Hobby Art with an Appraisal

August 2, 2012

If an insured has paintings that have been done as a “hobby” in her home, and she has gotten a 3rd party vendor to appraise them for valuation, if not scheduled under an HO3, in the event of a loss would they fall under normal personal property for the normal perils or could they possibly fall under business property?

California Subscriber

What does the insured intend to do with the paintings? Did she have them evaluated just to establish a price for replacement if they burn, or is she trying to sell them? It's not a business until she makes more than $2000 in the 12 months before the start of the policy period. At that point they would be business property. Until then, they'd be personal property and covered only for the named perils.