6 Insurancemaps - European Commission · 2015-11-09 · 6 Insurancemaps 6.1 CatNet...

6 Insurance maps6.1 CatNet

CatNet is an interactive map tool from the insurance company Swiss RE44. It contains information on a number ofnatural hazards, including tornados, earthquakes, ‘European winterstorm peak gust’, hail, volcanoes, etc., but alsoflood risk and is regarded as a first attempt at a Worldwide Natural Hazard Atlas45. The CatNet flood zones arebased on a wide variety of heterogeneous sources. Therefore, depending on the country, either storm surgeand/or fresh water flood zones are displayed. The main page of the interactive hazard atlas of CatNet is shown inFigure 6.1 and the selection menu in Figure 6.2. The CatNet is accessible for external users who do have toregister before they can use the information, but only for a trial period of 8 weeks, after which it is a commercialservice.

Figure 6.1 Main user graphical user interface of CatNet

Atlas of Flood Maps163

44 http://www.swissre.com/45 http://www.esri.com/news/arcuser/0402/swissre.html

Figure 6.2 Selection of three bordering countries to extract information on flood hazard in CatNET

CatNet covers a number of European countries. The flood risk information is included for the following countries(with short description of their content):• BelgiumFreshwater flood zones are calculated by Swiss Re’s proprietary multiple regression approach. Zones describenaturally flooded areas affected every 100 years. The effect of flood protection measures was not taken intoaccount and flood zones along canals are not depicted.

• Czech RepublicFresh water flood zones are calculated by Swiss Re’s proprietary multiple regression approach. Zones describenaturally flooded areas affected every 50, 100, 250 and 500 years. The effect of flood protection measures wasnot taken into account and flood zones along canals are not depicted.

• GermanyFresh water flood zones for 10, 50 and 200 year water levels are available. Original data for 10 and 50 yearflood zones have been calculated by Institut für Angewandte Wasserwirtschaft und Geoinformatik (IAWG),Ottobrunn; Germany. Orginal data for 200 year flood zones have been calculated by Institut für AngewandteWasserwirtschaft, Munich, Germany.The zones for Germany are the result of hydraulic calculations carried out for a river network with a total lengthof around 50,000 kilometres. The calculations were conducted using a Digital Elevation Model (DEM) with ahorizontal resolution of 50*50 metres. They do not take flood protection measures into account, i.e. the 10 and50 year zones are rather too conservative. The flood zones depicted may vary from those in the ZÜRS software(see Chapter 6.5) provided by the German Insurance Association (GDV).There is also information available on the Elbe flood event of August 2002.

• ItalyFreshwater flood zones are calculated by Swiss Re’s proprietary multiple regression approach. Zones describenaturally flooded areas affected every 100 years.

• HungaryThe 100 year and 1000 year zones are based on the 1977 series of ‘Magyarország árvízvédelmi terképei,VITUKI, 1977’ maps at 1:100,000 scale, which were transferred by VITUKI to a digital format. Areas inundated

Atlas of Flood Maps 164

every 50 years were subsequently introduced by Swiss Re.• NetherlandsThe zoning reflects the design level of the 53 areas defined by the dike ring system (dijkringgebieden) in theNetherlands, as published by the ‘Meetkundige Dienst’, afd. GAT, Delft, 1996. The protection level of thediked-in areas exceeds 1000 years. Elevated areas outside the dike-in areas are classified as ‘no data’.

• SlovakiaFresh water flood zones are calculated by Swiss Re’s proprietary multiple regression approach. The zonesdescribe naturally flooded areas affected every 20, 50, 100, 250 and 500 years. The effect of flood protectionmeasures was not taken into account and flood zones along canals are not depicted.

• United KingdomThe scope of the flood zones in the UK is limited to areas affected by coastal hazards (saltwater flooding) andbased on a study by Dr. J.C. Doornkamp of the University of Nottingham in 1996.

There are also maps and data for Argentina, Israel and the USA.

If we look at the geographical coverage of the CatNET it is evident that this is another example of a transboundaryflood mapping as the combination of the Czech Rebublic, Slovakia and Hungary form one continuous region forwhich the flood maps are available. An example is shown in Figure 6.2.

Examples of flood maps available in the CatNET system are shown in Figure 6.3 for Slowakia (which shows thetransboundary coverage with Hungary south of Slovakia) and in Figure 6.4 for Germany (Sachsen-Anhalt).

