Art Insurance Policies Lag Behind New Museum Theft Tactics, Warns Broker Massimo Maggio

Fatti principali

• On the evening of August 15, 2026, thieves entered the Museo Regionale in Messina, broke display cases, and stole three panels from Antonello da Messina's Polittico di San Gregorio and one small panel.
• The theft took three minutes, and the perpetrators escaped by sea through the Strait of Messina.
• Nine days after the theft, Europol published a report describing museum theft as a European phenomenon involving groups assembled via phone who use force and are indifferent to cameras.
• Massimo Maggio is a fine art insurance broker, board member of Axio Insurance Broker, and author of Il prestito delle opere d'arte.
• Maggio argues that museum insurance policies were built for risks of twenty years ago and do not adequately cover violent theft, war, terrorism, climate, or earthquakes.
• Public museums purchase coverage through tenders that compare only price and a checklist of perils, without reading the actual contract text.
• Maggio gives an example of a loaned artwork damaged during a stopover in the Gulf, where coverage depends on unread clauses about whether the work was on board, the plane's status, and whether the area was listed before departure.
• Maggio recommends a process: first assess what is being insured, then write scenarios as questions, then draft a responding text, and only then consider price.