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Established in 2004, Leader’s Edge is the award-winning content platform for The Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers, covering legal and legislative issues, international business and regulation, management trends and best practices, technology, and more. Leader’s Edge is written and recorded for large and mid-sized commercial insurance and employee benefit executives around the globe.
The greatest challenge isn't determining what a masterpiece is worth. It's moving it. People stand in front of a painting for thirty seconds, if even, they don't realize it may have taken a year of planning just to get the painting onto the wall.
Zach:Welcome to the Leader's Edge podcast. I'm Zach Ewell, podcast producer here at Leader's Edge. Last year in Paris, France, in broad daylight, masked thieves made away with €88,000,000 worth of jewelry from the Louvre Museum. This past year has seen several high profile heists as well. In this past July alone, robbers made off with approximately 40 Roman gold coins valued at €120,000 from an archaeological center.
Zach:Four days later, burglars used a sledgehammer to break into another museum in the North France, stealing jewelry valued at €4,500,000. And lastly, a heist was pulled from another French museum this past summer. This time, thieves stealing a 2,500 year old Celtic gold collar from a collection. As of now, none of the thieves have been identified, and the high valued items remain lost. With so many high profile robberies happening, I decided to find out what the risk landscape looks like for ensuring high valued fine art collectibles.
Zach:So I sat down with Tyler Najir, a client services associate at Gallagher who specializes in fine arts and jewelry risk management. In this interview, Tyler shares what it's like working in the fine art collectible brokerage space, details how heists can happen, and explains how the fine arts and collectible space has grown in recent years. No, we're not talking about NFTs. Think Pokemon cards and LEGO collections. Regardless of what they contain, some collections are priceless in the eyes of their owners.
Zach:Give this episode a listen. When it comes to rare valuable objects you help to protect, can you describe what exactly that means to our listeners? Does it simply mean old paintings and expensive jewelry, the stuff we see in Hollywood?
Tyler:So yes and no. When people hear rare and valuable objects, they usually think of old master paintings or expensive jewelry, and those certainly fall into the category. But fine arts jewelry and collectibles are much broader than that. I like to think of it as protecting objects that have historical, cultural, artistic or intrinsic value. That includes paintings, jewelry, but also rare books, manuscripts, antique furniture, decorative arts, collectibles, and other items that are significant because of the provenance craftsmanship vary in the story behind them.
Tyler:It's a much bigger universe than most people realize. We as brokers have to look at the written instructions, so like the loan agreements and the consignment agreements that are made for museums and galleries. And we maybe offer a helping hand if maybe the wording is incorrect or if maybe there's a certain coverage that they need and we're like, okay, maybe we need to add this clause in. We can ensure everything from museum quality artwork to extensive Pokemon card collections, and even high value couture handbag collections. At the end of the day, if an object is meaningful, rare and valuable to its owner, there's a pretty good chance it falls within our world.
Zach:That's very fascinating. You just blew off the lid of what I thought
Tyler:I was
Zach:thinking in terms of rare objects. A lot of people, again, think of jewelry and old paintings, but books, I I sometimes walk into a bookstore and they make me check my bag because they have so many rare books that they're selling. Or even, you know, Pokemon cards. That definitely is a new and blossoming market. And what comes to mind also is I know Legos too.
Zach:They've been in the news recently of like LEGO collections valued at such a high price.
Tyler:Yeah. I mean, I think just I think last year or maybe the year before, I think it was Judy Garland's ruby slippers from Wizard of Oz that went to auction, And it was one of the biggest items that was ever sold. So fine art and collectibles is a broad umbrella. I mean, nostalgia really creeps in because I think that, I mean, when the Barbie movie came out, there was a lot of exhibitions about Barbie and there's a lot of people collecting old ones in there. And I think there was an upsell of people coming to auction houses and selling their old Barbies as well, seeing if that was worth anything.
Tyler:So I think when Pokemon came around back again, I think maybe about ten years ago, a lot of people were invested again because now people growing up have that disposable income that they can buy what they want.
Zach:What motivates you as someone who works in fine arts and jewelry insurance and risk management, and I should say, you know, Pokemon cards and ruby red slippers?
Tyler:Honestly, what motivates me is helping clients feel comfortable and protected. One thing that I've learned over the past few years is that people's fine arts and jewelry often mean much more to them than just their dollar value. These pieces could be gifts, family heirlooms, or something someone feels a deep personal connection to. So I really want clients to feel confident that the things that they care about are safe and properly protected.
Zach:So backing up a little bit before you started working in insurance, As I understand, you studied psychology in college, not an obvious pipeline to insurance, but as I understand it, a historical art history elective you took helped reignite a passion for museums and fine arts and eventually helped shape your career path into the industry of risk. Is that right? And if so, just tell me about that journey.
Tyler:Yeah, definitely. Psychology isn't exactly the obvious pipeline into insurance, especially for fine art and jewelry insurance. But I've always been curious about the history and culture. I love museums and I'm definitely one of those friends who will randomly bring up historical facts that no one asks for. In college, I took an art history class and it kind of struck me by how art is a form of communication across time, languages, and cultures.
Tyler:It's a way for people to tell stories, document their world, and share their lives with those that come after them. That's what I've always found so interesting about art. It captures history in the moment, it does clues about the past. And I think that the appreciation for the meaning behind objects is part of what eventually drew me into the side of risk and insurance.
Zach:As I understand it, your family also has a heavy history working in the insurance industry. Both your mom and grandmother worked in the industry of risk. Tell us about them and how they influenced your decision to work as a broker.
