Artificial intelligence is driving one of the largest infrastructure investment cycles in decades. Still, the rapid global build-out of data centers is also creating a new era of construction, operational, climate and insurance risks, according to the latest Allianz Commercial The data center construction boom: risks and claims trends. Annual investment in data centers is projected to double from around $500bn in 2024 to more than $1trn by 2027. The investment opportunity extends far beyond server halls to electricity generation, grid infrastructure, cooling, networking, and semiconductors. According to Allianz Research, the US and China are expected to account for around 62 per cent of new global capacity additions through 2030, but the next wave of investment is becoming increasingly global. In Europe, Germany, the UK and Ireland remain major markets, but faster expansion is expected in Spain, Finland and Denmark, where power availability and permitting conditions can be more favorable. Across Asia Pacific, excluding China, installed capacity is projected to increase from around 9GW today to more than 28GW by 2030, with Malaysia expected to grow more than tenfold.
"AI is turning the latest generation of data centers from a specialist real estate asset into mission-critical infrastructure," says Thomas Lillelund, CEO of Allianz Commercial. "The scale of investment is extraordinary and, as these centers evolve beyond traditional data storage to high-performance compute demands, success will increasingly depend on resilience: access to power, reliable supply chains, robust construction controls, as well as climate-aware site selection and insurance programs that reflect the true accumulation risk. Indeed, comprehensive insurance cover has become a prerequisite for financing many large-scale AI infrastructure projects."
The sector's biggest constraints are increasingly physical rather than financial. Competitive advantage is increasingly determined by access to electricity, grid connections, permitting, specialized equipment and skilled labor. In the US alone, the construction industry faces a shortage of around 439,000 skilled workers, while an estimated 349,000 additional workers may be needed in 2026. Climate resilience is increasingly a strategic consideration rather than an operational afterthought. Around 79 per cent of global data center capacity is already located in areas exposed to heightened natural catastrophe risk, while 54 per cent is exposed to chronic heat and drought stress. Some of the fastest-growing AI infrastructure markets are also among the most climate-exposed, including Northern Virginia, US, Johor in Malaysia, and Marseille, France. Acute flood, wildfire and wind exposure is highest in the Americas, affecting 86 per cent of capacity, while chronic heat and drought stress is greatest in Asia Pacific, where 89 per cent of capacity is exposed.
Insurance is evolving alongside the sector. As data centers assume a more critical role in infrastructure, comprehensive insurance cover has become a prerequisite for financing many large-scale AI infrastructure projects. Construction costs for a single AI campus can exceed US$20bn, with insured values rising substantially once high-performance computing equipment is installed. The global data center insurance market is projected to grow from around $11bn today to more than $24bn by 2030, reflecting rapid capacity expansion, rising insured values and increasing operational complexity. Demand is expected to extend beyond traditional property cover towards integrated solutions spanning construction, engineering, property, business interruption, cyber and liability, while also creating new opportunities in areas such as energy resilience, operational continuity, and technology risk.
