Insurer Markel International and broker Willis have established what they describe as the first dedicated insurance facility for the nuclear sector, offering end-to-end capacity across a project’s full life cycle.
The facility covers property damage and business interruption for both nuclear-critical and conventional exposures, from construction through to operation, with capacity available on a quota share or excess of loss basis.
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It is designed to sit alongside existing market structures rather than supplant them, addressing what the two companies characterise as the shortcomings of traditional placement models, which typically draw on capacity from multiple markets.
Willis natural resources global head Rupert Mackenzie said: “We are pleased to be working with an innovative insurer like Markel to launch a facility that provides a diversification option that addresses the scale and complexity of today’s nuclear facilities.”
The launch comes as global nuclear investment picks up pace.
Around 70 reactors are currently under construction worldwide, according to the World Nuclear Association, with more than 100 additional units in the planning stages.
According to the press statement, rising electricity demand from data centres and AI is accelerating interest in nuclear energy.
The International Energy Agency projects that data centre power consumption will more than double by 2030, prompting utilities and technology companies to seek reliable, low-carbon baseload generation.
Nuclear power, including small modular reactors, is widely regarded as one of the few technologies capable of meeting that demand on a continuous basis.
Markel International London Market managing director Rohan Davies added: “This joint facility with Willis is our answer to that: tailored, specialist capacity structured for the complexity of modern nuclear projects, built for an era when the stakes and the scale are higher than ever.”
The facility reflects a growing acknowledgement within the insurance industry that the scale and complexity of contemporary nuclear projects are testing the limits of conventional coverage arrangements.
Markel Group reported an operating loss of $273m in the first quarter of 2026, as weakness in its equity portfolio offset gains in its core insurance business, even as operating revenues held steady at $3.55bn.
