The purchasing of goods through an auction or auction house has never been as popular as it is today. Every which way you turn there is an auction of some description going on flourishing with public interest by customers in search of a bargain.
Pretty much all manner of items can now be purchased at an auction. These days the buying of valuables, motor vehicles and even houses can be achieved. A popular haunt for business individuals and private customers alike, there is an auction house across most towns and cities throughout the British Isles. The biggest auction house in the world (and one of the oldest – established in 1766), Christie’s, continues to be the place that high value item customers head for. If you are looking for an antique of substantial value and notoriety, it is likely the catalogue of Christie’s will at some point feature it for auction. Other established auction houses in England include Bonham’s, Freeman’s and Lyon & Turnbull.
The process of buying an item through a series of bids is a long established form of purchasing which stretches back in time to before the Romans. In the city of Babylon in and around the year 500 BC it has been claimed that even wives could be bid for at large annual public auctions. It’s a good job this doesn’t happen today because the Women’s Libbers would go absolutely berserk! Thankfully, the days of daughter selling/auctioning have long gone but there are so many things besides that are now auctioned that it would be quicker to name those that aren’t!
The running of an auctioneering business is fraught with the possibility of disaster and mishap and so it is the auctioneer’s responsibility to take out appropriate liability insurance. Considering the valuable items that are admitted to auction could be valuable ancestral jewellery to vintage motor vehicles or ancient Egyptian artefacts to a Damien Hirst original, it is a great responsibility on the part of the Auctioneer to secure such a collection of high value items.
Once the items are accepted and admitted for auction, they become the responsibility of the Auctioneer. To protect the Auctioneer from the event of damage to auction items through fire, theft or burglary, it is essential that insurance cover be in place. Without insurance, the Auctioneer would be exposed to considerable liability claims, which could potentially be the ruin of the business.