Giovanni Liverani, CEO Generali Deutschland for the magazine “All About Italy”, March 2020

1. Arte Generali was born on the back of the Generali Group’s effort as a patron to art. How does the history of Generali combine with the world of art and culture?

Arte Generali builds on two solid pillars. First, the undiscussed leadership of the Generali Group in terms of technical performance. Second, the unique artistic and cultural heritage, developed since the foundation of Generali in 1831. Throughout decades, this heritage grew thanks to direct investments in art works, which add value to our offices around the world. Also, it grew thanks to our effort in providing insurance coverage, assistance and restoration: for instance, Generali was a protagonist in the reconstruction of the legendary La Fenice theater in Venice after the two fires that destroyed it completely in 1836 and 1996. Last, the support to the world of art and culture is equally important. This support is proven by initiatives such as the partnership between Generali Deutschland and some of the most successful exhibitions in Germany, including the recent exhibition on Tiepolo at the Staatsgalerie in Stuttgart.

2. The Group’s ambition is to become Life-Time Partner to art collectors. How is this ambition translated into the evolution of Generali’s brand identity?

Generali aims to become a life-time partner to its customers. It is a true revolution in the insurance sector because, so far, insurers were mainly focused on building off-the-shelf products and managing claims – although they have always played an important role for society. Today, however, customers expect integrated and personalized insurance solutions, able to respond to the complexity of their needs and to the evolution of such needs in time. Today, insurance solutions must be enhanced by the most advanced technologies. Obviously, all of this must coexist with best-in-class quality, with the ‘human touch’ of advisors and with service excellence. Generali wants to be the first and the best insurance company to offer all of this. Clearly, our new approach based on prevention, assistance and partnership applies even to art collectors. For example, we designed an app that provides Arte Generali customers with, among other benefits, continuous assistance and advice on how to prevent damages to their art pieces.

3. Generali expands its offering through a project that becomes a key component of the Generali 2021 strategic plan. What are your expectations?

We expect a robust growth of the global art insurance market. Worldwide, we estimate that insurance revenues in this segment will rise by 6% on average per year, to reach US$ 2.3 billion in 2022. Furthermore, this segment boasts a significantly higher profitability than insurance business’s average. In this scenario, we are convinced Arte Generali can expand meaningfully and become one of the top-three specialized players in Europe in five years. In the longer term, we believe Arte Generali will become the market leader.

4. What is the startup’s target? Which type of clientele chooses this option?

Arte Generali is primarily targeted at individual customers – private collectors of art pieces with a cumulative value above €500,000. These are customers with sophisticated needs that we meet by offering ‘concierge’ service which goes well beyond the traditional insurance coverage to include, among other things, restoration, transportation and preservation of art works. We are the only insurer in the market able to combine the insurance product, assistance and digital tools.

5. The starting block of the new global unit is Germany. What is the role of art in this geography and which markets will be included in the expansion plan?

According to the most recent estimates, Germany is the second largest market in the world for art insurance, after the United States. This proves the great interest for art among German residents, further demonstrated by many galleries and museums of exceptional value that operate in this country and are supported by associations of ‘friends’ which stand out for their vivacity and creative vision. Arte Generali is up and running in Germany and it will soon be operating in France, Austria and Italy, and other European and global markets afterwards.