Every March the European Fine Art Foundation presents The European Fine Arts Fair in the Netherlands—both the group and the event share the same acronym: TEFAF. Also known as the Maastricht Fair, TEFAF began in 1975 as a modest art fair specializing in old master paintings and medieval sculpture and evolved into an annual event that attracts art dealers, international art experts, collectors and observers from around the world.

One of the world's preeminent fine art exhibits, TEFAF spans 300,000 square feet and showcases between 15,000 and 25,000 objects of art, worth an estimated total value of $500 million to $1 billion. The work presented is vetted through 24 committees and 142 international experts to ensure its authenticity and worth.

Suffice it to say, the art of insuring the loans to the TEFAF exhibition and others of its kind is a complex endeavor, shaped by professional relationships that stem from an intimate understanding of prevailing insurance conditions and global insurance and brokerage markets. Aon's Cees Kortleve began his insurance career as a property broker but grew into his role as a leading insurance broker and director of Aon Artscope. His defining moment in the business of insuring fine art emerged during the retrospective of Vincent van Gogh held in the Vincent van Gogh Museum of Amsterdam. The total value of the loans to that exhibition is still unequaled.

"It was extremely important to reduce the insurance costs as much as possible," Kortleve says. "Of course we were able to reduce costs by finding the most competitive rates, but we soon uncovered other—at times more profitable— alternatives to lowering costs.

"Now, we approach our clients with a variety of strategies and approaches for lowering the insurance costs associated with a fine art exhibition," he says. "But we advise them carefully because pitfalls must be avoided, as they can potentially generate costs as well as unwanted exposures for the client."

Aon's Artscope is Putting Experience to Work

As the world's largest specialist in fine art insurances, Aon Artscope is a unique international network of insurance brokers dedicated to providing coverage and risk management strategies for fine art. Kortleve works with representatives throughout the world who provide service and advice to private and corporate collectors, museums, exhibition organizers, fine art and antique dealers, galleries, auction houses, artists, and fine art shippers and packers.

In the realm of fine art insurance, well-represented clients work with an advisor who focuses on all aspects of the client's insurance portfolio, including the development of the insurance programs, ongoing risk management and claims settlement. Due to the nature of fine art purchases and loans, all information must be handled with the utmost confidentiality and all policies should be tailored to suit individual needs that arise from specific circumstances. These circumstances can include new purchases, risks inherent in transportation, temporary changes in location, and the particular requirements surrounding incoming and outgoing loans.

A qualified fine art insurance advisor will advise the client not only about insuring the art on loan, but also about the application and impact of government identify programs and ways to reduce insurance costs. The advisor also must assist the client by word and deed in case of a claim, and be prepared to settle claims quickly and discreetly.

"Fine art is vulnerable," Kortleve says. "Precautionary measures reduce the chance of loss or damage. But these measures can never be comprehensive in nature. Unique objects are irreplaceable; however, an adequate financial reimbursement will enable the restoration or the purchase of a comparable object, which is why insurance plays such a vital role in the world of fine art."