvas.
Where works are kept and the climate. A home, an office or a conditioned store; humidity and temperature control count towards acceptance.
Security. Burglary resistance, alarm response and how works are fixed to the wall determine the theft risk.
Transport and loan. How often works are transported or lent out for exhibitions widens both the cover and the premium.
Valuation and revaluation cycle. A recent report and an agreed updating period make acceptance simpler.
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
How we arrange it
You request a quoteWe take stock of your situation, your risk and your wishes.
We compareseveral insurers, on premium as well as conditions.
You receive a proposalWith an explanation of the differences and the exclusions.
We arrange the switchIncluding cancellation, so there is no gap in cover.
Customers rate our service on four aspects: personal service, service delivery, availability and the outcome. The reviews are collected and published by NH1816 and come from customers who have actually taken out a policy with Finass Advies B.V. or reported a claim.
Not always. Above a threshold agreed with the insurer, a valuation report from a recognised expert is usual; below it a purchase invoice or an itemised list is often enough. The report has a limited period of validity. If it expires and the market moves, you are insured below value and bear the difference yourself in the event of a total loss.
Is my art covered during transport to an exhibition?
Only if transport and loans are included, and often only after notification in advance. With professional art carriers the cover is wider than when you drive yourself. Inadequate or unskilled packing remains excluded. Record the condition of the work with photographs at the moment of departure and immediately on arrival at the gallery.
What if a work is worth less after a successful restoration?
That fall in value is a loss item in its own right alongside the restoration costs and is paid on wider policies, established by a valuation after repair. Check whether this element is included, because it is not a given. If something goes wrong during the treatment itself, you recover that from the restorer's liability.
Is damage from damp or sunlight covered?
No. Fading, craquelure, mould and damage to wood arise gradually and count as inherent defect or wear and tear. Those are excluded, including on a comprehensive policy. What does count is a sudden event involving water, such as a burst pipe. Climate control and where you hang works are therefore part of acceptance.
Read more
Within Art on home contents or valuables insurance
Finass Verzekert is a trading name of Finass Advies B.V. We advise on and arrange non-life insurance on the basis of an objective analysis of several insurers, and receive commission for this from the insurer, which is included in the premium. You pay no separate advice fee. Before you take out cover, we establish your wishes and needs.
You will find our licence, KvK and Kifid details and our complaints procedure at the foot of every page.
