The next big opportunity in data centers: Insuring them

The rapidly expanding $1 trillion data center industry is unlocking a new source of income for insurance companies. By 2030, global premiums for insuring these facilities could soar to $20 billion to $30 billion annually, according to Swiss Re. This represents a wild growth rate, at least double the $10 billion in new premiums expected this year, or four times the $5 billion global aviation insurance market.

U.S. data centers, especially artificial-intelligence facilities, are among the most valuable insured assets in the world, often worth $20 billion or more. Tech firms often attempt to mitigate costs by self-insuring, but this leaves insurers facing significant risks. These risks include extreme weather events, power outages, IT failures, and even terrorism.

Data centers are particularly vulnerable to tornadoes, flash floods, and hailstorms, with many facilities located in high-risk areas such as Texas, Virginia's "data center alley," and parts of the Midwest. The clustering of data centers in these regions means a single disaster could trigger multiple major claims.

The insurance industry is developing new structures, including outside sources of capital, to address the specialized requirements of hyperscale data centers. However, the scale of these assets and the hard-to-predict nature of some risks mean premiums are already quite high. Some insurance companies are willing to take on a small slice of the risk, but no single insurer can absorb all the risks alone.