Every serious collector knows the first rule: schedule the important pieces at an agreed value, fixed against a valuation, so that a total loss pays that figure without an argument about depreciation. The private-client wordings we place go further, and the further part is where collectors are most often surprised — pleasantly, if the schedule is kept up to date.
Who insures art, jewellery and watches: Chubb, Hiscox and Liberty
We place collections with three insurers. They are not interchangeable: each fits a different home and a different collection. Which one fits depends on the house, where the pieces are kept and how often they are worn, and we put the wordings side by side before recommending one.
Chubb — Masterpiece Signature
For homes with a building sum insured from €1,000,000, with the art, jewellery and watches on the same policy.
- Valuables covered anywhere in the world. Pieces listed as kept in a safe or a bank vault are covered only there, unless agreed in advance; unlisted jewellery and watches are limited to €25,000 in total and €7,500 per piece.
- Protection when the market rises: if a scheduled piece is worth more than its sum insured at the time of loss, the market value is paid. Jewellery and watches valued within the last two years, up to the category total; art valued within the last five years, up to twice its sum insured, with a maximum increase of €5 million.
- Loss of value after a covered loss is paid, even once the piece has been repaired.
- New acquisitions covered automatically if declared within 90 days: art up to 25% of its sum insured (maximum €5 million); other categories up to 25% (maximum €500,000 each).
- Choice between a cash settlement and repair or replacement by a provider you choose; no deductible on claims above €10,000.
Hiscox — home insurance for residents
For a permanent residence in Portugal or Spain, with contents from €150,000.
- Art and antiques, and valuables and personal possessions, insured in separate sections with an all-risks extension.
- Personal possessions covered worldwide, within the limit stated in the schedule.
- No deductible on claims above €10,000, except earthquake.
- Theft cover may require an alarm connected to a monitoring centre and serviced every year.
- Second homes: Hiscox's holiday-home policy does not cover jewellery and watches, so valuables kept in a second home need a different arrangement.
Liberty Mutual and Innovarisk
Home Plus from Liberty Mutual for the house (contents from €150,000), with the collection placed on Arte by Innovarisk.
- Fine art covered worldwide; jewellery and watches insured as valuables, with the sum insured split between a bank safe, the home and worldwide.
- Listed pieces are paid at their listed value. Unlisted pieces are capped at €3,750 per item, pair or set, so every important piece has to be on the list.
- Loss of value after restoration is paid for art and for valuables, and the added value of pairs and sets is taken into account.
- Deductible chosen at €0, €1,000, €2,500 or €5,000.
- Private collections only: dealers' stock is excluded, as is the mechanical or electrical breakdown of a watch.
What we need for a written opinion
- A list of the pieces that matter: artist, technique and dimensions for art; brand, model, reference and serial number for watches; metal, stones and certificates for jewellery.
- Valuations and invoices, with their dates, and a photograph of each piece.
- Where the pieces are kept: safe make, model and certification, bank vault, alarm and whether it is monitored.
- Which pieces are worn or travel, and how often.
- Your current policy, if you have one.
Conditions summarised from each insurer's policy documents; the policy issued and its schedule always prevail, and cover is subject to the insurer's acceptance.
When the market moved: protection against undervaluation
Art markets move faster than renewal dates. A painting scheduled at a figure set five years ago may be worth far more when it is lost.
- Fine art: if a scheduled work turns out to be worth more than its sum insured, and it was professionally valued within the five years before the loss, the policy pays the market value up to twice the sum insured — capped at an additional €5 million.
- Jewellery, watches and other valuables: the same principle, with a two-year valuation window, up to the total sum insured for the category.
The practical lesson is simple: the date on the valuation certificate is part of your cover. Revalue fine art at least every five years, and jewellery and watches every two.
Partial loss and loss in value
A damaged work can often be restored, but rarely to its full market value. The policy pays the restoration, with no deduction for wear and tear, plus the loss in market value that remains afterwards, measured as a percentage. For pairs and sets of art or jewellery — one earring, one of a pair of vases — you can surrender the surviving piece and be paid for the whole set.
Defective title
Provenance is the collector’s blind spot. If a third party claims that a scheduled work bought while insured was stolen, looted or never lawfully sold, the policy pays the legal costs of defending the claim and, if the claim succeeds, the loss of the work — up to a set amount each year. The cover does not apply where the problem was known or could have been discovered by reasonable enquiries into provenance before the purchase, which is one more reason to keep the due-diligence file with the invoice.
When was your collection last valued?
The date of the valuation decides how much protection you have if the market has moved. Send us the schedule.
Commissions, loans and new acquisitions
- Works in progress. A commissioned painting, sculpture or piece of jewellery damaged before completion — or left unfinished because the artist dies — is covered for the materials and labour paid or contracted.
- Borrowed works. Art and jewellery lent to you are covered for the first seven days of the loan.
- Your works on loan to a museum or exhibition remain covered. Tell the insurer before the loan begins.
- New acquisitions in a category you already schedule are covered automatically for 90 days, up to a quarter of the category’s sum insured; declare them within that time.
- Theft by a domestic employee is covered; misappropriation within the family is not.
What the unscheduled cover will not do
Items that are not listed individually fall under per-article limits, and inside the household contents they meet special limits for jewellery, watches, silver, collections and wine. A watch collection or a cellar left inside the contents limit is underinsured by design. If a piece matters, it belongs on the schedule.
Exclusions to keep in mind: damage during cleaning, restoration or reframing, gradual deterioration and light, pests, and — for stamps, coins and collectibles — fading, creasing and temperature extremes. Conservation conditions are part of the risk.
A short checklist
- Every important piece listed individually at an agreed value.
- Fine art valued within five years; jewellery and watches within two.
- Provenance file kept with the invoice for every purchase.
- Commissions in progress and loans declared before they start.
- New acquisitions declared within 90 days.
- Jewellery kept in a safe or vault where the schedule requires it.
Talk to us
Adler & Rochefort places private-client cover for art, jewellery and collections in Portugal and Spain. We review the schedule, the valuation dates and the storage conditions, and set out in writing what the policy would pay today. See also insuring art in Portugal and Spain and jewellery and watches.
Adler & Rochefort is a commercial brand of Ownizo, Unipessoal Lda., registered with the ASF under no. 425591790/3. General information from an insurance intermediary, not personalised advice; what a policy covers depends on its wording and on the insurer’s acceptance of the risk.