A contents specialist was recently asked to assist with a claim that revolved around damage to a sculpture. The sculpture was a stylized, life-sized bear made of fiberglass with a multicolored painted finish. This whimsical bear had been created for a festival parade. Painted blue with a flower power theme, it was sold at a charity auction to benefit the nonprofit sponsor of the event. The owner, who was smitten with the sculpture, was also a strong supporter of the nonprofit, and generously bid $30,000 to win the sculpture. He immediately sent the receipt to his insurance broker to add the bear sculpture to his HO policy. It was insured for $30,000. He then positioned the bear in his garden to dress up the back yard and to keep out animals.

When an Enservio contents specialist inspected the sculpture, the cause of the damage was apparent:  animals gnawing the sculpture's paint finish had damaged the poor bear. Wild animals, unfazed by the bear replica, seemed to enjoy the taste of its paint job.  The blue background was untouched, but the flowers were particularly popular.

The contents specialist researched the sculpture and identified the artist. It was determined that the artist had a very brief career comprising only one exhibit and had long ceased pursuing an art career. There were very few sales records for this artist and the sales which were uncovered did not remotely approach the winning bid of $30,000. Ultimately, the fair market value was determined to be only $4500.