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Clocks have been a lifetime hobby of mine for over 30 years. But I also have more than 30 years' experience in handling insurance claims, too, and hold the highest level of professional qualifications for insurance in the UK and Europe. So I know a fair bit about both clocks and insurance, probably a good deal more than most dealers. But despite this, I'm a touch uncomfortable about giving insurance valuations because most aren't worth the paper they're written on.

Somewhat surprisingly, you don't need any qualifications at all to issue valuations; the whole industry is unregulated and it all comes down to personal experience, knowledge and confidence. So the problem with any Valuation is that most of the time it is just a personal opinion, and often the Valuer is likely to err towards over-valuation rather than under-valuation because this makes you, his customer, feel happier, especially if he's quoting a correspondingly high price for repair - it makes it look like it's worth paying for that repair. Often they might say what they think it could sell for in a good antique shop in Bond Street but the trade has been struggling for years and there are a good deal fewer top-end antique dealers in Bond Street today than there were 30 years ago.

You probably already have a view about your clock's value so the temptation is to assume that an Appraiser who values it at less than you expect probably doesn't know what he's talking about. But you shouldn't be overjoyed at any element of over-valuation because Valuation fees (and insurance premiums) are usually based on a percentage rate of the valuation amount. So any over-valuation means that you'll pay more to the Appraiser and then more again every year to your Insurers. And if the clock were ever stolen, would you really go to Bond Street or even back to the same Appraiser to buy an overpriced replacement if you thought his valuation was a bit optimistic? Or would you do what everyone else does and look for a better price somewhere else if the same thing could be obtained more cheaply from a competitor or an auction?

It's a minefield so I prefer to value a clock at what I would sell it for, having in mind a likely price at auction that I would be confortable paying for it, plus a margin to cover the buyer's premium and all the servicing overhaul costs before sale to the public with a 12 month guarantee. Invariably, this means my valuation figure might seem a little conservative because there's no High Street markup or profit margin on what I sell.

I prefer to see clocks 'in the flesh' so that I can examine every aspect, looking for originality, repair work, maker and origin. But in this age of the internet, I am prepared to give valuations based on photographs if they are sufficiently detailed and plentiful, and if you can provide more images when I ask for them. For clocks under £2,500 in value, which covers most of the ones I see, I charge a flat fee of £50 per valuation (discounted to £30 if I have atually worked on the clock). This will include a clear and detailed description with research and commentary on the maker and the movement, in a written appraisal that incorporates colour photographs.

But I don't do post-loss valuations and I don't believe anyone can because it's hard enough valuing accurately what you can see, let alone what you can't.

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