The collaboration between non-governmentalmuseums and Topdanmark dates back to the mid-1970s whenit was found that beneficialinsurance of museum objects was needed. After a lengthy process, the collaborationwas launched in 1979.

The years of experience have given usunique knowledge and position on the market. In addition, the turnover of employees at Topdanmark has been very low,andonlya few responsibleshavecovered the area. This has created an enormous level of trust, and today a lot of the business is handled onthe telephone. We know each other and we trust each other, and we continuously discuss how to improve.

"Many museums are challenged financially, thus they depend on prices being as low and accurate as possible.”

Carsten Bonde MARKET DIRECTOR AT TOPDANMARK

Every time a museumobject or a work of art is moved from one place to another, insurance is required. If a museum is preparing an exhibition and are borrowing a number of works and objects, Topdanmark will insure based on the total value informed by the museum. Often, the lender requires to see a confirmation that the objects are insured.  Therefore, the insurance agreement is important to secure both the lender and the museum.

Throughout the years, we have insured some extraordinary works of art and museum objects. For example, we insured the Tollund Man, when this renowned corpse went on a trip to Paris to be scanned before returning to Denmark.

We have also insured an aircraft that was going through a window for anexhibition on aircrafts in Odense. There are no limits to what we can insure in collaboration with Danish museums. 

From an insurance perspective, museums are amazing customers, because they are so good at taking care of the museum objects. Thus, the claims are few and far between.Therefore, the insurance prices have only gone down over the years. Because the museum agreementis a profit-sharing scheme, we payout bonuses to the participating museums, if there are money left on the account.

This means that many of the museums which entered the agreement 40 years ago continue to be part of the agreement. Better coverage in the museum market simply does not exist.