Zurich: Insurability Must Be Built In at Design Stage

Zurich Insurance Group is calling for insurers to be involved at the design stage of construction projects, as intensifying risks make projects harder to insure 

It argues that rising pressures around labour supply and cyber threats are making insurability a condition of projects receiving financing, rather than a consequence of it. 

The report, Beyond 2030: The Future of Construction, is compiled with input from 31 experts across underwriting, claims, risk engineering and construction, gathered through interviews between December 2025 and March 2026.

The report covers 17 risks to the construction sector, assessed on a seven-point severity scale and mapped against each other to identify how they interact.

Labour and cyber risks mount globally

According to the report, labour market dynamics and cyber threats are among the most severe risks facing the construction sector over the next five years. 

Those labour pressures look different depending on the market. In the US it is a straightforward supply problem. The US construction industry must attract approximately 349,000 net new workers in 2026 to meet demand, according to the Associated Builders and Contractors, with much of that pressure driven by the data centre boom. 

The Zurich report finds Southeast Asia also faces a shortfall of around 1.5 million skilled workers, while Australia expects a gap of more than 300,000 by 2027.

In the UK, however, the training pipeline is the bigger labour issue. More than 100 vacancies exist for every apprenticeship place in trades including engineering, manufacturing, plumbing and heating.

When it comes to cyber concerns, the report finds nearly four in five architecture, engineering and construction companies have experienced a cybersecurity threat in the past two years, averaging 226 incidents per company per year. This is a 41% year-on-year increase. 

Only 1% of global losses from cyber events is insured, meaning the vast majority of financial impact falls on contractors and project owners directly.

The report also makes the point that factors are exacerbated by each other, chain-reaction style. A labour shortage, for example, delays a project already blighted by weather disruption, while a cyber incident on a stretched site compounds both.

What this tells project owners

The report's argument is that insurability is rapidly becoming a leading indicator of whether a project can proceed at all.

"Our customers deliver more complex projects in an increasingly volatile risk environment, all under more compressed schedules," says Kelly Kinzer, Global Head of Construction and Surety at Zurich.

"Our latest research makes clear that if a project is not insurable, it will not be financed. Therefore, building resilience into the design, with insurers at the table early, is critical to making projects viable."

Zurich underwrote more than 245 data centre construction projects in the US in 2025, according to a separate company announcement. Its construction business grew 21% in the first quarter of 2026, according to its Q1 results.

As lenders tighten terms, coverage gaps or restrictions on a project become an early signal that something in the design or site selection is wrong. 

Insurance terms surface underlying risks before capital markets do, the report argues. Owners and contractors should be treating insurability alongside cost, schedule and safety, rather than treating it as an afterthought once a project has broken ground. 

Large capital projects continue to run around 80% over budget and more than 50% behind schedule, according to Zurich’s report. The average data centre project now carries a value of US$3bn, up from US$150m five years ago, and the risks continue to grow accordingly. 

Zurich argues risk management belongs at the feasibility and siting stages, before a contractor is on site. Getting insurance terms wrong at that stage, or discovering coverage gaps after financing is agreed, creates problems that are expensive to unwind.