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Tool 05 · Applied research · Sustainable insurance

The AI Data Center Insurability Matrix

Configure a hypothetical AI data center and see how a sustainable reinsurer would treat it. Strategy and operations place it on the SCOR matrix; technological and geographic concentration drive the accumulation index, the question only a reinsurer asks.

~1.5%
of world electricity went to data centers in 2024, 415 TWh, set to more than double by 2030.
IEA / SCOR SBR 2025
~560 bn L
of water used by data centers in 2023, also set to more than double by 2030.
IEA / SCOR SBR 2025
10.6 → 24.2 bn$
global data-center insurance premiums, set to more than double by 2030.
Swiss Re sigma 07/2026
60-120 kW
per rack in direct-to-chip for AI loads, immersion exceeding 100 kW.
Baldwin Group 2026

Underwriting worksheet30 criteria

Strategy / sets strategic-risk axis
Power sourcei
Transition plani
Science-based target statusi
Scope 3 reportingi
Board-level ESG oversighti
Published water targeti
Disclosure qualityi
AI workloads reported separatelyi
Operations / sets operational-risk axis
Rack density (kW/rack)i
Cooling fit to densityi
PUEi
WUEi
Water source and loopi
Uptime Tieri
Fire protection and battery sitingi
Battery chemistryi
Site agei
Natural and industrial hazardi
Grid resiliencei
OT / DCIM securityi
Concentration / sets accumulation index
Chip vendor dependencei
Operator / cloud concentrationi
Compute-hub concentrationi
Workload typei
Fibre route dependencei
Share of book in this profilei
Shared cyber stacki
Coverage-tower fragmentationi
Physical clusteringi
Shared catastrophe zonei
Strategy × operationsUnderperforming
Low barMODEST STRATEGY, STRONG OPERATIONSUnderperformingMODEST STRATEGY, WEAK OPERATIONSLeadersADVANCED STRATEGY, STRONG OPERATIONSOff trackADVANCED STRATEGY, WEAK OPERATIONSOperational risk →Strategic risk ↑strong opsweak opsmodestadvanced

Risk readout0 best · 100 worst

Strategic risk58
Operational risk54
Accumulation index67
Business rules fired
No rules fired at this configuration.
Refer as outlier

Refer, then remediate

Weak on both axes. Walking away hands the risk to less careful capacity, so engage to remediate; decline until it moves.

  • Require separate disclosure of AI workloads and emissions.
  • Make capacity contingent on a credible, funded transition plan.
  • Push power toward gas with capture, or additionality-matched renewables.
  • Require closed-loop cooling, or relocation off the water-stressed basin.
  • Add loss engineering on battery siting, fire and redundancy.

Accumulation lensthe reinsurer's question

LowMediumHigh

Medium. Shared dependencies are building. Track the aggregate, set a limit.

How this is computed▾

Three readings. Strategy, operations and concentration, each a weighted average of 0-100 criteria. Strategy and operations place the site on the strategy × operations matrix SCOR publishes (SBR 2025, section 3.5.3). Accumulation is a reinsurance overlay the SCOR grid does not carry.

Business rules. Ten rules break the linearity: thermo-hydric aggravation, world-class operations bonus, battery-fire penalty, unfunded-ambition discount, transparency cap, and an accumulation circuit-breaker that forces a refer verdict above 80 regardless of quadrant.

Benchmarks. 20 sites placed as analyst estimates from public environmental reports and trade press. As SCOR notes for its own cloud: inconsistent public disclosures, exposures hard to isolate, localized impacts hard to assess.

Sources. SCOR SBR 2025; Swiss Re sigma 07/2026 (accumulation); IEA Energy and AI 2025; Uptime Institute; WRI Aqueduct.

Illustrative analytical model for discussion. It encodes a logic, not a rate. Not pricing, underwriting, or investment advice.

Illustrative model for discussion. Not pricing, underwriting, or investment advice. Figures cited for context only.