In general the cartographic layout of the maps is attractive and easy to read, but the level of detail does not allowthe user to acquire a very precise level of detail in the information. The use of the colours, starting from dark bluefor low return period (1/20 yr) to grey for high return periods (500 yr and larger) is unusual and does not providethe user with an intuitive idea of increased danger level. However, in practice this grey colour represents thoseregions that are not threatened by river flooding, or at least not by any major river.

Figure 6.3 CatNet map example: flood risk mapping in Slovakia


Figure 6.4 CatNet map example: flood risk mapping in Sachsen-Anhalt (Elbe river)

6.2 Austria

HORA is an example of a successful public private partnership (PPP) on flood risk zoning and mapping in Austria.Following massive damages after heavy rainfalls and flooding in summer 2002 in Austria, insurance industry andpublic authorities in Austria under guidance of the Ministry of Agriculture (Lebensministerium) and the AustrianInsurance Association signed a PPP-contract (available in German and English) stating a common project for thedevelopment of a public, common and admission-free risk zoning tool (internet access via Lebensministerium).Common goal was to create an open risk zoning platform for flood and earthquake. Public authorities weredelivering GIS basis data, modelling and development was done by insurance and reinsurance industry. No directexchange of any sort took place, the common result is open to the public since June 1st 2006.

Local risk zoning and mapping is for several regions already available on the HORA system as well.. One canchoose the option under "Legende", if more detailed public information (than probabilistic zoning for 25000 kmriver length in HORA) is already existing and HORA has got public access to this local or regional zoning-information (e.g. for the region of Carinthia). There one can see the risk zones in different colours (yellow and redinstead of blue).

From the point of view of the insurance industry, at a later stage, HORA is expected to develop into a PML(Probable Maximum Loss)-assessment system for underwriters and risk managers. The fully working public systemwill be dedicated for individual information (and work for insurance industry as a second source of riskinformation).

The information from the HORA project is available on the internet46. An impression of the interactive internet siteis shown in Figure 6.5. After starting up the map server for the HORA site, a disclaimer is shown in red font withthe text (in German): “I have read the copyright statements and accept them as legal disclaimer”. This statementneed to be accepted by the user before the maps can be accessed. The maps give a delineation of flooding areason river catchment level for about 25.000 km of river length on scales varying from 1:10.000 to 1:50.000. Thereturn periods shown on these maps are 1/30 yr (zone 1), 1/100 yr (zone 2) and 1/200 yr (zone 3). Theinformation is not yet available for the entire country.


46 http://geoinfo.lfrz.at/website/egisroot/services/ehora2/viewer.htm

Figure 6.5 Interactive Internet site for the flood hazard map of the HORA project in Austria

Figure 6.6 HORA window for location of airport of Innsbruck with legend

Users can enter their address information and find out the potential flood risk of their property. Examples of themaps are shown in Figure 6.7 (with topographic map) and Figure 6.8 (with satellite image) for the area of theairport of Innsbruck.


Figure 6.7 Example of flood extension map for airport of Innsbruck (with topographic map background)

Figure 6.8 Example of flood extension map for airport of Innsbruck (with satellite image background)


6.3 Czech Republic

In the Czech Republic an exceptionally well-developed tool has been made available which allows the user toassess the flood risk at any location in the country using a map-based user-interface (Figure 6.9). This system,called FRAT (Flood Risk Assessment Tool), is now used by almost all property insurances in the Czech Republic,allowing them to identify high exposed risks and more accurately price flood risks.

Figure 6.9 FRAT User Interface

The tool was developed by Swiss Re, as the leading reinsurer and developer of catastrophe models, and MMC, theleading provider of GIS (Geographic Information System) technology47. It can now price selected propertiesaccording to their flood risk exposure and can also be used as a basis for improved flood accumulation reportingand control. The tool is designed as a stand-alone software solution (CD-ROM) and offers two basic functionalmodes:• The user, for instance, a risk manager or insurance agent, enters data on the property location using the fulladdress (street, house number, and city). The address, or part thereof, is located and transformed intogeographic coordinates, which are used for zoning analysis.

• The system generates information on the flood risk exposure of the selected location and displays it on-screen.The tool distinguishes six different flood risk zones (zones 1 to 6, ranging from very low to very high risk), andthe historically observed maximum flood boundary. The result is also translated into the CAP (Czech InsuranceAssociation) format for designating tariff zones.

