View this article online: https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/international/2011/09/08/214019.htm
Argo Group International Holdings, Ltd. announced that its subsidiary, ARIS Title Insurance Corporation, the world’s first underwriter of title insurance for fine art and other precious collectibles, has launched partnering initiatives with several insurers serving the art industry, including AXA Art Insurance Corporation and Aspen Insurance Company.
‘These partnering initiatives will solidify the delivery of an important risk management tool – title insurance – to individual and institutional clients who are active in the world of fine art and other precious collectibles,’ explained ARIS Chairman Lawrence M. Shindell. ‘These clients face the potential risk of third-party title claims to works that they possess and the significant legal and economic costs that can ensue.’
Argo’s bulletin points out that the “fine art property and casualty insurance industry has long recognized the risk of defective legal title in the global art market – a risk which goes far beyond stolen art.” However, the industry has “been constrained from fully addressing the risk effectively.”
Shindell pointed out that only a “licensed title insurance company can provide the correct title risk management solution, adding that working with insurers in the field will “deliver this needed risk management tool. He also anticipates concluding “additional partnerships with our property insurance colleagues in the coming weeks.’
The specialized field of title insurance for fine art and other important collectibles “addresses a wide range of ownership and legal authority-to-sell issues in the global art market,” Argo explained. “With this risk properly mitigated, fine art and collectibles can attain full market value. ARIS art title insurance manages the financial and legal risks for private parties and public institutions owning or transacting art, as well as the corollary professional liability risks for advisors, trustees and other third-party fiduciaries who act for the legal owners and beneficiaries of this asset class”.
Source: Argo International