Canada’s construction and infrastructure market is undergoing a fundamental shift in how projects were built and insured, driven by the rise of modular methods, massive public-private partnerships, and new technology, according to Justin Campisi (pictured), managing director and national construction corporate leader at Marsh Canada.
Modular construction has long been viewed as a niche, but demand has surged in affordable housing, long-term care, and Indigenous community projects. Unlike traditional builds, many modules are shipped across borders before assembly, creating risks that stretch from factory to final site. “These products often require specialized inland marine and transit insurance solutions,” Campisi said. To address this, Marsh developed program structures that “bridge the gaps between manufacturing, shipping, and then the actual on-site assembly risk” to deliver a unified coverage approach.
Convincing insurers to underwrite these risks can take time. “They're different than typical construction. So from that perspective, it's about educating the market on the product and just the overall exposure there so they can get comfortable with it,” he said.
Canada’s P3 market remains among the most active globally, with multibillion-dollar transit, healthcare, and education projects now standard. The complexity of these projects demands insurance programs aligned to intricate contract models such as design-build-finance-operate-maintain structures. “We’re helping them optimize risk transfer… and that they stay on track on those projects,” Campisi said. Benchmarking from international mega projects has helped Canadian contractors price risk more competitively, while wrap-up and builders’ risk programs are designed to cover multi-phase, decade-long builds.
Shifting schedules have already changed the nature of coverage. Delays from environmental reviews, permitting, and labour shortages can strain fixed-duration builders’ risk policies. “We’re trying to work pretty proactively to negotiate more flexible policy extensions, include automatic grace periods,” Campisi said.
Data centre construction is a particular focus, with Marsh launching NIMBIS to “cover projects through multiple phases under the one policy” and combine builders’ risk, delay in start-up, operational property, and business interruption coverage.
Ontario Power Generation is building the first small modular reactor (SMR) unit in the developed world – a modular approach intended to cut nuclear build times and costs. For underwriters, such projects require close attention to milestone risk allocation, phasing, and performance data. Campisi said aligning insurance strategies to delivery models like progressive design-build or integrated project delivery was critical for long-term financial stability.
Technology-driven projects such as smart buildings, IoT-enabled infrastructure, and data centres have also blurred the line between physical and cyber risk. “They’re expanding the scope of physical and cyber risk, so there’s becoming a blur there,” Campisi said. Data centres face “dual exposure” – both equipment failure and cyber breach – prompting exploration of hybrid policies spanning cyber, technology E&O, and property damage.
Parametric coverage, once focused on weather events, is being adapted to cover power outages or latency issues. Early-stage cyber readiness and vendor risk assessments, particularly for foreign technology suppliers, are becoming integral to construction placements.
Supply chain volatility, material cost inflation, and tariffs on steel and lumber have squeezed contractor margins. “Port congestion, tariffs on steel and lumber, inflation and energy prices… are impacting budgets, especially when you think about remote infrastructure projects,” Campisi said. Fixed-price contracts, even in newer P3 models, are still vulnerable to margin erosion.
Marsh’s Sentrisk platform aims to address this by mapping four layers deep into a client’s supply chain using AI to analyze millions of bills of lading in real time. “Maybe you find out that all of a key product for your construction project is coming from one area… exposed to earthquake,” he said. That insight allowed contingency planning, alternative sourcing, and live tariff simulations to assess financial impact.
From modular housing to nuclear SMRs, from wrap-up programs to hybrid cyber policies, the insurance models that once served Canadian construction are being re-engineered. Campisi’s warning is clear – coverage strategies have to match the complexity, technology, and timelines now embedded in infrastructure delivery, or risk falling out of step with the projects themselves.