During the past few years, a Swiss Re team of hydraulic engineers, hydrologists, GIS specialists and statisticiansdeveloped statistical methodology to derive flood risk zones based on detailed digital terrain models (DTM). Theprediction success of the methodology prompted Swiss Re to apply for a patent.• FRAT 1.0 flood risk zoning is based on the best DTM available in the Czech Republic. The DTM features ahorizontal resolution of 10m, i.e. a reading is generated for every 10m of elevation.

• Due to the high impact of local factors, such as river defences or roads which are not reflected in the highresolution DTM, the high frequency flood risk (zone 6) is not derived by the statistical methodology but bydetailed processing on the part of MMC.


47 http://www.swissre.com/INTERNET/pwswpspr.nsf/alldocbyidkeylu/ULUR-5QBJKQ

Figure 6.10 Example of geo-coding at city level and at street level

An example of the outcome of FRAT, in the form of a risk map, is shown in Figure 6.11, with a distinction into four(out of maximum six) hazard zones with increasing severity of flooding.

In August 2006 the FRAT 2.0 has been released. The new version of Flood Risk Assessment Tool, which focuses onproperty insurance risk assessment is distributed on DVD ROM media and contains address database for wholeterritory of the Czech Republic. The Address database is used for address verification and for geocoding of theproperty location. The product offers extended set of detailed city plans, covering in total over 160 cities of theCzech Republic.

The FRAT system is not freely available as it is a commercial product. Swiss Re and MMC have decided to offerFRAT 1.0 CD-ROMs for a nominal fee to Czech clients of Swiss Re, the Czech Insurance Association (CAP) and toall companies within CAP. Other insurance companies with insured interests in the Czech Republic can gain accessto the application by written request to Swiss Re or MMC.


Figure 6.11 FRAT results with flood map showing hazard zones with four steps of severity

An interesting development is the application of this technology to China. Flooding is one of the major threats tolife and property in China, but to date, the insurance industry has had to depend on experience-based ratings,which have been unreliable especially for very large and infrequent events. Further information is provided on theinternet site of Swiss-RE.

Comments on the mapsAlthough the layout of the maps is clear and serves its purpose for insurance applications, the choice of the colourgreen for risk zones is not intuitive as it suggests safety where this may be misleading. It does also conflict with theuse of green for land use (wooded areas).


Description of the zones:Zone 1 – out of probable max. floodZone 2 – up to possible max. floodZone 3 – up to average 50 years floodZone 4 – up to average 20 years flood

6.4 France

In Figure 6.12 and Figure 6.13 images of typical screens of an intranet website48 are displayed developed fordissemination and use by insurance companies of public natural zoning data, by a organization dedicated tonatural risk knowledge and prevention, for the whole French insurance market.

The information is available for consultation with GPS coordinates or downloading of datasets with relevantmetadata (as available from public authorities). Further treatment of the data for more industry specific use of thepublic zoning is under development at the level of the organization and/or at the level of each company.

Depending to the existing public data on each location, the flood extension reflects either the highest historicalone or classified in terms of floods being ‘exceptional’, ‘frequent’ or ‘very frequent’ without details on actualreturn periods, if not delivered by public authorities.

So far, the indication of urbanization is provided from the relevant themes of the CORINE Landcover land use database.

Figure 6.12 Screenshot of flood extension data sets made available to insurance companies in France (large area of Avignon, mainly on the

Rhone river, indicating the urban areas affected)


48 http://www.mrn-gpsa.org/accueil.php

Figure 6.13 Screenshot of flood extension data sets made available to insurance companies in France (three flood occurrence zones displayed

for the area of Cavaillon, indicating the urban areas affected)

Information provided on these type of maps:1. Map Titles : classification of flood zones2. Type of map: "Flood hazard zoning map, to be used by French insurance market"3. Responsible authorities / sources :a) Flood extension data sets: "waterway-data by the services of the French Ministry of Ecology and Sustainabledevelopment water authorities;

b) Referential: selected themes of CORINE Landcover, with other references to be added according to specificneeds,

c) Intranet geoservice developer ; ARMINES on Kheopsd) Project manager : MRN for French insurance associations

4. Date of publication: MRN intranet geoservice in operation since mid 2006, with steady upgrade with newpublic data according to their availability

5. Scale: maps are freely scalable on the screen according to data sets scale6. Explanation of legend: according to public data sets7. Stage of program: further development for added value services in process, but depending to future theevolution of insurance scheme.


