How to create a disaster plan for your valuables

Years ago, extreme weather was something we worried about occasionally. But these days, wildfires, severe flooding, and full-blown hurricanes are becoming more common and affecting areas previously unaffected by these conditions. With increased frequency and intensity of these catastrophic events, you need to prepare and protect not only your home but the valuables inside it — fine art, jewelry and watches, wine and spirits, and other collectibles. Your first step: design a disaster plan for your valuables.

Putting together a comprehensive emergency plan to protect valuables takes time and often requires the help of professionals. That’s why it is so important to start preparing for catastrophic events such as wildfire, flood, and hurricane winds before extreme weather hits. To help you get started, we have outlined answers to key questions individuals often have when preparing for catastrophic events.

If you don’t know what you have, there’s no way to keep it all safe. Start by making a list of your valuables and include information such as medium, dimensions, and item location, along with documents like appraisals and insurance policies. Consider maintaining a digital inventory, with back-up hard copies stored at a secure location.

Once you have an inventory, make sure to prioritize what pieces are the most valuable to you — either as an investment or for sentimental reasons – and to share this information with those who may be tasked with retrieving them. If there is only time to rescue a few items, it should be clear which items are your priority and should be saved first.

You may need the assistance of professional art handlers, shippers, storage facilities, and conservators to help keep your valuables safe from harm in the face of a wildfire, flood, or hurricane. It will be helpful to establish those relationships sooner rather than later when extreme weather approaches or is upon you. Reach out now to line up specialists to help in a time of crisis.

Save essential time and avoid potential damage to your valuables by having custom crates or storage cases pre-made and ready for a catastrophic event. Store these crates or storage cases in your home or at a professional fine art storage facility so they are readily available.

If you live in an area prone to extreme weather events, consider taking precautions now to anchor or move outdoor sculptures indoors. If outdoor sculptures cannot be relocated and temporarily stored inside, install hurricane bonnets or have protective enclosures built around them to help protect the sculptures from damage due to windstorms or hurricanes. Additionally, avoid displaying art near windows and doors where flying debris from hurricanes and windstorms could cause damage.

For artworks located inside your home, especially works on paper, consider framing items with protective glazing. UV protective glazing can help prevent sun damage, while fully encased sealed enclosures can help protect artworks against moisture as well as pollutants and smoke. 

If you keep or display fine art at your seasonal home, you may want to preemptively store those pieces at a professional fine art storage facility while the home is unoccupied.

Flooding poses one of the most frequent and potentially devastating threats to fine art collections. Avoid displaying or storing collections in below grade areas of your home. To provide early detection to a potential leak or flood, consider installing a flow-based water leak detection system with an automatic shut off device and/or point of leak sensors throughout your home.

Chubb’s Fine Art & Collections Specialists are available to provide emergency preparedness guidance for valuable items and collections. Contact your agent for a referral to a specialist.