HDI Global Specialty SE
HDI Global Specialty SE is part of the Talanx Group and is a strong and established player within the international insurance market. Using our highly developed expertise and wide network reach, we write agency and specialty insurance solutions that are tailored to meet our clients’ needs.
Our specialist local teams provide quick responses and expert support to clients. We are committed to developing long-term partnerships and providing a superior level of service across all of our insurance cover areas.
Our company
HDI Global Specialty SE focuses on writing agency and specialty insurance business with operations in 9 locations and access to a global network of more than 175 countries through the HDI Global SE network.
We are owned by HDI Global SE, part of the Talanx Group, which has a gross insurance revenue amounting to EUR 43.2 bn (2023) and a financial strength rating of AA- (stable) from the rating agency Standard & Poor’s.
The Experts For Your Needs
We are the experts for your needs today - to prepare you for what might happen tomorrow. Insurance is what we do, and specialists are who we are. At HDI Global Specialty, it is our people that set us apart. We have over seven hundred passionate people providing expert advice on over 20 specialist lines of business. Across nine branches worldwide, our teams deliver support and advice in over 175 territories. Our experts are here for you whenever you need them.
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Our Mission
At HDI Global Specialty, we strive to create sustainable results for the Talanx Family. We are proud of our stable, efficient, and streamlined processes and the expert knowledge provided by our teams. We do business in a transparent and responsible way and aim to be within the top profitability quartile for specialty insurers.
We steer our business through our Cooperation and Leadership, and more information can be found within our Leadership Principles and Overarching Principles and Rules.
We Are Dynamic
We provide fast and flexible solutions that can be adapted to meet your needs in a fast-moving and rapidly changing world. Our team are here for you whenever you need them, and pride themselves on their efficient decision making, agile service management, and expert claims settlement. Working with clients across the world means that we benefit from an in-depth cultural understanding and can tailor our offerings to meet different client needs.
We Are Empowered
Our highly skilled teams are true experts within their industries, meaning they can offer proper solutions. Our teams are empowered to make their own decisions to provide meaningful capacity across a range of business sectors. They use their many years of experience to provide the industry-leading information, insights, and answers that you need.
We Are Committed
We take the time to develop an in-depth understanding of your insurance needs and work with you to find the best solution. Our local teams have the resources to deliver sustainable products and services that will provide the cover that you need, both now and in the future. We are passionate about building long-term partnerships with our clients and supporting them for many years to come.
What makes HDI Special?
Listen to this podcast to hear the CEO of HDI Global Specialty SE, Ralph Beutter and Chairman Ulrich Wallin discuss the biggest and most profitable lines of business, key markets, the agenda for the future, and answer questions from Shirley Inafa.
Discover why “volume is vanity and profit is sanity” is Ralph Beutter’s favourite quote and why Ulrich Wallin sees HDI’s growth as a second priority.
Executive Board
The members of the HDI Global Specialty SE Executive Board
Ralph Beutter
Chairman of the Executive Board
Starting his career with HDI in Germany back in 1987 on the direct insurance side, Ralph spent more than 17 years working in the facultative Division at Hannover Re dealing with most Lines of Business (except Space & Aviation). For more than 10 years Ralph dealt both with Single Risk and Agency Business in his managerial role heading up one of the Hannover Re facultative departments. In January 2012 Ralph joined Inter Hannover as Chief Underwriting Officer and member of the Executive Board. Ralph's duties overarch both the Single Risk and Agency portfolios. Ralph has very relevant experience in underwriting and developing business opportunities and competencies in both portfolios. In 2015 Ralph was appointed as the Chief Executive Officer of HDI Global Specialty SE.
Thomas Barenthein
Chief Innovation Officer
Thomas started his career with Skandia International where he worked in various positions, mainly with Aviation underwriting. He then worked outside the insurance business for some years before joining the reinsurance broker Guy Carpenter in 2003. In 2008 he became the Managing Director for Hannover Re and Inter Hannover in Stockholm. Between 2013 and 2015 he was an Executive Director with Inter Hannover and between 2015 and 2018 he was the Chief Branch Officer and member of the Executive Committee. He joined HDI Global Specialty in 2020 as the Managing Director of the Scandinavian Branch in Stockholm and as a member of the Executive Board.
Rafael Rebitzky
Chief Underwriting Officer
Rafael has over 25 years of experience in the realms of banking and insurance. Relocating from Hannover to London in 2017 to assume the role of Head of Underwriting, from 2022 onwards he served as the Managing Director & Chief Underwriting Officer for the UK Specialty Branch, overseeing the strategic direction of the branch, including underwriting, claims, actuarial, and sales & marketing activities in London. He joined the HDI Global Specialty Executive Board (BEX) as Chief Underwriting Officer (CUO) from April 2024. Rafael holds a Doctorate in Economics and Applied Econometrics and has done extensive academic research in Money & International Finance.
Dr Barbara Klimaszewski-Blettner
Chief Claims Officer
Barbara started her career with Allianz Group where she worked in various positions, mainly in Underwriting & Sales and organisational roles. Born in Munich, she has spent more than fifteen years in the insurance industry holding. Barbara gained her doctorate after taking a degree in business administration at the Institute for Risk Management and Insurance of the University of Munich.
She joined HDI Global in 2021 as Manager for the South-east Region in Germany. 2022, Barbara became the Managing Director for Germany. From 1st of April 2024, Barbara joined the Board of Management of HDI Global SE. As Chief Claims Officer and Chief Market Officer Germany she takes over the responsibility for the global Claims Management as well the business in Germany.
David Hullin
Executive Board Member
David has been a member of HDI’s Executive Board since 2019. He joined the business in 1995, initially as a senior underwriter, before taking on responsibility for Casualty and International at Talanx Reinsurance brokerage in 2003. In 2014 David moved to become Head of Central and Eastern Europe, Russia and Turkey at Talanx International AG, and in 2018 was working in the Group CEO office, joining the HDI board the following year. In 2022, he took on responsibility for the Industrial Lines division of the Talanx Group outside Germany having previously been responsible for Continental Europe, North and South America, the UK and Ireland.
Dr Stefan Pasternak
Chief Financial Officer
Member of the HDI Global SE Executive Board (CFO), responsible for risk management, investment management, finance and controlling.
Dr Renate Strasser
Executive Board Member
Member of the HDI Global SE Executive Board, responsible for Specialty Lines.
Contact us
Get in touch with us
HDI backs up its outstanding policy options with one of the most respected groups of insurance professionals in the business. If you would like to know more about our solutions or services, contact the team.