Data‑center insurance demand spikes

Swiss Re Institute published a Sigma insight titled “Insuring AI: data centre value accumulation risks” on March 27, 2026, projecting global insurance premiums tied to data centres will rise to USD 24.2 billion by 2030 from about USD 10.6 billion today. (swissre.com) Single-site construction costs for modern AI-scale data centres can reach USD 20 billion, and Swiss Re cites hyperscaler capital spending forecast to exceed USD 600 billion in 2026, with roughly USD 450 billion (about 75%) tied to physical AI infrastructure. (swissre.com) Swiss Re’s modelling flags concentration in exposed locations: more than a quarter of U.S. data‑centre capacity may sit in areas with ≥3 large‑hail days per year, while over 40% could be in significant‑to‑very‑high tornado‑day zones, alongside risks from cooling‑system water damage, power continuity failures, and new fire ignition sources. (swissre.com) Brokers and carriers are already expanding program capacity to meet financing demands — Aon more than doubled its data‑centre lifecycle program to USD 2.5 billion in January, FM’s Intellium doubled owner capacity to USD 5 billion, and Marsh expanded its Nimbus facility to USD 2.7 billion and to U.S. projects. (businessinsurance.com) Swiss Re notes financing parties are pushing for limits that cover full construction costs but says the re/insurance industry can underwrite only a fraction of those limits at competitive rates, boosting demand for consolidated single‑site “insurance tower” structures to assemble capacity. (swissre.com) The report highlights operational‑phase exposures that make business interruption, loss of rent and service‑availability the primary claim drivers, and calls for insurers to collect granular site‑level data and develop new fire, BI and liability models to price large AI‑era data centres. (swissre.com)