With a desire to put his awards on display, a Hollywood film legend hired a contractor to install beautiful one-inch thick glass shelves on the bathroom wall of his Upper East Side Manhattan home. The thespian promptly filled the shelves with all of his various acting awards, including an Oscar, a BAMBI, and multiple BAFTAs (the international equivalent of the Oscar from Germany and Great Britain, respectively), among others. Unfortunately, the weight of the awards pulled the mounting screws from the walls. The top shelf crashed down, taking out three lower shelves and leaving 25 awards in various states of ruin amid a pile of broken glass.

Case Background

Contents claims experts were tasked on behalf of the insurance carrier with assisting the policyholder in any way possible. The contents team inspected the awards and prepared detailed condition reports denoting damages and identifying materials of construction. Specialists determined which awards were restorable and which were beyond repair. ï»¿The contents team tapped into its network of art and object conservation specialists, identifying three different conservators with expertise in the specific materials used in the construction of the awards which were then sent to them for evaluation.

To replace the total loss awards, contents experts reached out to the awarding agencies, bridging both language barriers and time zone differences in order to contact the international organizations. Stringent documentation was needed to legitimize the inquiry and prove that the expert contents team was indeed acting on the behalf of the Hollywood film legend and multiple-award recipient.

To see what happened, click next! The Result

The restorable awards were returned to the insured without the slightest evidence of damage from the fall. For the awards that suffered total loss, contents specialists identified the various award manufacturers and coordinated efforts on three different continents to secure exact replacements of the total loss awards.

Special Reports /

Contents Claims Solved: The Case of the Hollywood Legacy

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