I have recently joined the SAA and have enjoyed much about my membership. However, one of the main reasons for joining was to benefit from the insurance cover for exhibitions. With my Gold Membership I am covered for £5,000 loss of artwork and I did not realise until I filled out the required form before the event that this £5,000 had to be listed as individual paintings. I had assumed that the cover would insure all my work and stock but I could only claim up to £5,000 of loss or damaged goods should this occur. In the past, when paintings have been damaged I am generally only looking to claim for re framing. Luckily I have never had artwork stolen or totally destroyed. As a result of listing the paintings up to a sale value of £5,000 I could only cover 8 paintings and none of the stock of prints. I think it would be much more sensible and useful to members if the £5,000 cover was insuring all the paintings and stock at the exhibition but you could only claim up to that amount if anything was damaged. This insurance with my membership appears frustratingly limited, unless I am missing something.

You are right, SAA Gold membership has a limit of £5000 per exhibition, however inresponse to demand a couple of years ago, we launched SAA Platinum membership which provides cover for up to £20,000 of paintings. You can find more details at http://www.saa.co.uk/new-members.php or contact Elizabeth Moore on 01636 643537.

Thanks for your reply Richard. I had looked at platinum membership and agree that it covers up to £20,000 of paintings but am I right in thinking that you can only cover a list of paintings up to that value and only those can be claimed for if damage occurs? I think there is even a part of the Insurance declaration which asks that you will only be exhibiting these items. If you are organising a stand of paintings and stock which includes prints, much of your work and products are not covered by the SAA insurance and the value can exceed £20,000. Why can the policy not just cover a value of products rather than the artist having to name a precise list of originals? For instance, I have several large framed prints, packets of mounted prints and framed originals when I exhibit at an event like the Bird Fair or Wildlife Expo but can only cover a set list of originals up to an amount. If a packet of prints is damaged I cannot claim for a replacement eventhough I have the insurance. It is frustrating as the cover is inadequate. I am sure if you asked members, many would feel equally disappointed with the limitations the policy imposes. Infact, several of my colleagues at Marwell International Wildlife Art Society have abandoned their SAA membership because of the inadequate insurance. Is it not possible to make some changes or have another policy which covers events? It would be so useful for those who are taking work to exhibitions and fairs around the country.

You raise some interesting points. With the SAA cover we provide basic cover as part of the membership fee. However as you say there are occasions when the requirements become more complex. What we can offer is direct contact with our insurers where they can offer top up cover over and above the SAA cover on a bespoke baisis. If you contact me directly I can give you their contact details. Richard@saa.co.uk

You may be pleased to know that prints are insured with the SAA cover, up to the value of replacement.

Thanks Richard. I will be in touch. It would be good to find an insurance which properly covers all the work I need to take an event and this would also bring peace of mind incase of loss or damage to any products, which is not currently the case.