Preparing for High-Voltage Data Centre Construction Risk

The AI data centre boom is well documented. Less discussed is what it means for the owners and developers financing and building these facilities when the underlying technology changes faster than the risk and insurance frameworks designed to support it.

Driven in part by the evolving power requirements of next-generation AI chips, the industry is now moving from the low-voltage, 48-volt DC systems that have defined data centre design for years toward 800V DC power distribution architectures.¹ That transition is already affecting active projects and will reshape the risk profile of every data centre project it touches.²

A different class of electrical hazard

At the current 48-volt level, the electrical risk to workers in data centres is primarily a shock hazard, manageable with standard personal protective equipment (PPE) such as gloves, hard hats and glasses, as well as established safety procedures. But as the voltage increases to 600 to 800 volts, so does the risk.

Workers operating in these high-voltage environments require arc-rated PPE selected based on incident energy analysis, which at 800V DC power distribution often calls for higher protection categories. More significantly, with 800V DC power delivered to individual racks rather than stopping at central power distribution units, virtually every piece of equipment in the facility becomes a potential arc flash exposure point. That demands safety planning well beyond standard data centre construction protocols.

The workforce challenge compounds this. Licensed electricians with experience in higher-voltage environments are increasingly hard to find.³ That labor scarcity isn’t just a contractor problem — it directly affects project timelines, safety program integrity and insurability for owners and developers. As demand for high-density data centres grows, so will the gap between available qualified labor and project requirements.

Property and business interruption exposure

The shift in data centre power architecture meaningfully increases property and business interruption (BI) exposure. Higher power densities mean fire events can develop more quickly and intensely than in current facilities. Liquid cooling systems — essential for these voltage levels — introduce pipe and joint failure risks directly alongside sensitive electrical equipment, particularly during commissioning. In addition, lithium-ion battery systems, increasingly embedded in rack-level power supplies, pose a chemical fire risk that standard suppression systems aren’t well equipped to address.

While these risks aren’t entirely new, the scale and concentration of risk are. For owners and developers, that concentration has direct financial consequences: A significant loss event at a high-voltage facility could affect the immediate project, as well as the financing structure and continuity of coverage for future builds in an active pipeline.

Coverage implications for owners and developers

The coverage lines most affected are familiar, but the exposure within each has grown. Owners and developers financing high-voltage data centre projects should expect these lines to require closer attention:

• Builders risk — Programs for current data centre projects are already structured around loss limits rather than full replacement value, as no single market has capacity to cover a $10 billion campus to full limits. High-voltage architecture, with its greater fire intensity and more complex commissioning risk, will put additional pressure on available capacity and could affect how lenders and equity partners evaluate coverage adequacy.
• Design errors and omissions (E&O) — High-voltage architecture involves technology that is known but not yet widely applied at scale. For owners, that means design errors carry financial consequences that may exceed what current E&O limits are structured to absorb. This gap should be addressed at the project structure stage, not after a loss.
• Equipment breakdown — Equipment breakdown risk in a high-voltage facility carries a different scale of consequence than in conventional data centres. A single failure event can trigger cascading losses across property, business interruption and liability lines simultaneously.
• Workers’ compensation — Working in higher-hazard conditions increases both the frequency and severity of potential claims. Workforce gaps in qualified high-voltage labor compound this exposure if contractors rely on less-experienced workers to meet project timelines.
• General liability — Greater fire risk and more intense loss events raise the stakes on liability exposure across the project lifecycle, particularly third-party claims involving adjacent structures or infrastructure.

Coverage continuity from construction into operations

One of the most significant risk management challenges for owners developing high-voltage data centres isn’t within a single phase but the handoff between them. The transition from builders risk to an operational property program is a known exposure point in any data centre project. In a high-voltage environment, that transition is more complex: The facility is harder to underwrite, the potential loss severity is higher and the number of carriers with meaningful appetite for the operational risk is smaller.

Owners who address this transition in advance with a broker already positioned in both the construction and operational markets are better placed to secure coverage continuity and maintain lender and equity partner confidence. Coverage gaps at the handoff point create timeline disruptions that compound quickly in a high-voltage environment.

Preparing for what’s ahead

The developers and owners best positioned to lead in this space will treat insurance and risk management as inputs to project planning, not outputs. That means:

• Engaging an insurance broker with demonstrated data centre expertise early — before project design is finalized — to identify coverage gaps and structural risk decisions that are far harder to address mid-build.
• Incorporating physical risk controls and redundancies into project design from the earliest stages.
• Structuring contractor selection and compliance requirements to account for high-voltage experience, not just general data centre construction credentials.
• Bringing all stakeholders, including owners, contractors, engineers, carriers and brokers into alignment before shovels hit the ground.

There is no insurance solution that replaces operational readiness, but choosing the right broker is itself a risk management decision. For owners and developers committing capital to high-voltage data centre projects, the right partner brings early engagement, carrier relationships built for large-limit placements and the expertise to navigate the construction-to-operations transition without losing coverage continuity. That’s how capital moves with confidence.

Connect with HUB’s data centre specialists to start the conversation about high-voltage construction risk and what it means for your next project at hubinternational.com.

¹IEEESpectrum, “Data Centers Are Transitioning From AC to DC 800-volt DC power delivery will enable next-gen AI data centers,” March 26, 2026.
²IEEESpectrum, “Data Centers Are Transitioning From AC to DC 800-volt DC power delivery will enable next-gen AI data centers,” March 26, 2026.
³TechBuzz.ai, “AI Data Center Boom Sparks Six-Figure Trade Worker Rush,” March 18, 2026.