Fine art insurance for superyachts, what to know.

Any marine broker can place your Hull & Machinery, Protection & Indemnity and Crew Welfare cover but what happens about the valuable contents on board a Superyacht?

Hull insurers happily allow a small element of contents cover on their Hull policy however it is far from designed to be insuring fine art and rightly so. Fine Art is a specialist field that should only ever be underwritten by dedicated fine art underwriters. 

Not only should the underwriter be the right one for the job but the cover provided is correct for the item insured. So what do you get with a fine art policy and how should superyachts deal with fine art on board.

When spending EUR 200 million on a Superyacht its going to have unmatched quality throughout, we generally only see the big white hull of a yacht from the outside but where most of that money is spent is inside. Yes clients hang pieces of art on the wall of the yacht however what about all the abstract sculptures and wall art that is bespoke made for the yacht, this carries huge value in itself and is considered art as well.

Fortunately physical security on board and by crew members is second to none, fire detection and suppression systems have to comply with industry standards and private clients want the very best security onboard for safety not just security. Its common to have in excess of 100 cameras on board a superyacht matched by high end fire and other intruder security therefore security doesn’t tend to be an issue for art insurers. So what is the risk?

Combine fuel, electrics and water and you could get a disaster! 

How many yacht fires have you heard of in the last 2 years?

Yacht fires have dominated the superyacht industry headlines and we know there is generally one culprit….lithium ion batteries. I wrote a full blog on that alone here however fire is without doubt the largest risk to an art insuring when insuring fine art on board super yachts.

£100’s of millions of art can be kept on yachts have a read of this article to learn more, meaning the upmost care must be taken to ensure lithium ion battery fires do not break out and if they do what is the disaster plan to remove firstly the people but then the value art. 

In short, Hull and Art insurers hate lithium batteries. They’re known to cause many fires and sometimes not because of anyones fault. A hot, either on charge or not, lithium ion battery can trigger a thermal runway which is extremely difficult to put out and with many flammable materials on board a yacht the fire can spread in seconds leaving no option but to abandon the yacht to save yours and other lives.

What am I saying here?

Theft, should be ok. Many items will be secured anyway.

Vandalism, might occur on a charter if the clients are fools. Same with malicious damage and theft.

Water damage, potentially if the fire suppression system is triggered but that’s better than fire damage.

FIRE! Fire is the largest risk to art insurers on board super yachts.

If you require insurance for fine art on superyachts, contact us not only is our business experienced in insuring all high value assets but I personally and a qualified yacht captain so I know a thing or two about yachts too. Not many brokers have that under their belt!

Samuel Cise

Managing Director

Saxon Insurance Brokers

0203 384 0303