Insuring Art during Shipping and Exhibition

[Garth Herrick]

Who has experience with art exhibition and shipping insurance agents? Is there any agency that is affordable out there?

I need to borrow a painting from a client for about a week at the outermost for an exhibition. As an experienced professional art handler, I will be shipping the painting in my own personal car, to a four day exhibition in a different city, and returning it personally to the client. This is hardly different logistically than painting and delivering the finished portrait to this client on my own in the first place. The exhibition will be extremely secure, but alas, it will not provide insurance to exhibiting artist's works. So on this occasion, my client requires me to produce a certificate of insurance specific to this destination and exhibition venue.

So far I have one quote from a prominent and reputable art insurance specialty agency that has me reeling because the premium they quoted is higher than the prize I can reasonably expect from this exhibition! It has a deductable as high as the premium, and understandably I will not be permitted to leave my car for the purpose of paying for fuel at a rest stop, etc.!!

What does everyone else do to insure their works?

Thanks in advance

Garth