From: "Rebecca DuBey" <curator@saukcountyhistory.org> Message-ID: <W1957929464611316119599@webmail32> Date: Thu, 15 Sep 2011 20:46:39 +0000 Subject: Re: Museum artifact insurance
The Collections Room of a museum I worked in was flooded; water from the
ceiling, on the floor, coming in through the walls, it was a Horrible Mes
s. Checking with our insurance company I discovered that our Secretary ha
d been filing the insurance reports, and had assigned our artifacts value
s such as " 59 cents, $1.25. $6.50.... (She didn't watch Antiques Roadsho
w!)
Taking pity on me, the insurance company asked us to evaluate what it wou
ld take to bring the collection back to a usable condition. We quickly go
t bids from a Conservator on the time she would estimate for us to work o
n the collection, the materials we would need, and, since the room was a
disaster area, the cost to build a new room, equip it with HVAC, and put
good locks on the doors.
With the money we received, we did build a new room, put in a new HVAC, l
ocks on the doors, and hired her services for 3 days a week for six weeks
. We also ordered archival supplies, a ladder to reach the new shelving,
and conservation supplies. In that time she and I cleaned clothing and ar
tifacts, installed shelving, numbered them, renumbered the collection, an
d entered it on the computer.
I am a strong advocate for getting insurance. I suggest a Fine Arts Polic
y that is attached to the building insurance. This policy can be quickly
updated to include incoming and outgoing loans, wall to wall coverage, an
d premiums paid as the adjustment is made.
Rebecca DuBey
Curator, Sauk County Historical Society
-----Original Message-----
From: Destinee Udelhoven [mailto:destineekae@hotmail.com]
Sent: Thursday, September 15, 2011 02:38 PM
To: 'Wisconsin History List Serve'
Subject: RE: Museum artifact insurance
At the Historic Indian Agency House we carry a blanket fine-arts policy t
hat is basically a set amount of coverage for our entire artifact collect
ion.
Such insurance is not intended, in most cases, to replace artifacts that
hold a high amount of "historic" worth (because these items, as noted pre
viously, are certainly irreplaceable). Such insurance, rather, could be u
sed in the event of a catastrophic event that damages such an item (to pr
ofessionally repair or restore it). Even more so, artifact insurance prot
ects an organization from the loss of or damage to those items of high mo
netary worth--for, as Antiques Roadshow has taught us, much of our old st
uff is worth a heap of money. Such items are held by most every historica
l society or museum. And, even if we can't REPLACE the item lost, we can
use that money to seek a comparable item for our collection. (As an aside
, this same arguments can be applied to, say, historic automobiles. I bet
anything that if you were lucky enough to own a 1957 Chevy, you would in
sure that sucker--even if it was, technically, irreplaceable.)
But, perhaps most importantly as I see it, museum and historic socieites
have a responsibility to protect the items we care for to the utmost of o
ur abilities--including insurance coverage. People donate their meaningfu
l family treasures and the like to museums and historic instiututions bec
ause they expect us to safely protect their treasures for future generati
ons. Insurance is another step we can take to care for these objects.
Please note: I know that insurance is expensive and that this often dicta
tes whether or not an institution carries it. I am not arguing that it is
cheap. Just that it is a worthwhile expense that should be carefully con
sidered.
Humbly,
Destinee K. Udelhoven
Executive Director
Historic Indian Agency House
Portage, Wisconsin
(608) 742 - 6362
War makes rattling good history; but Peace is poor reading.
~Thomas Hardy
,
> Date: Thu, 15 Sep 2011 14:15:26 -0500
> Subject: Re: Museum artifact insurance
> From: renie.giese@gmail.com
> To: localhistory@listserve.uwec.edu
>
> I fully agree with Don Jensen's message. We at the Waterloo Area
> Historical Society have insurance for the building ant that's it. We
> have limited funds from the city, and fundraise all the rest of our
> budget. Our artifacts are priceless and no way can we afford
> insurance. The best we can do is "oversee" everything so hopefully
> nothing happens.
>
> Maureen Giese, President & Curator of the Waterloo Historical Museum
>
> On Thu, Sep 15, 2011 at 12:17 PM, Don Jensen <dnjkenosha@wi.rr.com> wro
te:
> > I guess my question is two-fold. . . Why would a society insure its
> > artifacts? Do other societies/museums on this list, in fact, insure t
heir
> > artifacts, and why?
> >
> > I of course understand insuring your building, and your fixtures (cas
es,
> > display units) and your equipment. In case of fire, water damage,
> > theft, all those are replaceable, at a cost. Insurance makes sense. Y
ou
> > 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 wi
th
> > insurance money. Even assuming you can find an insurer
> > who will quote a premium that will pay you $2 million for your archiv
al
> > collection if it burns up and is gone, what do you do with THAT insur
ance
> > 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 bett
er
> > 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 c
ontact
> > me and let me know your experience.
> >
> > Bill Woolley, President
> > woolleybill@gmail.com