Insurance provider Arbol has launched a product line covering data center moratorium risk.

The cover, which Arbol said is first-of-its-kind, pays out when a covered government action takes effect, resulting in the suspension of data center construction, and remains in force beyond a defined waiting period.

The company said this type of risk was previously considered “uninsurable.”

“As government action does not result in physical loss and falls outside the scope of standard insurance, developers have traditionally been left to lobby it, litigate it or absorb it. Arbol has made the exposure transferable by applying the specialist underwriting and alternative capital capabilities it uses across other classes that the market finds difficult to write,” the company added.

According to DCD’s analysis, there have been nearly 500 individual moratoriums proposed across the US since January, with 340 of these now authorized.

Public opposition to data center development has grown, with concerns over energy prices, water usage, and environmental impact causing the most concern.

Some moratoriums have been introduced specifically to curb the construction of in-progress projects.

One developer whose project was halted due to a moratorium has challenged the stay in court, arguing that a pause impacted the company’s property rights.

DCD analysis found that these issues have transcended being county- and city-level concerns and are now reaching the upper echelons of government. In the US, specifically, 80 percent of gubernatorial candidates have expressed a stance on data centers, with many discussing statewide moratoriums on their construction.

In July, New York became the first US state to impose a moratorium on new large-scale data centers.