AXA ART Insurance Corporation Establishes Canadian Branch

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Jun 13, 2013) - AXA ART Insurance Corporation today announced that its application to establish a Canadian Branch has received federal regulatory approval, the Order to Insure in Canada Risks, from the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions Canada. The company will now proceed to apply for provincial licensing throughout Canada. The existing business continuation agreement in place with Intact Financial Corporation will continue until the provincial licensing process is complete. Thereafter, AXA ART's full-service Canadian branch will be headquartered in Toronto, Ontario.

"The establishment of a Canadian branch underlines our commitment to the Canadian art market," said Christiane Fischer, President and CEO of AXA ART in the Americas, "I thank the Canadian team for their remarkable efforts over the past couple of years which has helped us establish our brand and products and build a solid presence in a vitally important market."

AXA ART also announced the appointment of Ann-Louise Seago as Chief Agent and Managing Director of the newly established branch. Seago has served as Senior Underwriter and Fine Art Specialist since 2007 for AXA ART in Canada.

"This is an exciting day for us at AXA ART. The establishment of a Canadian branch will be instrumental in advancing our long-term commitment to support collectors and stewards of the art communities throughout the Canadian provinces," commented Seago. "Our aim is to continue to provide innovative solutions and exceptional service as they seek to care for their collections," Seago concluded.

In addition to offering customized art insurance products, AXA ART Insurance Corporation concentrates on risk prevention methods through a variety of approaches such as establishing best practices for art storage facilities and art shippers and offering security checks and facility surveys to museums.