Demand for specialist fine art and specie cover continues to draw investment from major carriers in Europe and the London Market, with insurers looking to sharpen underwriting leadership and technical capability in response to rising asset values, theft risks and natural catastrophe exposures.
Liberty Specialty Markets has announced a reshaped leadership team for its Fine Art & Specie (FA&S) book in Europe, while Markel Insurance has appointed a senior underwriter to its London Fine Art & Specie team, underlining continued focus on the niche line on both the continent and in the London Market.
Liberty Specialty Markets, part of Liberty Mutual Insurance Group, has confirmed a new leadership structure for its European FA&S business, effective May 1, 2026.
Bjoern Reusswig (pictured, left) has been appointed European underwriting manager for contingency, fine art & specie and war & terrorism. He assumed the additional responsibility for fine art & specie from David Saillen, chief underwriting officer for Europe.
In a further move, Paolo Frassetto (pictured, centre) has been named fine art & specie European underwriting manager. He will retain his responsibilities as underwriting manager FA&S Italy and will continue to be based in Milan.
“I am delighted to announce these appointments for our European business as we continue to drive disciplined, purpose-led growth in FA&S under our 2030 Invest in Europe strategy. Both Bjoern and Paolo have been with Liberty for more than eleven years combined and demonstrate the strength of our talent at Liberty," Saillen said. "I am delighted to be able to recognise their dedication and high performance which will only strengthen our expertise-led business.”
Markel Insurance, the insurance operations within Markel Group, has appointed Katie McGrath (pictured, right) as senior underwriter – London fine art & specie, effective immediately.
In her new role, McGrath will be responsible for identifying, pricing and placing complex risks, working with Markel’s London fine art & specie team to support the sustainable expansion of its London Market portfolio. She will focus on developing broker relationships and will work closely with the claims and actuarial functions to stay across emerging trends and help shape tailored coverage for brokers and insureds.
McGrath brings almost 20 years of insurance experience, much of it focused on fine art and specie risks. She spent more than seven years as deputy specie underwriter at Antares Underwriting Services Limited, where she managed and wrote fine art, jewellers’ block, general specie and cash-in-transit risks.
She later joined Talbot Underwriting’s fine art & specie team as underwriter – specie, underwriting large client accounts across an international book of business. McGrath held that position for more than five years before moving to Markel.
