Rising demand for vast data centres at the heart of the world’s artificial intelligence infrastructure could generate $10 billion in new premiums for insurers in 2026, say analysts at S&P Global Ratings.

In a report released this week, S&P estimates that annual investment in data centres could reach about $300 billion in 2027.

The analysts note that data centres are not new, but “today’s hyperscale campuses dwarf their traditional counterparts”. They argue that some data centre sites require more insurance than the largest infrastructure construction projects, such as bridges or tunnels, that could require coverage limits of $5 billion to $10 billion.

“We expect capacity constraints to limit the industry’s ability to fully insure these hyperscale data centre projects, as total insurable values reach $20 billion to $30 billion per location,” the report states.

“These projects involve a complex ecosystem of hyperscalers, developers and builders, utility providers, equity investors, and increasingly, public and private lenders, each with their own insurance requirements. This represents a huge growth opportunity for the commercial and specialist re/insurers that participate in these projects.”

The report concludes: “Further compounding these risks are the campus-style nature of the data centres and their concentrated geographical footprints.

“We expect that the most sophisticated insurers with the technical expertise, modelling capabilities, and balance sheet strength to offer large-scale insurance coverage will emerge as leaders in underwriting data centre risk. This is what we have seen with cyber insurance.”