Tyler:Yeah, insurance really is in my blood. My grandmother came to The US in the early 70s from Guyana, which is in South America, and built her career from the ground up. She was working at a smaller insurance brokerage during the day while taking night classes to get her insurance license. By the time I was born, she was the national private client leader for Wells Fargo insurance. My mom also followed in her footsteps and is one of the top private client specialists at Gallagher.
Tyler:My aunt leads the National Fine Arts Practice at Gallagher as Managing Director. I've just been so lucky to see strong women in my family build careers in different facets of insurance. That influenced me and showed me that this business about relationships, trust, and helping people protect what matters most.
Zach:So you have experience assisting clients in securing policies for fine art collections in regions of The US that historically have been impacted by extreme weather. Can you walk us through how you assist clients such as these? What questions run through your mind when you're trying to determine what policies are right for specific clients and collections?
Tyler:So the first step is really getting to know the client and their collection, what they own, where it's located, what they're concerned about, and what kind of exposure exists. From there, we look at what location protections they already have in place, what emergency planning has been done, and where there may be room to improve. Second, location plays a big role. In Florida, we're thinking about hurricanes, windstorms and flood exposure. So we talk about shutters where the artist kept it in their home and what would happen if during a major storm hits.
Tyler:In California, wildfire risk is a key factor. So we focus on storage, climate control, evacuation planning, and overall risk preparedness. From there, we take that risk to market and approach the insurers that are most comfortable with the exposure. Using the risk mitigation strategies we put in place with clients, we're able to negotiate the broadest coverage available. Our experience in the specialty art market helps us match each collection with the insurer that's best equipped to protect it.
Tyler:As brokers, we must stay aware of what's happening both in the art world and the insurance market. We're not just placing coverage, we're helping clients think through risk in a practical way and find a policy that fits their collection and their specific exposures.
Zach:In terms of clusters of growing business in regions, is there a specific region where you're seeing clients asking for more coverage?
Tyler:I think Florida is a really big indicator right now, because I will say, I think the West Palm Beach, Miami Beach area is heavily concentrated as well as the Hamptons. So we always look forward to that. And also they kind of, if you ever look at a map, they kind of just jet out into the sea. So we have to think about flooding, wind storms on their end. However, I will say that we have now had a lot of risks now that come from other states like Wisconsin, Minnesota, Colorado, states that maybe you think weren't hubs, but people are moving and people are buying art.
Zach:When it comes to your clients, would it be fair to say they're primarily high net worth clients that you service?
Tyler:Not necessarily. I mean, we can definitely go high net worth into like the millions. However, I know in some places in Florida and California, though, that people want to put maybe their fine arts on their home insurance or their homeowners. And because of mitigations, some insurance companies have dropped any fine art or jewelry coverage off their policies. They come to us to maybe supplement that.
Tyler:And we walk them through it.
Zach:Heists and raids of historical artifacts, jewelry, and fine art continue to be a predominant risk for rare valuable objects. Last fall, burglars made off with gems from the Louvre in Paris. Additionally, just this week in the North Of France, thieves stole several million euros worth of jewelry. What can you tell us about the current risk landscape for protecting rare valuable objects and what collectors should take into account when protecting their own collection?
Tyler:The Louvre heist was shocking because of how bold it was, but it really enforced something you already know in the space. Rare and valuable objects are still major targets for these. And with that little leak break in this past week, it's a reminder that security has to work as a complete system. Guards, alarms, cameras, access control, and response time all matter. For collectors, I always recommend thinking layers.
Tyler:Adding cameras, motion sensors, an alarm system keep jewelry in a bolted down safe when it's not being worn. If you're in an apartment, think about building security, who has access to the floor of the living space.
Zach:So then what changes in policy or trends in business do you see impacting the coverage of rare valuable objects in the future? It seems like there's a lot of diversification, again, going back to the beginning of the interview where we're talking about rare books, we're talking about Pokemon cards, we're talking about Legos, Just anything that people see value in.
Tyler:I think the future of coverage is going to be a bit more tailored and more risk aware. Climate is a huge factor. Fires, floods, hurricanes, severe storms are changing how carriers look at certain locations. Theft is another major issue, especially with jewelry, watches, and smaller, more valuable portable items. So I think collectors should expect more detailed questions about where items are being kept, how they're protected, whether appraisals are current, and what happens when pieces are removed or trialed with.
Tyler:The days of just saying, Oh, I have a collection, and getting broad coverage are shifting. It's becoming much more about the specifics, the object, the location, the security, and the overall risk profile. One of the most interesting things that surprised me in the fine art world is the greatest challenge isn't determining what a masterpiece is worth. It's moving it. A painting might be worth tens of millions of dollars, but the really fascinating part is the arming of people behind them.
Tyler:Conservators checking humidity levels, museums negotiating loan agreements, custom officials reviewing paperwork, specialized art handlers building crates, insurers structuring coverage, and lenders requiring specific protections. People stand in front of a painting for thirty seconds, if even, they don't realize it may have taken a year of planning just to get the painting onto the wall. I find it interesting that we actually have paintings that are millions of dollars, and then you look at a homeowner's and they're sometimes much less. You're just like, oh wow, this painting is where it's someone's like mansion and somewhere else in the part of the world, but it's a valuable collectible item.
Zach:That was my interview with Tyler Najir, Client Services at Gallagher. I hope you enjoyed it. For more podcasts by Leader's Edge, please subscribe or go to leadersedge.com.