Here is a hard lesson for owners of valuable art concerning their insurance policy: if it turns out that Old Master is a forgery, your insurance policy may not cover the “loss” you allegedly sustained by reason of the forgery.
As reported in the July 7, 2010 issue of the New York Law Journal, summary judgment was granted by Justice Giacomo of the New York Supreme Court in favor of a defendant insurer who argued that a claim by a policyholder that they suffered a “physical loss” by virtue of the discovery that their Renoir was a forgery was without merit.
Among other things, the Court held that there was no evidence that such a “loss” was covered under the terms of the policy.