Do I need art insurance?

If you have artwork worth more than a few hundred pounds, insurance is strongly recommended. Home contents insurance often excludes or limits art cover. Specialist art insurance covers theft, fire, accidental damage and water damage.

What types of art insurance are there?

Studio cover protects work in your studio, exhibition cover protects during shows, storage cover is for offsite storage, and all-risk cover includes all locations plus transit. Transit cover can be added separately.

How is art insurance priced?

Premiums are typically 0.3-1.2% of the total insured value per year, depending on coverage type and risk. Studio-only cover is cheapest, all-risk is most expensive. Most policies have a minimum annual premium of £50-100.

How do I value my artwork for insurance?

Use the retail replacement value — what you would sell the piece for, or what it would cost to commission a replacement. Keep a photographic inventory with valuations updated annually.

Does insurance cover artwork in transit?

Standard studio policies usually exclude transit. Add transit cover separately if you regularly ship or transport work to exhibitions. Transit cover typically adds 0.3% of total value.

ArtCalcs

Insurance Calculator — Art Insurance Premiums

Estimate art insurance premiums based on artwork value and coverage type.

Average Value per Piece

Retail replacement value per piece — what it would sell for, or cost to recommission. Not your material cost.

Number of Pieces

Total number of works in the collection you want to insure under one policy.

Coverage Type

Transit Cover

How We Calculate This

How Art Insurance Premiums Work

Annual premium = Total insured value x Rate

Rates vary by coverage type: studio (0.5%), exhibition (0.8%), storage (0.3%), all-risk (1.2%). Transit cover adds 0.3% separately. Most policies have a minimum annual premium of around £50.

These per-type rates are an indicative split within the typical UK specialist band of roughly 0.1%–2% of insured value per year — storage cheapest, all-risk dearest. Actual premiums depend heavily on studio security, postcode, how the work is stored and your claims history, so treat the result as a budgeting estimate and confirm with a specialist broker.

Frequently Asked Questions

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Last updated: February 2026

All calculations are estimates. Always verify quantities before purchasing materials.