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Insights · 22 September 2026

Art in the house is not automatically insured

A household contents limit is written for furniture and ordinary possessions. A collection — paintings, sculpture, watches, wine — needs to be scheduled, valued and placed with an insurer that will pay on that class of risk. The same lines exist in Portugal and in Spain. The wording does not travel with the piece unless someone asks it to.

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Reviewed by Hugo Gonçalves, Founder & Risk Management Specialist at Adler & Rochefort · Degree in Business Management (University of Hertfordshire) · Ongoing training at the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII), London.

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.

How we insure art, jewellery and watches →

Household first, then schedule

Most Portuguese and Spanish home policies cap unspecified valuables. Above that cap the piece is underinsured or simply not covered. Agreed value, against a valuation, is a different contract from “contents up to a sub-limit”.

The technical note for Portugal is when a collection outgrows a household policy and how an art claim is settled — restoration, loss in value, transit. This page is the cross-border version: same products, two legal systems.

Ask for a quote — it takes under a minute

Tell us the essentials. We reply in writing within 24 working hours and only ask for more if we need it.

A piece that moves is a different risk

Transit between a Lisbon apartment and a house in Marbella is a gap if the wording never mentioned it. Storage during works, a loan to a gallery, a month on a yacht: each is a location the household policy may never have been told about. Say where each piece lives, and whether it moves.

Why independence matters on collections

A tied agent places what their insurer will take. Collections are often declined or restricted there. As an independent broker we go to markets that write art — including specialists such as Hiscox — and we do not have to force the piece onto an Allianz or Zurich household wording that was never built for it. We also do not pretend those names are always the answer. The risk decides.

Occupancy sits underneath the collection

If the house is also let, or left empty for months, the home wording under the collection changes. A refused household claim does not become a paid art claim because the painting was scheduled on top of a policy that was already wrong about how the house is used. Tell us both.

Private clients, Portugal · Private clients, Spain · Request a review

Frequently asked questions

Does my home insurance cover the paintings?

Only up to the unspecified-valuables limit in that wording, which is often far below the value of even one picture. Above the limit the piece needs to be scheduled, with a valuation the insurer will accept.

If I move a work between Portugal and Spain, is it still covered?

Only if the wording says so. Household contents usually assume the items stay at the address on the schedule. Transit, a second home, or storage needs to be declared.

Do I have to use the insurer who covers the building?

No. The building or the resort policy and the collection are separate contracts. We are not tied to the insurer the developer or the household insurer prefers.