6.5 Germany

In Germany a numeric tool for classification of flood zones developed by German insurance association (GDV) isavailable (Figure 6.14) under the name ZÜRS Zonierungssystem für Überschwemmung, Hochwasser undRückstau.

Figure 6.14 Classification of flood zones update ZÜRS 2006 – area of flood hazard (Regensburg)

The following information is available on this type of maps:1. Map Title : Classification of flood zones update ZÜRS 2006 – area of flood hazard (Regensburg)2. type of map: "Flood hazard zoning map, produced and used by the insurance market in Germany"3. Responsible authorities / sources :a) waterway-data by the German water authorities;b) maps by "NAVTEQ";c) flood-zoning by "IAWG",d) programming and additional data by "ESRI", "con-terra" and "geomer";e) supervisor and project manager: "German insurance association, GDV"

4. date of publication: ZÜRS Version 2.0.12; released August 20065. scale: 1:21.151 (scale of this special map as seen on the maps footer, ZÜRS-maps are freely scalable)6. explanation of legend:a) GK 4, high hazard: flood at least once in 10 yearsb) GK 3, moderate hazard: flood at least once in 10-50 yearsc) GK 2, low hazard: flood at least once in 50-200 yearsd) GK 1, very low hazard: flood rare than once in 200 years or nevere) B, additional information: small river

7. stage of program: first release of ZÜRS in 2001, ZÜRS 2.0.12 is the fourth release since then.


49 Zonierungssystem für Überschwemmung, Rückstau und Starkregen

6.6 Italy

In Italy the insurance association (ANIA) provides flood hazard maps for insurance purposes via CEA, theEuropean insurance and reinsurance federation. The maps show the flood extension according to different returnperiods. They are produced under the responsibility of the Public Basin Authorities or ANIA itself under a special(SIGRA) project50 . The official internal release is planned for June 2007 and no public release has yet beenestablished. The maps are produced on a scale of 1:25,000 to 1:5,000 for the SIGRA project maps. In Figure 6.15an example of a screenshot of a flood hazard map is shown. In general the layout of the maps is straightforward,although the use of green is unusual as it is normally associated with safety. Nevertheless it is used here for thefloods with the lowest return period (50 years), i.e. the highest threat of inundation.

Figure 6.15 Example 1 of Regione UMBRIA/Provincia di Perugia/Comune di Torgiano

Legend of the map:Green return period = 50 yearsBlue return period = 200 yearsRed return period = 500 years


50 http://www.ania.it/sist_inf/prog/sigra/index.asp

6.7 USA

Although this Atlas is restricted to examples of flood mapping in the EU countries, as a reference the extensivemapping program in the USA is very interesting to include in this chapter on flood mapping for insurance purposessince this program started already in 1969. The program, called National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), is aFederal program enabling property owners in participating communities to purchase insurance protection againstlosses from flooding51. This insurance is designed to provide an insurance alternative to disaster assistance to meetthe escalating costs of repairing damage to buildings and their contents caused by floods. Participation in the NFIPis based on an agreement between local communities and the Federal Government that states if a community willadopt and enforce a floodplain management ordinance to reduce future flood risks to new construction in SpecialFlood Hazard Areas (SFHA), the Federal Government will make flood insurance available within the community asa financial protection against flood losses.The program is administrated by FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) which identifies flood hazardareas throughout the U.S. and it's territories by producing Flood Hazard Boundary Maps (FHBMs), Flood InsuranceRate Maps (FIRMs), and Flood Boundary & Floodway Maps (FBFMs). Several areas of flood hazards are commonlyidentified on these maps. One of these areas is the Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) or high risk area defined asany land that would be inundated by a flood having a 1-percent chance of occurring in any given year (alsoreferred to as the base flood). The high-risk area standard constitutes a reasonable compromise between the needfor building restrictions to minimize potential loss of life and property and the economic benefits to be derivedfrom floodplain development. Development may take place within the SFHA, provided that development complieswith local floodplain management ordinances, which must meet the minimum Federal requirements. Floodinsurance is required for insurable structures within high-risk areas to protect Federal financial investments andassistance used for acquisition and/or construction purposes within communities participating in the NFIP.

