Lending something for an exhibit…

Does anyone know anything about the practicalities of lending things for an exhibit? I’ve got a model paper machine:

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And Inverkeithing Civic Trust want to borrow it for an exhibition in the town hall next month. I’ve been going back and forth with them, and I did ask about their insurance coverage – they’ve just come back and said that their insurance won’t cover it.

I’m happy to lend it because I think it would be good if it was seen in the town it came from, but I’m a bit worried about what could happen if there was any damage or theft (the exhibit won’t be manned). Is insurance normal for this kind of thing? Should I have a proper loan contract drawn up?

Cheers 😉

Hi Ben, I have some colleagues who deal in this kind of thing (I work for a big arts festival in Edinburgh… you might have heard of it) this type of thing should be negotiable, the easiest way is probably for you to arrange insurance and then ask the ICT to cover the cost, I am assuming you are not looking to porfit from this.

I have no experience of this at all, but could you ask them for a refundable deposit of the value of the item?

I think the problem is the value – do we insure for what it cost me (nothing), what it would fetch at auction (no idea) or what it would cost to replace from scratch (shed-loads)?

At the moment it’s at my shop – I doubt it’s properly insured here, but it’s probably covered for something, and it’s also a secure location.

Quite an attractive target for your average sweaty junkie I imagine.. Small and pocketable, not easy to identify and easy to sell on.

they’ve just come back and said that their insurance won’t cover it.

That’ll be a no then.

Insurance is a not quite a science in these cases as the item may infact be irreplaceable therfore technically priceless. If you have an auction value of similar item then that’s a good starting point, maybe call Sothebys and get a value on it.

The other approach is just set a compensatory value which is entirely up to you.

As surroundedbyhills says.

The most common insurance approach would be to have an agreed valuation, insurers would pay (if damage was covered) for repairs, but if it was a total loss, they’d pay the value you and they had agreed upon, based on valuation by someone competent (they’d tell you who that would need to be – auction house?)

AFAIK you insure it for what it would cost you to replace.

My dad just had his vintage car valued for insurance purposes and it was done based on how much it would cost him to replace the car.

Quite an attractive target for your average sweaty junkie I imagine.. Small and pocketable, not easy to identify and easy to sell on

It looks like a giant Rizzla machine, the neds will have it away for sure!

I borrowed something from the Science Museum for the Patent Offices’ birthday, an amazing experience. Normally it takes between 6 months and 8 months to arrange the loan and shipping and I managed it in about 5 weeks 😆 hired a van went up and got it and took it back 4 days later. It was similar to the OP’s as a working model, that is how patent applications used to be made. This was of a collapsible funnel on a tug boat for going under low bridges.

Insurance was provided under “Crown Indemnity” got to look around the bowells of the Science Museum, its enormous.

Hmm, I don’t think I have Crown Indemnity 😉

Quite an attractive target for your average sweaty junkie I imagine.. Small and pocketable, not easy to identify and easy to sell on.

It’s 7 feet long and needs four people to lift! I’m more worried about people having bits off it or damaging it, to be honest – I rescued it just before the scrappies got it (they already had most of the brass off it) and some of the remaining parts are a bit delicate.

“Can we borrow your priceless item?”

“Will it be insured?”

“No.”

“Bye, then.”

I’m a bit worried about what could happen if there was any damage or theft

I can see one of the above being a concern, the other, well a little less so. 🙂

Borrowed Pantani’s bike from Bianchi for a launch evening. Had to provide insurance cover, buttorworth spengler added it to the shop policy for the 3 days we had the bike. It barely left my sight in that time though.

Can you enclose it/put it behind in perspex/protect it with a screen type stuff … and remove any ‘loose’/easily broken bits.

They were talking about getting a local school to make a Perspex cover for it – not sure how far that got, they were complaining about the cost…

Run a mile. No invigilation – no security ( a Perspex cover will just keep the dust off) . Even if there was insurance do you think there’s an insurance policy that’ll pay up under those circumstances?

The trust might be keen to show it but they’re ill equipped to do so and should know better than to loan items that they can’t provide care for.

If you want it to get seen the future is full of better opportunities than this one.