Chris Bentley

Spear’s Review

Chris Bentley, who heads up the fine art and specie practice at AXA XL, a specialist division of AXA, joined the firm in 2012 from his previous role as a fine art underwriter at Hiscox.

Bentley says the occasional weird and wonderful request brightens his day – he was once asked to insure a painting made partly from spiders’ silk. His service stretches far beyond securing premiums for clients, as the firm takes pride in ‘providing expert advice on all aspects of managing a collection, including loss prevention, mitigation and conservation’.

AXA has a long history of supporting the arts, including partnering with the Royal Academy of Arts on an annual art prize, and AXA XL has a global presence that includes 1,200-plus art insurance experts in over 200 countries.