An important distinction is made between FHBMs and FIRMs. A Flood Hazard Boundary Map (FHBM) is based onapproximate data and identifies, in general, the SFHAs within a community. It is used in the NFIP's EmergencyProgram for floodplain management and insurance purposes. A Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) usually is issuedfollowing a flood risk assessment conducted in connection with the community's conversion to the NFIP's RegularProgram. If a detailed assessment, termed a Flood Insurance Study (FIS), has been performed, the FIRM will showBase Flood Elevations (BFEs) and insurance risk zones in addition to floodplain boundaries. The FIRM may alsoshow a delineation of the regulatory floodway. After the effective date of the FIRM, the community's floodplainmanagement ordinance must be in compliance with appropriate Regular Program requirements. Actuarial rates,based on the risk zone designations shown on the FIRM, are then applied for newly constructed, substantiallyimproved, and substantially damaged buildings.

The FIRM is the basis for floodplain management, mitigation, and insurance activities for the National FloodInsurance Program (NFIP). Insurance applications include enforcement of the mandatory purchase requirement ofthe Flood Disaster Protection Act, which "... requires the purchase of flood insurance by property owners who arebeing assisted by Federal programs or by Federally supervised, regulated or insured agencies or institutions in theacquisition or improvement of land facilities located or to be located in identified areas having special floodhazards" (Section 2 (b) (4) of the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973). In addition to the identification ofSFHAs, the risk zones shown on the FIRMs are the basis for the establishment of premium rates for flood coverageoffered through the NFIP.The Standard DFIRM Database presents the flood risk information depicted on the FIRM in a digital formatsuitable for use in electronic mapping applications. The Standard DFIRM database is a subset of the EnhancedDFIRM Database that serves to archive the information collected during the flood insurance study.In the maps a number of types of areas are distinguished using a coding. The most important codes used are:

Zones AE: Areas subject to inundation by the 1-percent-annual-chance flood event determined by detailedmethods. BFEs are shown within these zones. Mandatory flood insurance purchase requirements apply.Zone AH: Areas subject to inundation by 1-percent-annual-chance shallow flooding (usually areas of ponding)where average depths are between 1 and 3 feet. BFEs derived from detailed hydraulic analyses are shown inthis zone. Mandatory flood insurance purchase requirements apply.Zone AO: Areas subject to inundation by 1-percent-annual-chance shallow flooding (usually sheet flow on


51 http://msc.fema.gov/

sloping terrain) where average depths are between 1 and 3 feet. Average flood depths derived from detailedhydraulic analyses are shown within this zone. Mandatory flood insurance purchase requirements apply.Zone A99: Areas subject to inundation by the 1-percent-annual-chance flood event, but which will ultimatelybe protected upon completion of an under-construction Federal flood protection system. These are areas ofspecial flood hazard where enough progress has been made on the construction of a protection system, such asdikes, dams, and levees, to consider it complete for insurance rating purposes. Zone A99 may only be usedwhen the flood protection system has reached specified statutory progress toward completion. No BFEs or flooddepths are shown. Mandatory flood insurance purchase requirements apply.Zone AR: Areas that result from the decertification of a previously accredited flood protection system that isdetermined to be in the process of being restored to provide base flood protection. Mandatory flood insurancepurchase requirements apply.Zones X: Areas identified in the community FIS as areas of moderate or minimal hazard from the principalsource of flood in the area. However, buildings in these zones could be flooded by severe, concentrated rainfallcoupled with inadequate local drainage systems. Flood insurance is available in participating communities but isnot required by regulation in these zones.Zone D: Unstudied areas where flood hazards are undetermined, but flooding is possible. No mandatory floodinsurance purchase requirements apply, but coverage is available in participating communities.

The flood maps can be used by a graphical user interface (Figure 6.16). In Figure 6.17 an example is given of theflood maps that are produced by FEMA as part of NFIP.

An overview of all flood information and links to maps in the USA is available on the internet52.

Figure 6.16 User-interface of the NFIP for selection of flood maps


52 http://www.floodsmart.gov/floodsmart/pages/index.jsp

Figure 6.17 Example of the FEMA – NFIP flood insurance maps (Colorado – Boulder County)


6 Insurancemaps - European Commission · 2015-11-09 · 6 Insurancemaps 6.1 CatNet...

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