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The rapid expansion of artificial intelligence infrastructure is creating concentrated risks that could make data centers increasingly difficult to insure and finance, according to Aon (NYSE: AON) CEO Greg Case.
Speaking to CNBC, Case warned that placing billions of dollars in computing equipment and infrastructure within a limited number of locations could expose developers to substantial financial losses while creating challenges for insurers assessing their capacity to provide coverage.
- Aon CEO Greg Case warned that concentrated AI data center infrastructure could become difficult to insure, potentially restricting developers’ access to debt financing.
- Aon reported a record pipeline of data center projects and has established $10 bn in data center insurance capacity and a $2.5 bn energy facility.
- Case estimates that global insurance capital may need to double or triple to address emerging risks, with institutional investors potentially providing additional capacity.
If you create them and you build them on top of each other, you’ve created concentration risk in a way in which it makes it more difficult to get insurance. If it’s more difficult to get insurance, that means the financing structure is going to change completely. You can’t access the debt markets.
Greg Case, Aon CEO
Business interruption represents another significant exposure, particularly for facilities supporting high-value computing operations.
“Data centers are literally going to measure business interruption at millions of dollars per minute,” Case told CNBC.
Technology companies are increasing investment in data centers, power generation and supporting infrastructure to meet demand for AI computing. The spending is generating new business for insurers, insurance brokers and risk consultants, but the scale and concentration of these projects are raising questions about available insurance capacity.
Aon expands data center insurance capacity as AI investment accelerates
Aon’s third-quarter 2026 results showed a record pipeline of data center projects, contributing to 7% organic revenue growth in its commercial risk business.
Adjusted earnings per share increased 10% to $3.36, while the company’s adjusted operating margin rose 70 basis points to 27%.
To address demand for insurance protection across infrastructure projects, Aon has developed specialised insurance facilities that aggregate underwriting capacity for particular industries and exposures.
These include a $10 bn data center insurance facility and a $2.5 bn energy facility.
Case said managing the associated exposures requires insurers and developers to collaborate before projects are completed, including decisions about facility design, geographic location and measures to limit operational disruption.
Aon is working with developers to assess how facilities should be designed and located, reduce potential business interruption losses and structure coverage that satisfies financing requirements.
Aon’s $17 bn USI acquisition targets complex middle-market risks
Growing demand for specialised risk management services is also central to Aon’s pending $17 bn acquisition of USI Insurance Services, which is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026.
The transaction will combine USI with Aon’s existing operations and NFP, the insurance brokerage business acquired in 2024, establishing a middle-market platform with approximately $6.5 bn in revenue.
Case said smaller businesses encounter many of the same complex exposures as multinational corporations but frequently lack comparable access to analytical resources, insurance expertise and specialised coverage.
“Our middle market clients have exactly the same challenges, exactly the same risks they face every day, and they deserve to have the content, the insight, the capability that the largest companies in the world have,” he said.
AI is expected to improve efficiency across insurance brokerage and consulting, raising questions about the rationale for major acquisitions alongside investments in technology.
Case argued that technological capabilities and professional expertise remain complementary.
“This is about talent and technology,” he said. “You get those both right. That’s how you build the relationships that matter for clients.”
Aon expects the USI combination to generate $395 mn in annual earnings benefits, including $280 mn in cost savings and $115 mn in revenue synergies.
The acquisition will be financed through debt, with Aon planning to prioritise leverage reduction over the following two years.
AI cyber risks increase demand for insurance capital
Artificial intelligence is helping cybersecurity researchers identify vulnerabilities more efficiently, but the technology is also introducing additional exposures that could produce substantial and potentially widespread losses.
On October 21, researchers disclosed two critical vulnerabilities in PHP, a programming language estimated to support roughly 70% of websites.
The flaws could potentially allow attackers to execute malicious code remotely on vulnerable servers without authentication.
AI technology contributed to the discovery and analysis of the vulnerabilities through research involving cybersecurity firms Calif and Google’s Wiz, alongside OpenAI.
The incident illustrated how AI-assisted vulnerability research can expose security weaknesses affecting widely deployed software, creating challenges for businesses and their insurers.
Asked whether cyber threats were developing faster than insurers could respond, Case said the industry needed to increase its ability to absorb new risks.
Case estimates that the global insurance industry currently holds approximately $4.5 tn in capital. He believes that capacity may need to double or triple to meet demand associated with cyber threats, AI infrastructure, data centers and other emerging exposures.
“Call it 5 trillion to 10 to 15 trillion,” Case said, explaining his view of the industry’s future capital requirements and clarifying comments from Aon’s second-quarter earnings call.
His proposed approach involves expanding participation beyond traditional insurance and reinsurance providers.
Institutional investors, pension funds, sovereign wealth funds and wealthy individuals could contribute capital to support exposures historically underwritten primarily by insurers and reinsurers.
Case estimates that these investors collectively represent a potential capital pool of approximately $250 tn, meaning that even a relatively small allocation to insurance risk could significantly increase available market capacity.
Aon is seeking to play a larger role in connecting insurance exposures with these alternative capital providers, moving beyond its traditional function of placing coverage with established insurers.
“Not just being a market taker or market optimizer for our clients, but a market maker creating new markets to sort of drive and address risk,” Case said.
Greater participation from institutional investors could create opportunities for alternative asset managers and private capital providers seeking returns from insurance-linked investments.
Such arrangements would also require investors to understand the possibility of substantial correlated losses, particularly where multiple insured assets share common technological, geographic or operational vulnerabilities.
Case said accurate risk measurement would be essential to attracting additional capital and giving investors sufficient confidence to assume these exposures.
Commercial insurance prices decline, but Aon warns against lasting soft market
The increasing complexity of corporate risk is occurring alongside declining prices in parts of the commercial insurance market, providing some buyers with relief after several years of premium increases.
Case cautioned against interpreting current pricing conditions as evidence that lower insurance rates would persist indefinitely.
According to Case, some corporate clients are responding to reduced insurance prices by expanding their protection rather than simply cutting premium expenditure.
Improved understanding of potential losses is prompting certain businesses to reconsider their coverage limits and programme structures, even where the price per unit of insurance has fallen.
