Marsh launches digital infrastructure property exchange
Marsh has launched Stratus, a property insurance exchange for operational digital infrastructure risks, including data centers and their critical support systems.
The exchange provides up to $10 billion in property capacity on a single-placement basis for the global exposures of U.S.-domiciled companies. Thirty traditional and alternative capital providers will assess each risk individually, aiming to help address capacity, aggregation and risk-selection challenges as digital infrastructure projects move from construction into operation.
Stratus uses Marsh’s engineering data, analytics and advisory services to support customized property placements for assets such as large-scale campuses, self-generating power systems, and specialized processing equipment.
The platform extends Marsh’s existing Nimbus construction-phase insurance facility. Clients can use either solution independently or together, and Marsh plans to add inland marine, cyber and casualty coverages over time.
The launch follows a busy summer for data-center insurance. QBE appointed Jamie Thompson as global director of data centers, a newly created role focused on developing an integrated, multi-product insurance proposition for the sector. Aon expanded capacity in its Data Center Lifecycle Insurance Program to $5 billion, while Lockton launched a global Data Centers & Digital Infrastructure Practice spanning construction, property, cyber, environmental and surety risks. Marsh also advised Meta and BlackRock on their $14 billion El Paso data-center venture, providing risk analysis and insurance services to Meta and acting as a technical adviser to BlackRock.
“As large digital infrastructure projects shift from construction to operation, the associated risks become larger and more complex, driven by multi-billion-dollar campuses, self-generating power systems, and emerging technologies used in processing units and critical equipment. By combining Marsh’s engineering data and analytics, risk consulting capabilities, and access to the global (re)insurance and capital markets, Stratus is designed to improve the quality and efficiency of operational digital infrastructure property placements and help clients secure the protection they need to support growth at scale.” – Joe Macejak, US Property Digital Infrastructure Leader, Marsh Risk.
Bottom Line: Marsh is creating a capacity marketplace for the increasingly complex operational risks behind data-center buildouts.
