Hertziana Library - Rome

OBJECT OF SERVICE

ASACERT performed the service of Estimation for insurance purposes of direct damages and indirect damages for the Bibliotheca Hertziana in Rome, one of the oldest institutes of the Max Planck Society. The Bibliotheca Hertziana, Max Planck Institut für Kunstgeschichte-founded in 1913-was the first institute in the German humanities society; it is dedicated to the study of art history and supports through scholarships and public funding the training of young scholars interested in Italian culture. Created thanks to the donation of Henriette Hertz, after whom it is named, the Bibliotheca Hertziana has always been housed within the historic Palazzo Zuccari, located at the top of the Spanish Steps. The institute’s library, photo library and archive of the highest historical, artistic and cultural value, as well as offices and study rooms now occupy a complex consisting of four buildings:

• Palazzo Zuccari: a building constructed beginning in 1590, the historic home of the Library, the Tempietto attached to the building directly overlooks Trinità dei Monti Square
• New Building – Neubau: dating back to the middle of the last century, it houses the archive of valuable texts;
• Stroganoff Palace: ancient structure dating back to the 16th century, home to offices and study rooms
• Villino Stroganoff: 17th-century building now housing the Library’s offices.

SERVICE

On behalf of the Max Planck Gesellschaft ASACERT performed the services of Direct Damage Insurance Estimate and Indirect Damage Insurance Estimate on the property of the Bibliotheca Hertziana. The valuation services were conducted by ASACERT technicians specializing in insurance engineering and had as their object of interest values and assets subdivided, according to the Policy Conditions, into building lot, machinery lot and insurable property lot with special conditions. The Direct Damage Estimate for insurance purposes was performed by ASACERT based on the documentary information provided by the client, supplemented with the data collected during the direct inspection. Items evaluated by the ASACERT team include:

• Buildings and buildings totaling about 9,715 sq. m.
• General service equipment, such as electrical, heating, water, firefighting, and elevator systems
• Furniture and equipment placed within the premises owned by the institution
• Electronic office machinery
• Signaling and communication equipment.

The Indirect Damage (Business Interruption) Insurance Estimation service aimed to identify potential risks related to the activities and operating environment of the Bibliotheca Hertziana that could produce serious damage to the Library itself. The evaluation of the amount of expected loss in the event of a claim was carried out by using two indices:

• Estimated Maximum Loss – EML: the maximum foreseeable loss that can occur in a single risk area under the worst conditions
• Normal Loss Expectancy – NLE: the maximum reasonably foreseeable loss, that is, the loss that can occur under normal circumstances.

Given the peculiar characteristics of the activities carried out by the Bibliotheca, in the calculation of damages from Business Interruption ASACERT referred to the partial and/or total disuse of both the facility and the book and photographic holdings therein. Such a circumstance would be the equivalent of the loss of profits for any other production site, as it would effectively result in a failure to receive vital funding and financing for the institution.

RESULT

In light of the technical assessments of the potential risks to which the facility is exposed and the related organizational and constructive mitigation measures put in place, ASACERT was able to estimate the Hertziana Library’s risk rating at a “low” level. According to the assessments made, in fact, in the event of a claim, the ordinary course of study and research activities carried out in the institute could be interrupted for a maximum period of three months, while the consultation of texts would remain unaffected due to the presence of the digital archive.