XL Insurance has more than doubled its available underwriting capacity for construction projects from $40 million to $100m per project.

The global insurance operations branch of XL Capital has also announced the addition of new underwriters in Spain, France, the Netherlands and the UK to its European construction team.

These underwriters will join the XL Insurance global team, which is already well established in the US and Canada.

John Gallagher, XL Insurance's chief underwriting officer for global property, said: "Like many industries, the construction sector faces its share of business risks.

"To better serve this industry, we are pleased to extend our underwriting capacity and more importantly, we are especially pleased to be able to deliver this new capacity with an expanded team of underwriters experienced in managing construction-related risks."