Art Title It Is Interesting Term Paper

Houses are being bought and sold on an ongoing daily basis, and there is also a strong market for collectors of artwork that could lead to offering more title services to those people as well. A drawback to the career could be, if the person seeking such a career would put all the eggs in the artwork basket. There currently does not seem to be a high enough demand for artwork title services that would allow for individuals to easily or quickly find employment in this field. Rather the same individual would probably be more likely to find employment in the real estate area and have it grow from there.

One area touted by AXA Fine Art Services is that of educating art dealers and collectors to the various dangers and pitfalls of owning and protecting fine art. Each year, this insurance company sponsors an exhibition of fine art that is attended by "70,000 collectors, curators, directors and (art) enthusiasts." (AXA 2006) an individual interested in providing services to the art industry which would include purchasing title insurance would seemingly do well with AXA, since many of the leaders of the art industry are already well acquainted with the companies offerings and services. Rubbing shoulders with seventy thousand collectors and other art enthusiasts would certainly lead to many cross-selling opportunities.

At least one industry expert thinks that title insurance for artwork is a good idea. "I think it is a great idea," said Michael Moses, cofounder of Beautiful Asset Advisors and cocreator of the Mei/Moses Fine Art Index. "If museums become proactive and accept things only with clear title or title insurance, ARIS will have a good thing going. It should be a fiduciary responsibility of museums to purchase or accept gifts only with clear title. Most asset-based transactions require good title, and if museums require title insurance it will make for a more efficient market.Then there will be a risk premium for things without title insurance. People will pay more for less risk." (Solis-Cohen 2006)

Moses could be correct. The research provides enough information to pique an interested individual in regards to becoming a title insurer, or at lest someone who would offer those services as an independent agent, but it probably would not be enough, nor would there (at least initially) be enough opportunities for that individual to make a good living at the chosen career. With perseverance, however, and some luck the career could blossom into one that would be very lucrative for that individual.

It is far more likely that the individual would end up offering real estate title services, escrow services and that the art title work would be a nice little sideline business.

Works Cited

AXA Art at Tefaf Maastricht: Leading Fine Art Insurance Company Warns of Water Damage, (2006)

http://www.axa-art.co.uk/nws/nws005.pdf, Accessed June 25, 2007

Chubb Group Insurance, (2007)

http://www.chubb.com/personal/collector_services.jsp, Accessed June 25, 2007

Esaak, Shelley, (2006) Title Insurance for Art Buyers, Your Guide to Art History, http://arthistory.about.com/b/a/257722.htm, Accessed June 25, 2007

Fidelity National Title Insurance Company (2006) https://www.fntic.com/about_us.asp, Accessed June 25, 2007

Lloyds of London Fact Sheet #2, (2007)

http://www.lloyds.com/NR/rdonlyres/A868192A-B7CD-4559-82C5-63D9B4BDDE36/0/LloydsHistoryandChronologyFactSheet2.pdf, Accessed June 25, 2007

Solis-Cohen, Lita, (2006) New Firm Offers Title Insurance for Art, Maine Antique Digest, http://maineantiquedisgest.com, Accessed June 25, 2007

Title and Escrow Business Skills: Self-Enrichment Courses for Title and Escrow, (2005)

http://www.agentcampus.com/title-escrow-skills.cfm, Accessed June 25, 2007

Title Insurance, (2006)

http://www.mtgprofessor.com/title_insurance.htm, Accessed June 25, 2007.....