Zurich Infrastructure Unit

Established in 2001, Zurich Infrastructure Unit is Zurich Insurance Group’s specialist unit, providing construction and operational phase insurance on a stand-alone basis or through multi-year, multi-class insurance programmes for UK and international project financed infrastructure projects procured on a PPP or similar basis.

We are the only London market insurer with a dedicated infrastructure & PPP team;  we understand the industry, its contractual tensions and welcome complexity.

Our unit currently underwrites approximately 300 projects working in partnership with other Zurich departments to ensure that our Group knowledge and product line expertise is coordinated through a single team.

PPP and equivalent infrastructure projects often present a complex mix of construction and operational risks, for example; adopted assets and/or assets scheduled for refurbishment, new-build and multiple, often phased, completion dates at different locations. Coverage interface problems can be eliminated by the use of our multi-year, multi-line insurance programme whether wholly underwritten by Zurich or led by Zurich and subscribed to by a panel of co-insurers. We underwrite construction risks or operational risks in isolation or in combination as required.

Our specialist policy wordings incorporate financiers clauses and we have a preferred format that enjoys widespread market acceptance

Sectors

We provide coverage for most heavy civil or social infrastructure projects in the following sectors;

• Healthcare
• Prisons
• Motorways Tunnels & Bridges
• Tram & Light Rail 
• Roads and Street Lighting
• Government and Public Buildings
• Education
• Police Stations, Fire Stations
• Ministry of Defence assets
• Waste

To view a full list of all sectors we cover click here » more

Global Reach

Our philosophy is that our clients should be able to choose their prefered entry point into our organisation and consequently we can transact business in several ways....

• Domestically through our local office in the country of origin, or
• as a London market placement, or
• a blend of the above

Our clients

We have a wide cross-section including: contractors, sponsors, financiers and secondary market investors.

Whilst we value and encourage direct client contact, all of our business is broker introduced. We act as lead insurer for the great majority of our policies but are able to write on a 100% retained or joint-lead basis as appropriate.

Portfolios (Operational Projects)

Multiple projects placed in a single portfolio format need to be designed with flexibility to accommodate what is effectively an affinity group of projects often with different shareholders and financiers, each of whom have different requirements and priorities.

The creation of a portfolio entails more than the simple amalgamation of several policies and we are experienced in dealing with the  issues arising, not least of which is the need to convince joint-venture partners, co-investors or lenders that the programme is attractive to all stake holders.

Global portfolios can be structured to conform to the mandatory insurance and tax legislation applicable in the project territory.

Risk Management

One of the benefits of writing both construction and operational risks is the opportunity it offers for our risk management input during the design and early construction phase. Certain assets, schools for example, are often more exposed during operation than during construction, whilst the reverse is the case for infrastructure projects such as roads and bridges. Our risk control engineers work closely together recognising that in-built risk protections are less expensive and more effective than ad hoc risk improvement works introduced after the asset has been built. Our construction risk control team includes qualified civil engineers who have contributed to guidance such as the code of practice for tunnelling works.

Find out more on the code of practice for tunnelling works here » more

To find out more about our school design guide please review the downloads at the top of this page.

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