Revolutionizing Flood Insurance with CoreLogic® Flood Risk Scores

This post is part of a series sponsored by CoreLogic.

Rising floodwaters pose a major threat to communities and economies around the world, making flood insurance a critical component of risk management. However, accurately assessing a property’s flood risk is a complex and often costly undertaking. Traditional methods, such as elevation certificates, are limited in cost, accuracy and efficiency. CoreLogic’s Flood Risk Score extension uses data from ground floor elevations, minimum adjacent ground levels (LAGs), structure intersections and More detailed and water surface elevation (WSE), all of which contribute to a more accurate risk assessment.

Flood Insurance Challenges

Floods are one of the most devastating natural disasters, causing billions of dollars in damages every year. As flood risk is exacerbated by climate change, insurers face increasing challenges in offering comprehensive flood insurance. One of the main challenges is accurately assessing the flood risk of individual properties, especially in high-risk areas.

Key benefits of CoreLogic’s enhanced flood risk score:

CoreLogic’s Enhanced First Floor Elevation Flood Risk Score utilises AI-driven technology to process images of a property and extract elevation data for key structures.

Comprehensive data: The enhanced flood risk score goes beyond ground floor height to incorporate LAG, structure intersections, and more detailed WSE. The lowest adjacent gradient (LAG) is defined as the absolute elevation above sea level of the lowest point at ground level adjacent to a structure, so the most vulnerable points around a structure can now be detected/identified. This capability is combined with a more detailed water surface elevation (WSE) model with 1 meter resolution (previously 10 meters) and structure intersections to provide a unique and accurate view of risk at the property level. These new capabilities have various benefits, including providing a holistic view of a property or parcel where two buildings or parts of buildings may be at risk; previously, they were displayed and scored based on the parcel centroid. Thus, the enhanced flood risk score provides insurers with a more comprehensive and differentiated view of flood risk.

automation: Enhancements to flood risk scores reduce the need for time-consuming and costly elevation certification, allowing insurers to automatically determine structure elevations at the address level, reducing manual work and speeding up decision-making.

Precision Risk Assessment: Insurers can now differentiate flood risks at a granular level, enabling more accurate risk assessments, which is essential, especially when dealing with high-risk areas and flash flood scenarios. Additionally, our data extends beyond floodplains, providing valuable insights into properties that may be outside flood zones but still be at high risk. This comprehensive approach helps you accurately assess risk and avoid high-risk areas, even if they are not classified as high risk on flood maps.

efficiency: Flood risk score enhancements can be delivered in a variety of ways, depending on an insurer’s needs and capabilities, including through the CoreLogic RiskMeter Online® platform, Spatial API, or batch files. This flexibility improves operational efficiency and saves valuable labor hours.

Accurate, efficient and reliable

Insurance companies have long struggled with several pain points when it comes to flood insurance, including the need for good risk assessments, efficient data collection to avoid delays, and the requirement for accurate structure elevation data. The enhanced Flood Risk Score effectively addresses these pain points, allowing insurers to assess risk with confidence.

The enhancements to the CoreLogic Flood Risk Score are a major advancement in the field of flood insurance. By leveraging the power of artificial intelligence and accurate property data, insurers can now assess flood risk with unprecedented accuracy and efficiency, benefiting insurers as well as property owners seeking more reliable flood insurance coverage. As flood risk continues to evolve due to climate change, solutions like this are a critical tool to stay ahead of the curve and provide communities with the protection they need. These enhancements are especially timely as flooding continues to increase across the country due to climate change.

For more information on underwriting excellence, CoreLogic Underwriting Flood Solutions.

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flood