A gallery's walls are mostly covered with property it does not own, at values nobody can replace from a catalogue. That makes two things decisive: who bears the risk while the work hangs there, and what figure a claim settles at.
Consigned work and the agreement behind it
Most stock is on consignment from artists or collectors, which means the gallery holds somebody else's property. The consignment agreement should say explicitly whether the gallery insures it, at what value, and from when: on collection, on arrival, or on hanging. Where it is silent, the gallery is usually treated as bailee with a duty to take care, and a claim becomes an argument. Goods in trust cover at the aggregate value held is the instrument, and the aggregate changes with every show.
Valuation, and settling a claim
Fine art is insured on an agreed value or stated value basis rather than on market guesswork, because a damaged unique work has no replacement. Policies for this market also address partial loss and depreciation, since a repaired painting is worth less than an undamaged one and the difference is the real loss. Galleries that keep condition reports and photographs on arrival can prove what a work looked like before it was hung, which is the whole evidential question.
Transit, installation and art fairs
Work is most at risk when it moves. Transit to and from the gallery, packing and unpacking, hanging and de installing, and attendance at art fairs each need naming, and fairs in particular take the work abroad and outside domestic territorial limits. Specialist carriers limit their own liability, so the gallery's cover is what actually answers a damage in transit claim rather than the carrier's.
The public, the premises and the wall
Public liability covers a visitor injured by a work falling, a plinth tipping or a sculpture being touched, and openings with drinks concentrate that risk into an evening. The premises themselves bring water, temperature and humidity questions that matter more here than in other retail, because a leak damages irreplaceable stock rather than resupplyable goods. Security conditions are firm, as they are for any high value, portable stock.
Questions people ask about insurance for art galleries
Who insures consigned artwork?
Whoever the consignment agreement says, and from the moment it names. Where it is silent the gallery is usually treated as bailee, which turns a claim into an argument.
How is artwork valued for a claim?
On an agreed or stated value basis, because a unique work cannot be replaced. Policies also address the depreciation of a repaired work, which is the real loss.
Is work covered at an art fair abroad?
Only where transit and the territorial limits have been extended for it. Specialist carriers limit their own liability, so your cover is what answers.