Latent defects insurance for new data centres
Structural warranty cover for new hyperscale campuses, colocation halls and single-tenant data centres - usually 10 or 12 years on the structure and weatherproof envelope from completion, placed with specialist underwriters.
- Instant response
- Insurer quotes usually within one working day of your proposal
- UK FCA Regulated Broker
- No broker fee to pay
- Specialist commercial underwriters
New build data centres
Why new data centre projects take out latent defects cover
A new data centre is built fast, to a demanding specification and often for an owner who will not be the one who built it. Latent defects insurance gives the owner, and often later owners and tenants, a direct route to the cost of repairing damage caused by a hidden defect in the building, without first having to prove who was at fault.
It is most useful when it is arranged at the start. Registering before work begins on site lets the insurer's technical auditor review the design and see the foundations, slab and frame before they are covered up.
- Hyperscale campuses built in phases, with each building or phase certificated as it completes
- Colocation halls built on speculation or for a pre-let tenant
- Single-tenant and build-to-suit facilities for an operator or a cloud provider
- 10 year cover as the usual term, 12 years from some insurers
What underwriters look at
The parts of a new data centre that get the closest review
Every insurer has its own technical standards, but on a new data centre the same few areas come up again and again. Having the answers ready makes the review quicker and the terms cleaner.
Ground and foundations
The ground investigation, the foundation design and how the building will cope with settlement. Large footprints on former industrial land bring their own questions.
Floor loading and slab flatness
Dense racks, battery rooms and heavy plant put real demands on the ground floor slab. Insurers want to see the design loads and how flatness and cracking will be controlled.
Frame, spans and roof structure
Wide, column-free halls mean long spans. Where chillers, condensers or air handling sit on the roof, the structure has to carry them and the vibration that comes with them.
Envelope and water ingress
Roof coverings, cladding joints, drainage and every penetration for pipework and cabling. Water getting into a live hall is the risk everyone is trying to design out. See roof and envelope cover.
Fast programmes
Keeping the technical audit in step with the build
Data centre programmes rarely wait for anyone. Design and build contracts, early works packages and phased handovers all need the insurer's inspections planned around them, not squeezed in afterwards.
- Engage while the design is still being finalised, so comments can be picked up without redesign
- Agree the inspection stages at the start, including anything that will be covered up quickly
- Tell us about changes to the design, the contractor or the programme as they happen
- For phased campuses, agree how each building or phase will be certificated
New data centre cover - common questions
When should latent defects insurance be arranged for a new data centre?
Before work starts on site, and ideally while the design is still being finalised. That gives you the widest choice of insurers and usually the best terms. If the project is already under way, cover may still be possible but it is harder - see our sister brand Retrospective Warranties.
What does the policy cover on a new data centre?
Usually the cost of repairing damage to the structure and the weatherproof envelope caused by a defect in design, workmanship or materials, usually for 10 or 12 years from completion. IT equipment, data and downtime are not covered as standard. Some insurers offer optional extensions, for example for mechanical and electrical plant or loss of rent. The policy wording sets out the detail.
Can each building on a phased campus have its own cover?
Usually, yes. Many insurers will register a phased campus as one project and issue a certificate for each building or phase as it reaches completion, so cover starts when that part is finished. How this works is agreed at the outset.
Does the insurer's technical audit replace building control?
No. The technical auditor inspects for the insurer's own purposes and is separate from building control and from your own design team and clerk of works, although they often look at the same stages. The audit does not guarantee the building is free of defects.
Tell us about your new data centre
Give us the site, the size of the facility, the build cost and your planned start date, and we will come back with the underwriters likely to cover it.
- Takes under a minute
- Instant reply by email with your reference
- Insurer quotes usually within one working day of your completed proposal
- Sites anywhere in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
- Free and no obligation
Already filled in a proposal form? Email it to us or send it on WhatsApp with any drawings you have and we will take it from there.
