Risk Tool
Version 1.0 · Every score is traceable to a specific federal dataset and a peer-reviewed study. No black-box models. methodology[at]climassay.com
Four hazard scores — each 0–100 — are combined into a single composite using fixed weights that reflect their relative actuarial impact on US property insurance and values.
Score = (Flood × 0.40) + (Storm × 0.30) + (Heat × 0.20) + (Wildfire × 0.10)
| Hazard | Weight | Primary Source | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🌊 Flood | 40% | FEMA NFHL — live parcel query | Property-level |
| ⛈ Storm | 30% | NOAA SPC tornado tracks (50mi radius) | Property-level |
| 🌡 Heat | 20% | EPA EJScreen census-tract percentile | Tract-level |
| 🔥 Wildfire | 10% | FEMA NRI county expected annual loss | County avg |
| Score Range | Risk Tier | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 0 – 30 | Low | Minimal impact on insurance or cap rates expected |
| 31 – 60 | Moderate | Elevated exposure — climate-adjusted underwriting warranted |
| 61 – 100 | High | Material impact on insurance, cap rates, and exit value likely |
Each risk tier maps to a price discount anchored to peer-reviewed real estate transaction data — not proprietary models.
| Tier | Discount | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Low | −3% | Beltrán, Maddison & Elliott (2018) · Journal of Urban Economics |
| Moderate | −11% | Ortega & Taspinar (2018) · First Street Foundation (2022) |
| High | −24% | Keys & Mulder (2020) · Ouazad & Kahn (2022) · NBER |
Commercial discounts vary by asset class (multifamily lowest, hospitality highest) and lease type (NNN passes ~60% of climate cost increases to tenants). Scenario parameters — insurance multipliers, cap rate additions, vacancy and opex adjustments — are calibrated against NCREIF, Swiss Re (2023), and Green Street Advisors research.
The studies below form the empirical foundation of Climassay's discount methodology and credibility framework.
~3% price discount in low flood-risk zones. Basis for Low tier.
9–13% discount once buyers are informed of flood zone status. Basis for Moderate tier.
14.7–20% discounts in high-risk FEMA zones as insurance costs escalate. Contributes to High tier.
20%+ discounts in uninsurable wildfire and coastal markets. Contributes to High tier.
US flood-exposed properties overvalued by $121–$237 billion. Highest concentration in counties with no flood disclosure laws.
Definitive 2024 survey of the full climate risk and real estate literature.
Coastal properties exposed to sea level rise sell ~7% below comparable properties; discount intensifying over time.
Market participants are already pricing long-run coastal risk into property values before it materializes.
Heat (2050) — IPCC AR6 CMIP6: Live property-level projections from the Open-Meteo Climate API, which provides IPCC Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) CMIP6 models downscaled to 10km resolution. Ensemble of MRI_AGCM3_2_S (Japan Meteorological Agency) and EC_Earth3P_HR (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts) models. Reports projected days above 95°F per year under SSP2-4.5 (moderate emissions) and SSP5-8.5 (high emissions) scenarios as defined by the IPCC AR6 Working Group I. Falls back to NOAA CMIP6 state-level ensemble if the live API is unavailable.
Sea Level Rise (coastal only) — NOAA / IPCC AR6: Projections from NOAA CO-OPS tide stations under IPCC AR6 Low, Intermediate, and High scenarios, as published in the NOAA 2022 Interagency Sea Level Rise Technical Report — a joint product of NOAA, NASA, USACE, USGS, EPA, and the White House Council on Environmental Quality. Only shown for properties in the 23 coastal US states.
IPCC Sixth Assessment Report (AR6): Climassay's forward-looking heat and sea level rise projections are derived directly from CMIP6 climate models assessed in the IPCC AR6 (2021). The SSP2-4.5 and SSP5-8.5 scenarios used for 2050 projections are the IPCC's standard moderate and high emissions pathways. This makes Climassay's projections consistent with the same scientific foundation used by central banks, insurance regulators, and the SEC's climate disclosure framework.
UNDRR Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015–2030): Climassay's four-hazard weighting structure — flood, storm, heat, wildfire — aligns with the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction's Sendai Framework, the international standard for disaster risk assessment adopted by 187 countries. FEMA's National Risk Index, which serves as Climassay's county-level fallback, was explicitly designed to align with Sendai Framework indicators.
World Bank Climate Change Knowledge Portal (CCKP): Climassay's hazard weighting rationale and scenario calibration draw on World Bank CCKP research, which integrates CMIP6 climate projections with socioeconomic vulnerability data under open data licensing.
CAL FIRE — Fire and Resource Assessment Program (FRAP): For California properties, Climassay queries the CAL FIRE FRAP ArcGIS REST API — the authoritative source for California wildfire perimeter history maintained by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Updated annually, it provides the most accurate property-level fire history available for any US state, covering all perimeters since 1990. This replaces the county-level FEMA NRI score for CA properties, providing a materially more accurate wildfire assessment for the state with the highest wildfire exposure in the country.
USDA Wildfire Risk to Communities: Updated in May 2024 under congressional direction, this USDA Forest Service dataset provides community-level wildfire risk data and is used to calibrate state-level wildfire fallback scores for western states.
1. Flood scores reflect the current FEMA FIRM designation and do not incorporate future sea level rise, climate model projections, or pending FIRM remapping.
2. Wildfire scores are county-level averages. They do not capture parcel-specific fuel load, defensible space, structure hardening, or proximity to WUI boundaries.
3. Heat scores are based on 1991–2020 climate normals. 2050 projections are shown separately via Open-Meteo CMIP6.
4. Storm scores are based on historical tornado tracks and do not account for projected changes in severe convective storm frequency or intensity.
5. Valuation adjustments are illustrative scenarios based on published actuarial research and should be independently verified by a licensed appraiser before transacting.
6. Climassay does not provide investment advice. Scores should be used alongside traditional underwriting, local market knowledge, and professional judgment.
HA-LTV · CIGR · PCDR — Climate-adjusted lending metrics derived from your property analysis.
Run a property analysis on the Analyze tab first. Lens metrics will populate automatically from your results.
—
—
—
Adjusts standard LTV by applying a Hazard Discount Factor from composite climate exposure.
Climate Insurance Gap Ratio across flood, wildfire, wind, and heat hazards.
Annual rate of change in composite climate risk over the loan horizon.