ACE Group is taking steps to boost its capacity to underwrite fine art, coins and other related high-end items.

The global property/casualty insurer said its ACE Global Markets division will offer increased capacity of up to $100 million for clients that want fine art and specie (coin) coverage.

ACE’s Global Markets team in this area will offer insurance coverage for art, general specie, cash in transit and jeweler’s block for clients around the world. ACE Global Markets, which handles wholesale insurance, is based in London, and the coverage will be underwritten there.

ACE said it has added a fifth specialist underwriter – Gemma Bartlet – to its London team to address growing demand in this coverage area.

“Our increased capacity and the investment in additional underwriting capability … reflects our growing appetite in this specialist area of fine art and specie insurance,” Jason Roe, specie product head for ACE Global Markets, said in prepared remarks.

The Chubb Group of Insurance Companies found in a survey published earlier this year that art and antique collectors are buying more treasures, but not necessarily increasing their homeowners coverage to adequately protect those high-value items.

Source: ACE Global Markets