Aon boosts data center insurance by $1B, lifting capacity to $2.5B amid AI surge

Aon boosts data center insurance capacity by $1 billion as AI build-out accelerates

Aon has increased its Data Center Lifecycle Insurance Program (DCLP) by $1 billion, lifting total capacity to $2.5 billion. The move tracks surging capital flowing into cloud compute, AI, and digital infrastructure-and the coverage needs that come with it.

"Managing risk throughout the data center lifecycle is a strategic imperative-these platforms drive innovation, connectivity and economic growth," said Greg Case, Aon's president and CEO. He added that resilience must be embedded as facilities become more complex.

What changed

• Program capacity expanded to $2.5 billion for build through steady-state operations.
• Multi-line, single-structure solution that unifies construction, cyber, cargo, and operational risks.
• Backed by risk engineering and analytics to help clients evidence resilience to boards, lenders, and counterparties.

Why this matters for insurance professionals

Large data centers typically require $500-$700 million in total limits and are expected to run 24/7 with zero tolerance for downtime. Disruption cascades past a single site-customers, supply chains, and wider business operations feel it fast.

"By expanding the capacity of DCLP, we are helping clients manage risk across the full lifecycle of a data center-from build-out to steady state operations, while supporting faster, more certain execution," said Joe Peiser, CEO of commercial risk at Aon.

Outage severity and cost trends remain elevated industry-wide. For context, the Uptime Institute's outage analysis highlights the frequency and financial hit of significant incidents across the sector. See their research.

Coverage architecture at a glance

• Up to $2.5B: Construction All Risks (CAR), Delay in Start-Up (DSU), and operational property damage/business interruption.
• Up to $400M cyber-related: Cyber property damage and tech E&O, including business interruption and SLA violations.
• Third-party liability up to $100M: Excludes US exposures.
• Project cargo/transport up to $500M: For high-value equipment shipments and logistics.

Broking and underwriting checklist

• Phase segmentation and concurrency: Clarify how coverage attaches across site prep, fit-out, testing/commissioning, go-live, and modular expansions.
• DSU mechanics: Define triggers, waiting periods, critical path, and measurement of delay. Tie indemnity periods to OEM lead times for generators, switchgear, chillers, transformers, and network gear.
• Operational BI realism: Align values with tenant ramp-up, cloud tenancy mix, and SLA penalty economics. Specify treatment of service credits versus cash losses.
• Cyber vs property overlap: Map event pathways (malware-caused overheating, control system lockouts, bricking, data corruption) and set clear primacy, sublimits, and carve-backs.
• Single points of failure: Substations, cooling loops, cross-connects, fiber carriers, and generator farms. Evidence N+1 or better, maintenance regimes, and spares.
• Nat cat and water risk: Flood, wind, quake, wildfire, plus water sourcing/reuse for cooling. Validate site elevation, hardening, and contingency cooling strategies.
• Energy and heat density: Higher rack densities drive thermal risk. Document monitoring, containment, and shutdown logic to keep PML credible.
• Batteries and fire safety: For lithium-based systems, address thermal runaway prevention, compartmentation, detection, and ventilation standards.
• Cargo and installation: Control of custody, route risk, security, and installation floater terms. Ensure delay coverage dovetails with DSU.
• Liability placement: Third-party liability here excludes US exposures-plan separate US liability solutions and contract review for hyperscaler agreements.
• Capital stack requirements: Lenders' step-in rights, additional insured/loss payee, and waiver provisions. Confirm wrap usage, local policies, and premium allocation.
• Accumulation and PML: Concentrations across regions and carriers, shared campuses, and correlated cyber-physical scenarios. Refresh PMLs with current site data and supplier dependencies.
• Testing/commissioning: Coverage for load bank testing and tuning, plus clear start/stop dates for coverage transition to operations.

Market context

The capacity race is on across this sector. FM, via its FM Intellium unit, recently raised its data center capacity to $5 billion, the largest widely cited program at present. Aon's $2.5 billion DCLP adds another scaled option for mega-campuses and multi-phase builds.

Pricing and terms-what to expect

• Pressure on DSU and BI rates where supply chain lead times remain extended.
• Higher deductibles/waiting periods for outage-driven losses and SLA penalties.
• Tighter wording on cyber-physical events, data corruption, and utility failure.
• More use of engineering surveys and analytics to unlock higher lines.

What to watch next

• Carrier and reinsurer appetite for large blocks on single campuses.
• Standardization of SLA penalty treatment across property and cyber.
• Growth of parametric outage or utility failure covers as an adjunct to BI.
• Electric grid constraints near major metros and the shift to on-site generation/storage.

Quick actions for brokers and risk managers

• Refresh PML/aggregation models using current density, layout, and utility dependencies.
• Pre-validate DSU critical path with EPCs and OEMs; document lead times.
• Run a wording gap analysis across CAR, operational property, cyber, and liability.
• Align lender requirements early to avoid closing delays and rework.

If your team is building AI literacy to better assess these risks, explore practical learning paths by role here: AI courses by job.