1. Underinsurance as values shift
Recent analysis from Ecclesiastical, drawing on the Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report, points to a return to growth in the global art market during 2025. Sales increased by around 4% year-on-year, with momentum building in the second half of the year and particularly at the highest end of the market.
For collectors, that recovery is encouraging. But it also brings a more complex reality. As values rise, so too does exposure.
In our experience advising private clients, three key risks consistently come into focus.
Art markets can move quickly, and often unevenly. While some pieces may hold steady, others can increase significantly in value over a relatively short period.
The challenge is that collections are typically not reviewed as frequently as the market moves. Pieces acquired years ago may still be insured at historic values or based on purchase price rather than current replacement cost.
Ben Hanly, Impressionist, Post War & Contemporary Art Specialist, Doerr Dallas Valuations comments:
When quoting for potential new clients, we regularly find that collections are:
- valued infrequently – sometimes at more than five-year intervals
- updated only at renewal, if at all
- insured on figures that no longer reflect today’s market
As a guide, valuations should be reviewed every three to five years, but periods of market volatility may warrant more frequent attention.
Without this, clients may be exposed to underinsurance, which is often only discovered at the point of claim.
2. Transit, storage and multi-location exposure
Many of the greatest risks to art collections arise not when pieces are on display, but when they are moving.
Whether being installed, loaned, transported between homes or placed into storage, each stage introduces additional exposure:
- handling and packing risks
- environmental changes such as temperature and humidity
- complexity around international transport, including customs and logistics
Industry data indicates that damage most often occurs during transit or handling processes, rather than as total losses.
For clients with multiple residences – or collections split between homes, storage and galleries – these risks are compounded further.
3. Increasing severity of single-item losses
As the market recovers, the strongest growth has been seen at the highest end of the market.
This has an important implication: value is increasingly concentrated in individual works. In practice, that means a single item within a collection may now represent a far greater proportion of overall exposure than it did a few years ago.
From a claims and underwriting perspective, we are seeing:
- higher values attached to individual pieces
- greater sensitivity to valuation accuracy
- increased importance of ensuring cover responds correctly
When losses occur, the financial impact can be materially greater than clients expect.
Insuring collections in a changing market
For high-value collections, insurance is only as strong as the preparation behind it.
At Lumley, our role is to ensure that clients are properly prepared before a claim ever arises.
That means:
- understanding the full scope of the collection
- ensuring valuations are accurate and up to date
- identifying how and where pieces are stored or moved
- placing cover with insurers who specialise in this space
It’s this structured approach – we call it ‘the Lumley Way’ – that ensures the policies we select for clients perform when they are needed most.
A timely moment to review
A recovering art market is a positive signal. But it is also a prompt to revisit how collections are valued, protected and insured.
For many clients, a simple review of valuations and how their collection is structured from an insurance perspective, can provide reassurance that everything is aligned with today’s market realities.
If you would like to discuss your collection or review your current arrangements, we would be very happy to help.
