Insurance firm launches risk solution for global construction megaprojects

Construction work on the multi-billion dollar HS2 project in the UK. Image: Marr Contracting/John Zammit, courtesy of HS2

The new offering provides a single-policy framework integrating multinational coverage, risk engineering, underwriting, invoicing and claims administration. Zurich issues the fronting policy and cedes the remaining exposure to a panel of reinsurers, aiming to simplify capacity deployment and reduce administrative burdens for owners and contractors with multi-project pipelines.

The company said the product was initially developed at the request of an e-commerce client for one of the largest MBR programmes ever created and has since been expanded into a global offering. Zurich said it has already supported more than $80 billion in insurable value.

Features include multi-year terms, globally consistent coverage, automated project enrolment, and a single point of contact for claims. Zurich said these measures can support project bidding and forecasting while reducing risks from non-concurrent policies.

Why it matters to construction

Zurich’s Fronted Master Builders Risk programme represents a notable shift in how risk is structured for large, multi-jurisdiction projects. By combining global reach, multi-year continuity, and a single-policy administrative framework, it offers a model not previously available at this scale.

Previously, most large construction programmes were insured through individual builder’s risk policies issued separately for each project and jurisdiction. Each policy had its own underwriting, terms, and administration, typically lasting only for the project’s duration. This meant multiple contracts, variable coverage conditions, and significant administrative effort to manage risk across a multi-project programme.

For contractors and owners delivering infrastructure programmes valued in the hundreds-of-millions to billions of dollars, the MBR approach could reduce administrative overhead, improve bidding certainty and address capacity constraints that have historically challenged or delayed megaproject delivery.

While not specified by Zurich, the MBR product’s scale and scope suggest it could apply to international transport infrastructure (airports, tunnels, major road programmes), energy and industrial campuses, major urban redevelopment schemes, data centres and advanced manufacturing facilities; essentially, any mega scale, multi-phase construction pipeline with multi-jurisdiction exposures.

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