Aon launches $50M insurance facility for US construction
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Aon has announced the launch of a new Bermuda-based insurance facility offering up to $50 million in excess casualty coverage for large construction projects in the United States. The move comes as construction risk in the US continues to escalate, driven by increasing project complexity, long-tail liability exposures, and hardening insurance market conditions.
Known as the Bermuda Insurance Liability Top-Up, or BILT, the facility provides project-specific insurance solutions for contractors and infrastructure developers. The coverage is designed to supplement traditional towers and provide added stability across the life cycle of major developments. The facility also offers consistent claims handling and underwriting continuity, features that have become increasingly difficult to secure in volatile commercial insurance markets.
James Drinkwater, CEO of Aon’s commercial risk business in EMEA, said the firm developed BILT in direct response to feedback from clients facing capacity shortages and escalating costs for long-term construction liability. He described the facility as a strategic solution aimed at helping clients de-risk complex build-outs while maintaining operational flexibility and compliance with lender or regulatory insurance requirements.
“Clients building complex infrastructure projects in the US continue to face increasingly challenging insurance market conditions,” Drinkwater said. “This facility is designed to meet those challenges with long-term support and enhanced capacity.”
Bermuda’s growing role in risk transfer
The choice to base the new offering in Bermuda reflects broader trends in the global insurance and reinsurance landscape. As regulatory requirements tighten in the US and admitted markets reduce their appetite for long-tail risk, many clients and brokers are turning to offshore capacity to fill the gap.
Bermuda has emerged as a favored jurisdiction for these types of solutions, offering regulatory flexibility, capital efficiency, and access to a well-developed underwriting ecosystem. The island remains one of the world’s most important reinsurance hubs, responsible for a significant share of capacity in property, casualty, and specialty lines across North America and Europe.
Over the past two years, US insurers and construction sponsors have increasingly used Bermuda to secure both reinsurance and excess and surplus market placements. The shift is driven by several factors, including rising litigation, reduced insurer participation in wrap-up programs, and growing demand for tailored coverage structures that align with individual project risk profiles.
BILT taps into this momentum by offering a standalone facility that can work in tandem with traditional London market placements or operate independently for clients seeking a Bermuda-specific solution.
Project-specific insurance gains ground
While general liability programs still form the foundation of construction insurance strategies, demand for project-specific coverage has increased sharply. These programs are often seen as more efficient and customizable, especially for high-value infrastructure projects where a one-size-fits-all approach to coverage does not meet investor or stakeholder expectations.
Aon’s BILT facility is designed to address this demand with a clear focus on excess casualty layers. The structure allows for underwriting based on a specific project’s duration, jurisdiction, and operational risk profile, providing flexibility often missing from traditional programs.
Construction projects today are exposed to a range of risks that are both technical and financial. Delays caused by supply chain interruptions, labor shortages, and permitting issues can increase the liability horizon. Legal risks, such as joint venture disputes or contractor insolvency, often emerge after a project is completed and operational.
In this context, consistent and reliable insurance coverage is not just a requirement, it is often a prerequisite for project financing. Investors, including pension funds and infrastructure sponsors, expect insurance programs to remain intact across the entire project term, from groundbreaking through to operations and sometimes beyond.
BILT is structured with these needs in mind. It offers underwriting support with experience across major construction sectors, as well as a claims process that aligns with the long duration of the liability tail. The facility is also designed to minimize administrative friction by streamlining onboarding and policy issuance.
A strategic response to market pressures
The launch of BILT comes amid continuing disruption across the global construction and casualty insurance markets. Inflationary pressures have driven up the cost of both materials and labor, while legal trends in several US states have increased the severity of liability judgments. In response, many insurers have reduced their construction exposure or raised deductibles, leading to gaps in available capacity for larger or longer-term projects.
This environment has placed additional pressure on brokers and risk managers to source new capital and negotiate more durable program structures. Facilities like BILT offer one potential answer, especially for clients building projects that span multiple years or involve multiple contractors and subcontractors.
Aon has long been a dominant player in the construction and infrastructure insurance space, placing billions of dollars in premium annually and maintaining deep relationships with global carriers and reinsurers. The BILT facility expands the firm’s ability to offer end-to-end support for clients facing complex risk transfer needs.
By launching BILT through Bermuda, Aon is also signaling its commitment to innovate within a rapidly changing insurance environment. The facility demonstrates how brokers and carriers can respond creatively to emerging exposures without abandoning underwriting discipline or long-term client service.
As infrastructure investment ramps up in the US supported by federal funding and private capital alike, the need for sophisticated and stable insurance programs will only grow. BILT may offer one pathway for clients seeking both capacity and consistency in a challenging risk environment.
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