Zurich launches Fronted Master Builders Risk for mega projects

SCHAUMBURG, Ill.—Zurich North America, a leader in construction and other commercial insurance offerings, has officially launched its Fronted Master Builders Risk (MBR) solution, a groundbreaking structure designed to meet the unprecedented scale and complexity of today’s largest construction projects—including those driven by the explosive growth of e-commerce, artificial intelligence and advanced manufacturing.

“We began developing this at the request of an e-commerce company for one of the largest MBR programs ever created,” said Patrick McBride, Head of Construction Property for Zurich North America. “Since its initial introduction, we’ve rapidly scaled Zurich’s Fronted MBR solution into a global offering, based on demand. Brokers and customers immediately grasped the benefits. The enthusiasm we’re seeing tells us we’re addressing a real need in the market.”

The program has already supported over $80 billion in insurable values, far surpassing projections. The novel solution earned the Insurer Team of the Year award at the Business Insurance 2025 U.S. Insurance Awards.

Streamlined, single-policy structure

The Zurich Global Fronted MBR solution delivers a streamlined, single-policy structure that includes claims handling, risk engineering services and multinational coverage integration. Zurich issues the fronting policy and then cedes the balance of the exposure to a panel of reinsurers, enabling efficient deployment of capacity across borders and timelines and simplifying coverage management for the broker and customer.

“This solution is a direct response to the evolving needs of our customers,” said Tobias Cushing, Head of Construction at Zurich North America. “We’re seeing projects that are not only larger in value but also more complex in scope and longer in duration. Our Fronted MBR solution is built to simplify the insurance process for these mega projects — offering contract certainty, multi-year continuity and global reach in a single, cohesive structure.”

The coverage is ideal for owners and contractors with project pipelines comprising multiple individual projects in excess of $250 million, particularly those with both domestic and global projects and risks. Zurich Fronted MBR offers:

• A single-carrier solution for underwriting, risk engineering, invoicing and claims administration.
• Availability of multi-year terms and globally consistent coverage for project bidding and forecasting, with a reduction in non-concurrency concerns.
• Simplified claims administration through a single point of contact who indemnifies the owner or contractor directly.

A key innovation in the offering is the automation of what was previously a manual project enrollment process. Zurich’s cross-functional team developed a technology-enabled workflow that streamlines multinational coverage integration, premium calculations and document generation — dramatically enhancing efficiency and scalability.

“We’re proud to have the capabilities to bring a Fronted Master Builders Risk program to our Construction customers, who have trusted Zurich as a market leader for over 25 years,” said Kelly Kinzer, Head of Specialties at Zurich North America. “Traditional programs couldn’t meet the scale, and few carriers could put together this kind of simplified, holistic solution. It is one way we’re delivering on the specialization that our customers increasingly look for from Zurich.”

To learn more about Zurich Construction solutions, click here.

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