HDI Global has appointed Tobias Sigurdsson (pictured) as global head of fine art and specie, a newly created role designed to accelerate the insurer's expansion across a specialty line covering museums, private collections, galleries, precious metals, cash, and jewelry.
Sigurdsson is based in Stockholm. He joined HDI Global in June 2017 and spent the past six years leading cargo and specie underwriting across the Nordics and globally - a track record in specie that forms the operational foundation for the expanded role. The fine art component represents a deliberate broadening of scope into a class that rewards deep technical expertise and long-term client relationships in equal measure.
He reports to Rafael Rebitzky, global head of specialty lines at HDI Global. Rebitzky said fine art and specie is a highly specialised line where expertise, underwriting discipline, and global reach are crucial, and that Sigurdsson and his team would aim to further expand capabilities and provide clients and brokers with more bespoke solutions, building on the strong development of HDI Global's specie portfolio in recent years. Sigurdsson said his team would focus on supporting clients with complex and high-value risks worldwide.
Fine art and specie is a specialty line where the lead market position is held by a small number of carriers with the technical expertise to underwrite complex, high-value placements. Brokers placing large museum programs, multi-jurisdiction jewelry portfolios or significant precious metals accounts work from a limited list of markets willing and able to lead - and that list is shorter than the broader pool of carriers willing to take a follow line.
WTW's UK fine art team cited in a March 2026 podcast that Lloyd's fine art and specie capacity has now reached approximately £4 billion across 57 syndicates, reflecting the class's attractiveness to underwriters: low loss ratios, no long-tail liability exposure, and high client retention. Accidental damage during transit accounts for roughly half of all fine art claims, with theft at approximately 25%. The loss profile is well-understood and consistently priced, which is what draws new entrants - but it also means the competitive differentiation increasingly lies in technical expertise and underwriting quality rather than capacity alone.
HDI Global has stated its intent to develop local underwriting authority in key regions to serve domestic risks that require local market familiarity, rather than relying entirely on centralised European underwriting for all territories. For brokers working accounts outside the traditional London and European art market centers, that local authority signal is the more practically relevant part of the appointment.
The global fine art insurance market was valued at approximately $12.4 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach $22.8 billion by 2034 at a compound annual growth rate of 7%, according to DataIntelo.
HDI Global's move arrives as several other carriers have expanded or deepened their fine art and specie commitments.
Tokio Marine Kiln promoted Cameron Spencer and Jake Burgess to the joint role of divisional head, fine art and specie, in April 2026, following an increase in TMK's maximum line size for fine art and specie risks from $125 million to $200 million. Both have 13 years of experience in the class, with Burgess previously at AXA XL and Spencer at Travelers Europe before joining TMK. The line size increase alongside a dual-lead structure is a direct signal of intent to compete for larger programs rather than simply maintain existing positions.
Liberty Specialty Markets has also been expanding its fine art and specie underwriting team. Markel Insurance made two key fine art and specie appointments in the US in August 2025, adding to its portfolio presence there. AXA XL, one of the class's established lead markets, continues to use its cultural sponsorship program - most recently the AXA XL Art Prize - as a commercial tool for maintaining gallery, collector and institutional relationships that drive placement activity.
Sigurdsson began his career in marine claims in November 2002. He spent nearly 15 years at Länsförsäkringar in cargo and marine underwriting before joining Inter Hannover - subsequently absorbed into HDI Global SE - in 2017. He holds a law degree from Uppsala University and completed maritime law studies at the University of Oslo.
His legal background and decade-and-a-half in cargo and marine before moving into specie gives him a technical grounding in the transit and liability questions that sit at the centre of fine art and specie claims - particularly for institutional lenders and multi-venue exhibition programs where the chain of custody and valuation at each stage of transit determines coverage adequacy.
