• videocam Live Webinar with Live Q&A
  • calendar_month July 16, 2026 @ 1:00 PM ET/10:00 AM PT
  • signal_cellular_alt Intermediate
  • card_travel Insurance
  • schedule 90 minutes

Insurance Risks of Data Centers: Navigating Coverage Gaps in Construction, Business Interruptions, and Cyber Policies

About the Course

Introduction

This CLE webinar will provide an overview of data center insurance risks and offer proactive considerations to reduce the likelihood of unexpected gaps in coverage. The panel will discuss the new types and increased levels of risk for tech companies, developers, and operators in the design, construction, and operation of data centers.

Description

The complexity of data center insurance springs from the unprecedented scale, novelty, complexity, expense, and interconnectedness of data centers themselves. All the systems are so interconnected and sensitive that if anything goes wrong, a cascade of first and third-party losses could ensue. Tech companies, developers, and operators worry about physical damage from outside (natural or man-made disasters) or inside (failed systems, employee actions, security breaches), cyberattacks, shutdowns, professional negligence by design or construction professionals, harmful discharges (toxic, uncooled water), and much more.

Presently, the most foreseeable concern is the applicability of business interruption policies and whether their unique definitions and exclusions would afford any meaningful coverage. Disputes would be expected over the requirement of physical damage, how to define the period of restoration, the availability of contingent business interruption coverage, valuation, and whether the damage extends to other connected campuses. Property and construction risks increase because installation of highly technical components is being demanded on an expedited or urgent timetable, yet builder's risk policies will not cover defective work, and it might not surface for some time.

Cyberattacks, physical security, and equipment failures present a third category of concerning risks where existing policies do not appear to offer adequate coverage. These types of events can produce a cascading series of first- and third-party claims for which coverage could prove illusive without proper planning. Experts agree that a layered insurance program based on consistent language across policies is a best practice, but recovering for losses can be especially difficult if multiple carriers and reinsurers are involved.

Listen as our esteemed panel of insurance practitioners discusses the novel issues and coverage gaps prevalent in data center insurance programs and provides recommendations for avoiding coverage surprises too late.  

Presented By

Christina Arnone
Partner
Stinson LLP

Ms. Arnone represents corporate policyholders in high-stakes insurance disputes, litigates coverage actions, and counsels businesses to mitigate risks and maximize insured recoveries.

Joseph M. Englert
Partner
McGuire Woods LLP

Mr. Englert is a partner in our Atlanta office and a member of the firm’s Commercial Litigation department. His practice primarily focuses on representing policyholders in complex commercial insurance coverage disputes. Mr. Englert represents insurance policyholders in all aspects of insurance coverage disputes including complex litigation, subrogation and arbitration matters relating to property damage, business interruption, bad faith claims, directors and officers liability (D&O), professional liability / errors and omissions (E&O), cyber/privacy liability, government expropriation, product liability and advertising injury, as well as advising clients in obtaining best in class terms and conditions with U.S. and international insurers for commercial property, D&O, E&O, representation and warranty, cyber, political risk, and other lines of insurance coverage. His clients span a multitude of industries, including financial institutions, energy and infrastructure companies, government entities, healthcare providers, restaurants and hospitality companies, and manufacturing companies. Mr. Englert is a frequent author and speaker on topics relating to insurance and crisis management and other commercial litigation issues. He has also been recognized in Chambers and Super Lawyers.

Daniel J. Healy
Partner
Brown Rudnick LLP

Mr. Healy is a seasoned trial attorney with more than 20 years of extensive courtroom experience in courts across the country. He represents policyholders seeking insurance coverage. Mr. Healy has successfully obtained coverage under numerous policy types, working with clients from a variety of industries, including technology companies, financial consultants, manufacturers, railroads, banks, financial service providers, retailers, medical service providers, and food and beverage providers. He is the author of Cyber Insurance Claims, Case Law, and Risk Management, a leading treatise on cyber insurance. In addition, Mr. Healy regularly represents clients in disputes involving intellectual property rights and in proceedings before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. He has negotiated copyright and trademark resolutions, including licensing agreements, involving state, federal and international intellectual property rights. Many of the matters he has been involved in have concerned software, online competition, blockchain businesses and technology.

Credit Information
  • This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.


  • Live Online


    On Demand

Date + Time

  • event

    Thursday, July 16, 2026

  • schedule

    1:00 PM ET/10:00 AM PT

I. Complexity of data centers and impact on insurance

II. Unique insurance issues in constructing data centers

III. Key risks

A. Natural hazards, weather

B. Fires from lithium batteries

C. Escaped liquids exposure

D. Cyberattacks

E. Concentration of risks across multiple lines

IV. Business interruption

V. Property and construction risks

VI. Cyber and equipment breakdown risks

VII. Strategies closing coverage gaps


The panel will review these and other important issues, such as:

  • What are the requirements for business interruption coverage under standard property and builder’s risk insurance policies and how are claim values established? 
  • What additional risk factors exist for phased projects, where data center operations begin prior to completion of construction, and how are these increased risks addressed through insurance?
  • How can gaps in coverage be filled outside insurance, including through contractual risk-shifting mechanisms?