Claims support

Damage, loss and diminution in value

When art or antiques are damaged by fire, water, a move or an accident, the claim usually turns on diminution in value: the difference between the value before the event and the value after, even when conservation succeeds.

The point most claims miss

Restoration does not restore the value

A restored painting with documented damage does not return to its pre-loss market value. The damage enters the object’s condition record and follows it through every subsequent sale. Insurers do not always volunteer this, and policyholders often accept the cost of conservation as the whole loss, which it rarely is.

What is provided

Four figures and the reasoning behind them

Pre-loss value, reconstructed from documentation, photographs and market evidence where no prior appraisal exists
Post-loss value, the work in its damaged state
Post-conservation value, after treatment, accounting for the permanent condition record
Written diminution analysis, the difference and why the market applies it

The practice coordinates with conservators on treatment reports and works with both policyholders and carriers. Most of this work arrives after water, fire, a move or a burst pipe, and the sooner the object is seen, the more defensible the pre-loss figure. If the piece was scheduled on a policy, start with the insurance appraisal that supports it.

No prior appraisal?

The claim can still be made

Most people who call after a loss have never had the work appraised. That is normal, and usually recoverable.

Photographs, purchase invoices, insurance schedules, exhibition records, framer’s receipts, prior estate documents and the object’s own auction history can generally reconstruct a defensible pre-loss value. Send whatever you have, including family photographs that happen to show the picture on the wall.

Common questions

What is diminution in value?

The reduction in an object’s market value caused by damage, which persists after conservation. A collector choosing between two comparable paintings will pay less for the one with a documented tear, however well repaired. That gap is the diminution, and it is a recoverable element of many claims.

Should the work be restored before it is appraised?

Speak to the practice and to a conservator first. Once treatment begins, the evidence of the damage is altered and the pre-treatment value becomes harder to establish. Photographs and a condition report taken before conservation protect the claim.

Does the practice work for insurers as well as policyholders?

Yes, for both. The analysis is the same either way.

A mover damaged a piece. Is that different?

The valuation work is the same, though recovery runs through the carrier’s liability rather than a property policy, and released-value limits in the moving contract may cap it. Obtain the appraisal regardless; there is no negotiating without a figure.

Rate

$225 per hour

Standard appraisal rate. No project minimum. Fees are never based on the value of the property. Full fee schedule

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