Message-ID: <F65D59F0E8994EE4840A49C1E50E4A2A@D6M9HM91> From: "Kathy Laakso" <kathyl@douglashistory.org> Subject: Re: Museum artifact insurance Date: Thu, 15 Sep 2011 14:25:09 -0500
We insure our building but not our collections for the reason Don said.
We did invest in a good security system to alert us to break-ins and
fire.
Kathy Laakso
Director
Douglas County Historical Society
1101 John Avenue
Superior, WI 54880
Phone: (715) 392-8449
dchs@douglashistory.org
----- Original Message -----
From: Don Jensen
To: localhistory@listserve.uwec.edu
Sent: Thursday, September 15, 2011 12:17 PM
Subject: Re: Museum artifact insurance
I guess my question is two-fold. . . Why would a society insure its
artifacts? Do other societies/museums on this list, in fact, insure
their artifacts, and why?
I of course understand insuring your building, and your fixtures
(cases, display units) and your equipment. In case of fire, water
damage,
theft, all those are replaceable, at a cost. Insurance makes sense.
You can build a new museum and buy new equipment.
But artifacts are irreplaceable in most cases. You can’t go
out and buy a replacement family Bible of a prominent local family.
How do you even place a value on something that you cannot replace
with insurance money. Even assuming you can find an insurer
who will quote a premium that will pay you $2 million for your
archival collection if it burns up and is gone, what do you do with THAT
insurance money
you receive?
Maybe I am missing something here. . . but I don’t see how
paying substantial insurance premiums
for what is essentially uninsurable, puts you, as a museum, in a
better situation in the event of a castastrophe. Seems to me you are
in no more favorable situation if you insure your collection than if
you don’t. In that case, it would seem that your premium money
has been wasted. .
I guess my main question is do other museums insure COLLECTIONS, and
if so, why?
Don Jensen
Kenosha History Center BoD
From: William Woolley
Sent: Tuesday, September 13, 2011 4:34 PM
To: localhistory@listserve.uwec.edu
Cc: Tebon, Craig
Subject: Museum artifact insurance
The Ripon Historical Society is considering buying insurance to cover
its collection of artifacts. If anyone has done this recently could you
contact me and let me know your experience.
Bill Woolley, President
woolleybill@gmail.com