Aon, the global professional services company specialising in risk, retirement and health solutions, has published its 2026 Global Construction Insurance and Surety Market Report, outlining how rapid investment in digital infrastructure and data centres is influencing construction insurance markets, underwriting approaches and risk transfer strategies around the world.
Aon said worldwide construction activity continues to rise steadily, growing from an estimated $16 trillion in 2025 to $17 trillion in 2026, with projections suggesting the sector could reach almost $22 trillion by 2030.
The company attributed much of this expansion to increased spending on energy generation, infrastructure upgrades and hyperscale digital infrastructure projects.
The report also highlighted the wider risk environment facing the sector, with Aon noting that global natural catastrophe losses reached an estimated $260 billion in 2025.
According to the company, these losses are reinforcing the importance of resilient project design, robust programme structuring and detailed risk information as developers and contractors seek to manage budgets, timelines and exposure to losses.
Aon stated that while construction insurance markets are becoming more competitive across several regions, insurers are continuing to apply strict underwriting standards to large-scale and technically demanding projects, particularly those exposed to catastrophe risks.
The company said insurers are placing greater emphasis on project governance, quality of risk data and lifecycle exposure when assessing risks, especially as data centre developments become larger, more energy intensive and increasingly complex to transition into operational use.
The report identified a number of developments expected to shape the construction insurance market during 2026. Aon said insurers are offering greater capacity and more competitive pricing for well-managed risks in many regions, although careful underwriting remains a priority for projects involving significant technical or catastrophe-related exposures.
The company added that insurers are paying closer attention to contract arrangements, risk controls and the quality of project information during the underwriting process.
Aon also noted that accelerating investment in digital infrastructure is creating demand for higher insurance limits, more advanced modelling capabilities and lifecycle-focused risk management strategies. In addition, the company said the global surety market remains stable, with strong availability of capacity for businesses with solid credit profiles and increasing use of surety solutions as an alternative to traditional bank guarantees.
The company further stated that macroeconomic uncertainty, geopolitical tensions and cyber risks continue to influence construction project delivery, loss exposure and insurer appetite across international construction portfolios.
“Digital infrastructure is fundamentally changing the nature of construction risk,” commented James MacNeal, Global Head of Construction and Infrastructure at Aon. “As projects become larger, more technical and more operationally critical, insurers are focusing on early engagement, high-quality data and programme design that reflects how these assets are built and transitioned into operation.”
Aon said it has expanded its Data Center Lifecycle Insurance Program to $3.5 billion in response to the growing scale and pace of global data centre development. The company explained that the programme is intended to support developers, owners and investors throughout the entire project lifecycle, from construction through to long-term operations.
“Even as construction insurance markets become more competitive, capacity for complex risks is being deployed selectively,” added Joe Peiser, CEO of Risk Capital at Aon. “A lifecycle-based approach, enabled by Aon’s integrated Risk Capital capabilities, can help clients align insurance, reinsurance and capital to support hyperscale digital infrastructure from development through operations.”
Aon said its integrated Risk Capital platform brings together commercial risk, reinsurance and capital markets expertise to help clients address complex risks, improve risk transfer strategies and secure the level of insurance capacity required for long-term investment in digital infrastructure and other capital-intensive industries.
