The AI data center boom could create about $91 billion in cumulative insurance premiums through 2030, opening a major new opportunity for the insurance industry.
The rapid expansion of AI infrastructure is shifting capital toward large, physical assets such as data centers, electricity systems, cooling equipment, servers and related infrastructure, according to a report published by Swiss Re Institute on Saturday.
$91B Insurance Opportunity
Swiss Re Institute estimates that construction and operation of AI data centers could generate about $91 billion in cumulative premiums between 2026 and 2030. Renewable energy could generate another $111 billion, putting the combined insurance opportunity at about $200 billion.
Property insurance is expected to account for the largest share of the data center opportunity at $49 billion, followed by engineering at $18 billion, liability at $10 billion, credit and surety at $9 billion, and marine at $5 billion.
The insurance market is already expanding to meet this demand. Aon plc (NYSE:AON) on increased its Data Center Lifecycle Insurance Program to $5 billion in July, after raising its capacity to $3.5 billion earlier this year, highlighting insurers’ growing focus on large and complex data-center risks.
The $91 billion estimate is a baseline. Swiss Re says cumulative data-center insurance premiums could reach $105 billion under a high-capex scenario or fall to $80 billion under a low-capex scenario.
Bigger Risks, Bigger Demand
The insurance opportunity is expanding as AI data centers become larger and more interconnected. Swiss Re says some AI data-center campuses can reach $50 billion in replacement value.
The buildout is also attracting increasingly large pools of capital as companies race to expand AI computing capacity. Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) has said it is working with major financial institutions to help mobilize more than $500 billion in third-party capital for AI infrastructure.
The five largest U.S. hyperscalers are expected to spend more than $800 billion on AI-related capital expenditure in 2026, while global data-center capital expenditure is estimated to exceed $1 trillion, according to Swiss Re.
Insurance demand also changes over the life of a data center. Swiss Re says engineering, marine cargo and credit and surety coverage are more important during planning and construction, while property, liability and business interruption insurance become more significant once facilities begin operating.
The report identifies four major sources of risk accumulation: single-site exposures, geographic concentration, supply-chain dependencies and shared physical and digital networks.
The concentration risk extends beyond individual facilities. Data centers can share suppliers, power systems, telecommunications and cloud infrastructure, meaning a single disruption could affect multiple insureds and lines of business at the same time.
The challenge is also a lack of historical loss data. Many of these facilities have limited operating histories, making it harder for insurers to estimate how often losses may occur and how severe they could be.
Swiss Re says the challenge is not a shortage of insurance capital but insurability, as insurers must assess risks that are larger, more concentrated and less tested than previous infrastructure projects. Layered insurance programs, syndication, reinsurance and alternative capital can help spread those risks.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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