Flood risk factors are evolving faster than traditional assessment methods
Historical loss data alone cannot capture current-day flood risk. Growing property development in flood-prone locations adds pressure on insurers to assess risk accurately and manage exposure accumulations for this highly complex peril.
Next-generation flood models built on scientific leadership and near-present climate data
As weather patterns shift and protection gaps widen, insurers need flood models that reflect near-present climate realities. Our comprehensive flood catastrophe modeling capabilities help you understand how events evolve over time, evaluate off-floodplain risk, recognize the chance of flood defense failure, and make confident decisions when billions are at stake.
High-resolution flood risk assessment at 5-meter granularity
10,000-year stochastic catalog uses detailed LiDAR data to inform the digital terrain model, enabling you to separate losses from fluvial and pluvial sources and extract event intensities for every location.
Comprehensive flood hazard maps reflecting near-present climate conditions
De-trended quantile mapping identifies sub-regional trends and climate change effects on precipitation patterns. Hazard maps are available at multiple return periods (50-, 200-, 500-year).
Extended coverage across all lines of business
Our models cover more than 80 construction classes and 111 occupancy classes, including large industrial facilities, infrastructure, marine lines, and personal/commercial autos.
Features and capabilities
Built on decades of scientfic leadership, our models analyze terrain characteristics, precipitation patterns, flood defense systems, and building vulnerability to provide a complete view of exposure.
Physical models for pluvial and fluvial events
Physically based, comprehensive modeling of fluvial (river) and pluvial (surface water) non-hurricane flooding provides a detailed, continuous location-level view of flood risk factors. This explicit approach enables you to assess hazard severity and potential damage with scientific precision.
Probabilistic modeling approach and 10K stochastic catalog
Our precipitation simulation combines global circulation models (GCM) and numerical weather prediction (NWP) with advanced statistical downscaling to generate high-resolution, realistic, statistically robust rainfall patterns. This flood risk assessment methodology delivers the probabilistic insights needed for portfolio analysis and capital modeling.
Unique data sets for validation
Our flood models are informed by detailed peril and loss experience data from multiple robust sources—including Verisk products, government research studies, and insurance industry research. This validation approach ensures our flood hazard maps and risk estimates reflect real-world loss patterns.
Cold region hydrology
Our state-of-the-science cold region hydrological modeling accurately quantifies flood caused by snow melt, excess runoff, and ice jams in Canada—addressing the unique flood catastrophe modeling challenges of northern climates.
High-resolution LiDAR data
Data collected through Light Detection and Ranging methods offers superior elevation accuracy, enabling our flood hazard maps to differentiate risk at proximate locations and deliver the granular insights required for property-level flood risk assessment.
Related resources
Stay informed about important industry trends, emerging flood risk factors, and innovative flood risk assessment solutions that can strengthen your underwriting and portfolio management strategies.
Documentation
Extreme Event Solutions Client Portal
Access client-confidential downloads, training, and documentation for Verisk's extreme event solutions model, software, and service offerings.
Podcast
Potential Impacts of Climate Change on U.S. Inland Flood Risk by Mid Century
As climate change continues, the increasing frequency and intensity of flooding is a growing concern. Dr. Peter Sousounis, director of climate change research at Verisk, examines the issue in this interview.
White paper
Ice, Fire, Wind, and Water
Resources
About Catastrophe Modeling
For rare but severe events, historical loss information is often unreliable in assessing future loss potential. That’s where catastrophe modeling comes in.
General trainings
Certified Extreme Event Modeler (CEEM) Training
Gain insight into the science behind natural catastrophes and a behind-the-scenes look at how catastrophe models are developed and validated.
Research
Research publications from Extreme Event Solutions
Verisk Extreme Event Models are developed by experts who are constantly innovating and driving discovery. Learn more about their groundbreaking work.
Do more with the Verisk ecosystem
Explore our comprehensive suite of flood risk assessment solutions. Integrate our flood models with exposure data quality tools, real-time event response capabilities, and enterprise risk management platforms for end-to-end flood catastrophe modeling and management.
Verisk Synergy Studio
Verisk Synergy Studio is a powerful, flexible, and scalable catastrophe modeling and risk management platform, coming in 2026.
The enterprise risk modeling platform
Understand your estimated exposure to loss from extreme events today—and in the future.
The reinsurance enterprise risk modeling platform
Model the risk of complex reinsurance contracts to inform your underwriting and pricing decisions like never before.
Contact us to learn more
Telephone support is available at the following offices, please call your local provider at one of the listed numbers below:
Support numbers:
Boston +1 6172676645
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