LONDON—One member of the American president’s cabinet always skips the “State of the Union" address at the U.S. Capitol and travels outside of Washington, D.C., to ensure the continuity of government in the risk of a terrorist attack or nuclear war. There are simply too many important people gathered in one place. Now, insurance companies are reporting similar concerns about the volume and value of art being brought to art fairs.

Richard Northcott, an executive director at Heath Lambert Group, an insurance company with offices in Britain, says that re-insurance companies that specialize in protecting art insurers are becoming increasingly concerned about the financial threat posed by so many expensive pieces of art being brought together in one place.

The Art Newspaper reports that at least one insurance company has already run into problems attempting to find coverage for works being brought to Art Basel, where, the paper points out, a single painting by Picasso can be worth tens of millions of dollars. In the event of a major catastrophe at an art fair, the potential loses for the insurance industry could be massive.

So far, there are no reports of galleries being unable to bring work to fairs as a result of insurance problems. Yet, as values in the art market recover and art fairs grow larger, insurance at major events could begin to pose a major problem for galleries.

Read more at the Art Newspaper.