The hazards behind every rating
Climate change doesn't create new kinds of weather so much as it changes the odds — more frequent, more intense, and reaching further than historical records suggest. Here's what we assess, and why each hazard matters to a property.
Riverine & flash flooding
Precipitation across a catchment that exceeds a river or drainage system's capacity, inundating nearby land. This is the most common cause of insured property loss in most of our covered markets.
Why it matters: Flood damage is rarely covered by standard building insurance in high-risk zones, and repeated flooding accelerates structural deterioration even between major events.
Coastal inundation & sea-level rise
A high sea-level event that floods land and infrastructure, separate from storm surge or coastal erosion. Long-term sea-level rise is steadily raising the baseline for how often this occurs.
Why it matters: Low-lying coastal land can shift from an occasional nuisance flood to a regular occurrence within the life of a mortgage.
Bushfire
A destructive fire that spreads through trees, forest and grassland. Assessed using construction-relevant Bushfire Attack Level (BAL) ratings, not just proximity to vegetation.
Why it matters: BAL rating drives both construction requirements and insurance cost, and rises directly with projected fire weather severity.
Soil movement
Reactive clay soils contract in dry conditions and expand when wet, moving building foundations over time. More volatile rainfall patterns make this cycle more pronounced.
Why it matters: Foundation movement is slow, expensive to fix, and often excluded or capped under standard home insurance policies.
Extreme wind
High-wind conditions that may exceed a building's design wind classification, distinct from cyclonic or hurricane events which are modelled separately where relevant.
Why it matters: Roof and envelope failure from wind is one of the more preventable losses — largely a function of construction standard and maintenance.
Extreme heat
Sustained periods of high temperature that stress building materials, cooling systems and occupant wellbeing, tracked against historical local norms.
Why it matters: Rising design temperatures affect energy costs, HVAC lifespan and, in some regions, habitability during peak events.
Present day isn't the whole picture
A property that looks safe today may not stay that way over a 30-year loan term. Every hazard we model is projected across three points in time, using multiple IPCC AR6 emissions pathways (SSP1 through SSP5) so you can see how exposure is expected to shift.
Reports show all three horizons side by side, rather than collapsing them into a single number, so a buyer, lender or insurer can see the trajectory — not just a snapshot.
These hazards, applied to your address
Reading about hazards in general terms is useful — seeing which of them actually apply to a specific property, and how severely, is what a Climate Remit report is for.
Get your property reportCurious how these hazards are combined into one rating?
Our methodology page walks through exactly how hazard, vulnerability and exposure data become a single resilience rating.