NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ARIS Title Insurance Corporation, the world’s first underwriter of title insurance for fine art and other precious collectibles and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Argo Group International Holdings, Ltd. (NasdaqGS: AGII), announced today the launch of partnering initiatives with several of the world’s top insurers serving the art industry including AXA Art Insurance Corporation and Aspen Insurance Company.
“These partnering initiatives will solidify the delivery of an important risk management tool – title insurance – to individual and institutional clients who are active in the world of fine art and other precious collectibles,” explained ARIS Chairman Lawrence M. Shindell. “These clients face the potential risk of third-party title claims to works that they possess and the significant legal and economic costs that can ensue.”
The fine art property and casualty insurance industry has long recognized the risk of defective legal title in the global art market – a risk which goes far beyond stolen art – but it has been constrained from fully addressing the risk effectively. “Only a licensed title insurance company can provide the correct title risk management solution. We’re pleased that our colleagues in the property insurance industry have chosen to work with ARIS to deliver this needed risk management tool, and we look forward to announcing additional partnerships with our property insurance colleagues in the coming weeks,” added Mr. Shindell.
Title insurance for fine art and other important collectibles addresses a wide range of ownership and legal authority-to-sell issues in the global art market. With this risk properly mitigated, fine art and collectibles can attain full market value. ARIS art title insurance manages the financial and legal risks for private parties and public institutions owning or transacting art, as well as the corollary professional liability risks for advisors, trustees and other third-party fiduciaries who act for the legal owners and beneficiaries of this asset class.
“We look forward to working in close coordination with the leading insurance brokerage community to deliver this cohesive risk management solution, achieved by combining title insurance and property fine-art coverage,” said ARIS President Judith L. Pearson.
More information about AXA Art Insurance Corporation is available at www.axa-art.com and Aspen Insurance Company at www.Aspen-Insurance.com. Additional information about ARIS’s market partnership is available at www.aristitle.com.
ABOUT ARIS
ARIS Title Insurance Corporation is the recognized global authority on the subject of legal title risks impacting the fine art and collectibles market worldwide. It is the only insurer to underwrite true title insurance for fine art and other important collectibles, and serves the art market generally and the fiduciary banking, legal, museum and broader non-profit communities.
ARIS, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Argo Group International Holdings, Ltd., is a New York State domiciled title insurance company, and serves the art market and related businesses in the fiduciary banking, legal, museum and non-profit communities. ARIS developed the field of art title insurance and currently offers the world’s only art title insurance program, the ATPI® title policy. Coverage is offered to museums, auction houses, financial institutions and individual and for-profit institutional collectors who seek to mitigate the financial exposures associated with title when transacting fine art and important collectibles.
ARIS is headquartered in New York, NY. More information about ARIS is available at www.aristitle.com and www.argolimited.com.
ABOUT ARGO GROUP INTERNATIONAL HOLDINGS, LTD.
Argo Group International Holdings, Ltd. (NasdaqGS: AGII) is an international underwriter of specialty insurance and reinsurance products in the property and casualty market. Argo Group offers a full line of products and services designed to meet the unique coverage and claims handling needs of businesses in four primary segments: Excess & Surplus Lines, Commercial Specialty, International Specialty and Syndicate 1200. Argo Group's insurance subsidiaries are A. M. Best-rated 'A' (Excellent) (third highest rating out of 16 rating classifications) with a stable outlook, and Argo's U.S. insurance subsidiaries are Standard and Poor's-rated 'A-' (Strong) with a stable outlook, with the exception of ARIS, which has yet to be rated but whose policies, pending ARIS’s rating, are guaranteed through a rated subsidiary of Argo Group. More information on Argo Group and its subsidiaries is available at www.argolimited.com.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This press release contains certain statements that are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Such statements are qualified by the inherent risks and uncertainties surrounding future expectations generally and also may materially differ from actual future experience involving any one or more of such statements. For a more detailed discussion of such risks and uncertainties, see Argo Group's filings with the SEC. The inclusion of a forward-looking statement herein should not be regarded as a representation by Argo Group that Argo Group's objectives will be achieved. Argo Group undertakes no obligation to publicly update forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.