---
title: "Cost of Insuring Russian Data Centers Skyrockets 100-Fold Following Drone Strikes"
description: "The cost of insuring Russian data centers following the October drone strikes rose from 0.03–0.06% to 1–5% of property value, and in some cases by more than 100 times. RNRC has tightened reinsurance conditions, and companies are cutting coverage."
date: 2026-11-13T10:30:03.278Z
lang: en
url: https://xab.info/en/posts/cost-of-insuring-russian-data-centers-skyrockets
tags: [data-centers, insurance, drone-attacks, russia, ukraine, yandex, sberbank, vk, rnpc, it-infrastructure]
author: "Darya Fomina"
publisher: "XAB.info"
---

# Cost of Insuring Russian Data Centers Skyrockets 100-Fold Following Drone Strikes

![Neon drone with a shield on a dark background symbolizing data center cybersecurity](https://xab.info/media/2026/11/13/stoimost-strahovaniya-data-centrov-v-rossii-vzletela/stoimost-strahovaniya-data-centrov-v-rossii-vzletela-1.webp)

## Key Points

- Insurance rates for data centers in Russia rose from 0.03–0.06% to 1–5% of property value following the October drone attacks
- The Russian National Reinsurance Company set a baseline rate of 1% for amounts starting at 10 billion rubles and introduced individual reinsurance procedures for specific locations
- The first Ukrainian UAV strikes on Yandex, Sberbank, and VK data centers were recorded in October 2026
- Operator companies are reducing insurance coverage or excluding individual risks from policies

The insurance market in Russia is facing an unprecedented overhaul of terms across one of the key segments of digital infrastructure. According to the business daily Kommersant, published on November 13, 2026, the cost of data center property policies has increased tenfold or more over the course of several months. While in the first half of 2026 the insurance premium stood at 0.03–0.06% of the insured property's value, after Ukrainian strikes on critical digital infrastructure facilities began, rates jumped to 1–5%. In individual cases, according to expert estimates, the price surge exceeded the 100-fold threshold. Such a spike makes insuring IT infrastructure facilities economically unfeasible for a number of companies and forces them to reconsider their risk structures.

### Chronology of Strikes on Data Centers

The first documented attacks by Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles on Russian data centers occurred in October 2026. According to available information, targets belonging to Russia's three largest technology and financial companies—Yandex, Sberbank, and VK—ended up in the impact zone. These strikes were a logical continuation of an earlier practice when the Russian military struck data centers located on Ukrainian territory. Thus, both sides of the conflict have included digital infrastructure facilities in the list of legitimate targets, which has radically changed risk assessments in the insurance market.

### Response of the National Reinsurer

Against the backdrop of a sharp increase in the number of incidents, the Russian National Reinsurance Company (RNRC), owned by the Central Bank of Russia, significantly tightened data center reinsurance conditions in October 2026. The baseline rate for insurance amounts totaling 10 billion rubles was set at 1%. Furthermore, the RNRC compiled a list of geographic locations where object reinsurance is carried out exclusively on an individual basis—under terms agreed upon for each specific case. This means that standard package policies for facilities in "red zones" are effectively unavailable, and negotiations with the reinsurer turn into a lengthy and non-linear process.

### Impact on Business and Risk Structure

Experts interviewed by Kommersant note that data center operator companies are beginning to reduce the scope of insurance coverage or completely exclude certain types of risks from their policies. Under conditions where a 5% premium on property valued in the tens of billions of rubles turns into an astronomical sum of annual payments, insurance ceases to be a risk management tool and becomes a factor undermining business profitability. According to sources, some operators are shifting to a self-insurance model by creating reserve funds, while others are simply absorbing the risk of potential attack losses, counting on the probability of a repeat hit on a specific facility remaining low.

### Broader Context: Digital Infrastructure as a Conflict Target

The rise in insurance rates for data centers is merely the visible part of a deeper process: both sides of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict are consistently expanding the list of targets considered permissible for strikes. While back in 2024–2025 attacks on IT infrastructure were targeted and episodic, by the autumn of 2026 they had acquired a systemic character on both sides. For the insurance market, this means a transition from a "low probability — low premium" model to a "high probability — premium rate" model, which ultimately shifts the financial burden onto the end consumers of digital services whose data is stored in the insured centers. The question of whether the insurance market in Russia will be able to offer adequate conditions for IT infrastructure in the medium term remains open.

## Fact-Check & Sources

- [Cost of insuring Russian data centers against drone attacks skyrockets — rising more than 100-fold in some cases](https://meduza.io/en/news/2026/11/13/cost-of-insuring-russian-data-centers-against-drone-attacks-skyrockets-rising-more-than-100-fold-in-some-cases) - Primary source (Kommersant) via Meduza. Specific percentage rates and the 100-fold growth follow a single chain. The fact of attacks on data centers in October 2026 is confirmed. RNRC conditions are per the same source.

## FAQ

### How much has the cost of data center insurance in Russia increased?

According to Kommersant, rates grew from 0.03–0.06% of property value in the first half of 2026 to 1–5% after the October attacks began. In individual cases, the price increase exceeded the 100-fold threshold.

### Which companies were affected by strikes on data centers?

In October 2026, Ukrainian drones struck data centers belonging to Yandex, Sberbank, and VK.

### What did the Russian National Reinsurance Company change?

In October 2026, the RNRC set a baseline rate of 1% for insurance amounts starting at 10 billion rubles and compiled a list of locations where reinsurance is conducted on an individual basis under terms agreed for each case.

### How are companies reacting to the rise in insurance rates?

According to experts, data center operators are reducing insurance coverage or excluding certain types of risks from policies. Some companies are switching to self-insurance.