Although it should turn out to be surprising, The Portuguese ladies in waiting of Velázquez, as well as the rest of the works property of the State does not insure itself. The value of these works and the price of what would cost his insurance is incalculable. That's why, only they make sure if they are going to be moved. In these cases, there is contemplated the price of appraisal of the work. Only the insurance of the linen of Inocencio X of Velázquez for his exhibition one month in the Prado Museum in 1995 cost 14.000 million pesetas. The problem arises at the time of coming to an agreement in the appraisal of the work, sometimes inestimably. This was the motive round which the Guernica of Picasso traveled from New York to Spain without insurance. In case they should incur some loss, they are provided with the guarantee of the State.

LOADINGS

The safety conditions of the housing constitute an essential aspect at the time of determining the premium. The higher is the value of the picture, the major are usually the accident control measures and the minor the loss risk, therefore so much per cent that costs the insurance is proportionally a minor.

Others of the expensive pieces of assuring are the fragile works, so much for the materials - glass, ceramics, archaeology - as for the difficulty of his conservation - photos, watercolors. A loading is added to him to the insurance of between 10 and 20 for thousand and even the objects rompibles can multiply the cost of the insurance by two.

But the most common insurances are those who are hired when it is desirable to move it or the pieces, normally to an exhibition. The prices change depending on the trip and the duration of lamuestra and again the fragility of the work increases the costs. To move The Three Thank you, of Antonio Casanova, to the Museum Thyssenpara his exhición in Spain, cost to the baron 200 million pesetas. It was the only transfer of the sculpture for his owners, National Gallery of Scotland and the Victory and Albert Museum and probably last, given his fragility.

Although in the transfers the accident control measures are reinforced, to transport the Gioconda of Leonardo da Vinci to Tokyo in 1974, the Museum of the Louvre made a special container, istermo and unsinkable. Also the baron Thyssen carried to extremes the precautions in the transfer of his collection of Switzerland to Spain in 1992. The companies Bonus Ultra, La Estrella, Banco Vitalicio, Aurora Polar, The Union and the Phoenix and Musini grouped in the Spanish Pol of Big Riesgoscon the intervention of S&C Willis Corron, covered the trip. The insured capital was amounting to 31.320 million pesetas and the premium to 21 millions, according to Bonus Ultra.

MORE OFFERS
The insurances contracts grow

Although the thefts increase seems not to have come to Spain (in the Official Headquarters of the Police they point out that the number of denunciations has not increased for theft to individuals and a descent is even appreciated in churches), it is no wonder that the number of contracts of insurances of works of art there is incrementadoen 20 %. This is the estimation that they realize from Norstern. But also the rest of the companies has seen his business growing thanks to the art. In Mapfre, they deposit a year 150 million pesetas for this concept, sgún there indicates Alberto Vegue, assistant director of the Department of Transports. "Every time he insures himself more and the insurance policies are cheaper", indicates Carmen Sarandeses, director of Transports and Special Risks of S&C Willis Corroon.

The market of the art has been revitalized and every time they are more the collectors of painting, sculpture and antiquities. For each of them diverse types of insurance exist, since the same is not a picture that a furniture, an engraving or an antiquity. In principle, it is considered to be a work of art to the works with value superior to five million pesetas, but it is an only one fact orientativo.

In most cases, the works of art insure themselves along with the rest of the housing, in an apóliza todorriesgo of the hearth. Although they include some clauses, like the possible depreciation of the work. But the valuations defieren depending on the works. In principle, the pictures are the most expensive works of art of assuring because they are usually the most valuable. "The valuations change between the 1 and 4 for thousand, although the most habitual average is 2,5 for thousand in insurances todorriesgo", stands out Marc d¨Hauteville, the director of Norstern in Spain. That is to say for a picture of Picasso, whose value out of approximately 10.000 million pesetas, they would be paid between 25 and 30 million pesetas a year; and for a work of Miquel Barceló that costs between 12 and 16 million pesetas on the market, approximately 35.000 pesetas to the year - transfers apart - although again the tariff depends on others variable.

WHY TO ASSURE?

Because the experience teaches us that the protection of the goods and patrimony, by means of the insurance, minimizes the affective and material loss that he supposes facing the risks to which the works and objects of Art are submitted in general.
On having assured his works and Art objects, he assures the perpetuity of the Culture and Artistic Patrimony.
Many works and objects of art, paintings, sculptures, engravings, photos, are fragile for nature of his materials and vulnerable ones to different damages.

To recover stolen work

In the cases of robbery or theft one of the targets is to try to recover the Work of art, for which, for example, the insurance company "Axa Art" this one associated with "Art Loss Register" (with head offices in New York, London, Perth (Australia) and Dusseldorf), entity specializing in the diffusion of information of missing Works of art, which operates in narrow collaboration with INTERPOL and National Police officers.

Web of "Axa Art"