Numerous high networth individuals buy and hold art as connoisseurs. There are also a number of investor-collectors who view art as a good financial investment. While they were earlier wary of insuring their collection for fear of disclosing details to a stranger, times are well and truly changing. Art and other valuables are highly vulnerable to perils like fire, burglary, theft, flood, malicious defacing, and accidents even when they are either stored, displayed, exhibited or in transit. This has unveiled a huge market for insurance companies, who are vying for a slice of this top-dollar space. The target customers include business promoters, corporate honchos, sport personalities, movie actors and their families.
"Given that art and other valuables are increasingly considered as an asset class, demand for art insurance is poised to grow in the future. The estimated value of art that can be insured in India is about Rs 6,000 crore," Mukesh Kumar, executive director, HDFC Ergo General Insurance, told DNA Money. Only a small segment is covered with art insurance policies since there is lot of undisclosed art/valuables in the Indian market, he said.
