The construction industry faces emerging risks, and climate extremes top the list.

According to Zurich Insurance Group, extreme weather caused by climate change, labour shortages, impatient capital and rising cyber threats are converging, with extreme weather and natural disasters ranking as the most severe risk to the construction sector over the next five years.

The report 2030: The Future of Construction, uses insights from 31 industry experts to map how these pressures interact and why the window to act is at the design stage, not on the construction site.

The report highlights a critical shift, with insurability emerging as a leading indicator of project viability and, increasingly, a real-time signal of underlying resilience. As financing structures tighten and room for errors shrinks, risk is moving upstream into feasibility, siting and procurement decisions made long before construction begins.

The report argues that insurance terms highlight underlying delivery risks earlier than capital markets and urges project owners and contractors to treat insurability as a leading indicator alongside cost, schedule and safety, not as an afterthought once construction is underway.

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