"Most owners of stained-glass windows - whether the windows are located in religious structures, civic buildings, educational institutions, or private homes - don't carry enough insurance to replace them in the event of loss or damage due to fire, vandalism, or other causes," says Sloan.

Given the frequent news stories about vandals smashing windows to rob or deface buildings, fires destroying structures, and even hurricanes blowing windows right out of the frames, it has become increasingly clear that having a professional appraisal among the important documents concerning stained-glass windows is sorely needed.

The pre-Christmas fire that destroyed the Provo Tabernacle in Utah just a few weeks ago, the 2006 fire that destroyed the landmark Pilgrim Baptist Church in Chicago, designed as KAM Synagogue by the famed architectural firm of Adler & Sullivan, and the damage to a Tiffany window at Trinity Episcopal Church in Galveston, Texas, during Hurricane Ike in 2008, are several recent examples of events in which stained-glass windows were partially or completely destroyed.

Additionally, when windows leave a building to be restored, they should be insured for loss or damage in transit to and from the stained-glass studio and while in care and control of the studio during restoration.

"It's always been difficult to find someone qualified to place a replacement value on a window," Sloan said. So, after training to be an appraiser at New York University and successful completion of a course in the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) in the summer of 2010, she is adding this service to others offered by her firm, Julie L. Sloan, LLC, which also provides condition studies, restoration recommendations, cost estimates, specifications, and project management. Her appraisal practice also covers fair market valuations for estate or donation purposes.

Julie Sloan, a trained art historian and historic preservationist, pioneered the field of stained-glass restoration consultant in 1984, and is one of the few consultants whose practice is dedicated to stained glass. She is the author of Conservation of Stained Glass in America.