The FBI maintains a National Stolen Art File from which they highlight successfully recoveries by their Art Crime Team ($165 million since 2004). This database includes items stolen from museums and individual collections.

You never know why some art is stolen, especially the more famous pieces. No one is going to be able to walk into an auction house with a stolen Mona Lisa under their arm. In March of 1990, thirteen pieces estimated to be collectively worth $500 million were stolen from a Boston museum. Among the stolen art is The Concert by Vermeer and Rembrandt's only known seascape, The Storm on the Sea of Galilee. There is a $10 million reward for the recovery of the art and the museum still displays empty frames where they hung.

So where are they, since they can clearly never be sold on the open market? Someone who would organize a theft of this level must have wanted them for themselves or were hired by someone who did. A West Virginia man just pleaded guilty to attempting to sell the pieces for $5 million, but he was attempting to defraud foreign buyers and doesn't appear to have any knowledge of their actual location.

Lesser known pieces can also be stolen and sold with a few pieces finding their way back, sometimes decades later. Most do not, but what can you do with a nine-foot long aluminum Staff of Asclepius that was obviously not stolen for scrap metal?

The Personal Articles Floater on Big "I" Markets offers customized products and services for commercial and personal inland marine fine art and valuable articles. Coverage is available for museums, galleries, private dealers and corporate collections as well as private fine art collections, jewelry, fine wine, silverware, musical instruments, antiques and any collectible imaginable. This program offers many specialized features designed for all types of risks that will appeal to even the most discerning collector, regardless of risk size. The carrier's in-depth knowledge of both personal and commercial exposures allows them to underwrite diverse risks resulting in policies that are individually tailored to meet the unique needs of your insureds.

Working with a specialty company that understands the unique elements of these risks leads to the most competitive pricing, considerably broader and more flexible coverage than your standard homeowners insurer, and expert claims handling.

Special items warrant special coverages and terms not commonly found in standard policies, offering the following coverages and unique features:

• All risks of physical loss or damage
• Worldwide coverage, including transit
• Valuation options to meet individual risk needs
• No per-item limitations
• Newly acquired property coverage
• No deductibles
• Optional buy-back for recovered property
• Legal liability coverage for objects in your care, custody or control

• Fine art, collectible and jewelry appraisers
• Specialty jewelers
• Collectible societies
• Conservation and restoration specialists
• Auction houses
• Museums and gallery curators
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• Curating services for collectors