COMPUTERIZED SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DETERMINING FLOOD RISK
The present invention is a system for communicating the flood risk of a property to a user comprising a computer network, a first computerized device for displaying flood risk information in electronic communication with a computer network, a first database connected to said network, where said first database contains flood zone information arranged by geographic coordinates, a second database connected to said network, where said second database contains terrain elevation data arranged by geographic coordinates, a third database connected to said network, where said third database contains rainfall data arranged by geographic coordinates, a fourth database connected to said network, where said fourth database contains a record of prior flooding arranged by geographic coordinates, a fifth database connected to said network, where said fifth database contains a record of losses arranged by geographic coordinates, and a second computerized device connected to said network which calculates flood risk information for geographic location using an algorithm to process database information contained in said databases.
1 . A method of calculating flood risk for real property, comprising the steps of:
receiving the address of real property for which the flood risk is to be calculated;
determining the special flood hazard area value associated with the received address;
calculating additional factors to determine flood risk factors for the real property associated with the received address;
applying a weighing factor to the flood risk factors; and
combining the weighted factors to establish a risk score.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said additional factors comprise:
the elevation difference between a special flood hazard area and the point for which the risk is being calculated;
the elevation difference between a point at which the flood hazard risk is ½ the special flood hazard risk and the point at which the risk is being calculated;
the distance between a special flood hazard area and the point for which the risk is being calculated; and
the distance between a point at which the flood hazard risk is ½ the special flood hazard risk and the point at which the risk is being calculated.
3 . The method of claim 2 , wherein said additional factors also comprise:
an accumulation risk; and
an accumulation 1 / 2 risk.
4 . The method of claim 3 , wherein said additional factors also comprise the existence of a water retention device within the special flood hazard area.
5 . The method of claim 4 , wherein said additional factors also comprise the occurrence or nonoccurrence of a past flood event at the received address of the real property.
6 . The method of claim 5 , wherein said additional factors also comprise the number of preferred risk policy flood losses in a geographic area.
7 . The method of claim 6 , wherein said geographic area is defined by the United States Postal Service ZIP plus 4 code associated with the received address of the real property.
8 . The method of claim 6 , wherein said additional factors also comprise the number of non-special flood hazard area claims in a geographic area and the standard deviation of such claims in the state in which the geographic area is located.
9 . The method of claim 8 wherein said geographic area is defined by the United States Postal Service ZIP plus 4 code associated with the received address of the real property.
10 . A computerized method of displaying flood risk comprising the steps of:
receiving an address for a property;
displaying in a user interface, a graphic representation of a map which includes said received address;
calculating at least one risk score for at least one of the areas displayed on said map; and
displaying at least one calculated risk score as a highlighted region on said map.
11 . The method of claim 10 , wherein calculating risk scores comprise:
factors related to an elevation difference between a special flood hazard area and the point for which the risk is being calculated;
factors related to an elevation difference between a point at which the flood hazard risk is ½ the special flood hazard risk and the point at which the risk is being calculated;
factors related to a distance between a special flood hazard area and the point for which the risk is being calculated; and
factors related to a distance between a point at which the flood hazard risk is ½ the special flood hazard risk and the point at which the risk is being calculated.
12 . The method of claim 11 , wherein calculating risk scores further comprises factors related to an accumulation risk and an accumulation ½ risk.
13 . The method of claim 12 , wherein calculating risk scores further comprises adding a predetermined value to the risk score in the event of the existence of a water retention device within the special flood hazard area.
14 . The method of claim 13 , wherein calculating risk scores further comprises adding a predetermined value to the risk score in the event of the existence of an occurrence of a past flood event at the received address of the real property.
15 . The method of claim 14 , wherein calculating risk scores further comprises adding a predetermined value to the risk score determined based upon the number of preferred risk policy flood losses in a geographic area.
16 . The method of claim 15 , wherein said geographic area is defined by the United States Postal Service ZIP plus 4 code associated with the geographic location at which the risk is being calculated.
17 . The method of claim 15 , wherein calculating risk scores further comprises adding an additional risk value calculated from the number of non-special flood hazard area claims in a geographic area and the standard deviation of such claims in the state in which the geographic area is located.
18 . The method of claim 17 wherein said geographic area is defined by the United States Postal Service ZIP plus 4 code associated with the geographic location at which the risk is being calculated.
19 . The method of claim 10 , further comprising establishing an economic value for said property and computing a flood insurance premium based on said at least one risk score and said value.
20 . A system for communicating the flood risk of a property to a user comprising:
a computer network;
a first computerized device for displaying flood risk information in electronic communication with a computer network;
a first database connected to said network, where said first database contains flood zone information arranged by geographic coordinates;
a second database connected to said network, where said second database contains terrain elevation data arranged by geographic coordinates;
a third database connected to said network, where said third database contains rainfall data arranged by geographic coordinates;
a fourth database connected to said network, where said fourth database contains a record of prior flooding arranged by geographic coordinates;
a fifth database connected to said network, where said fifth database contains a record of losses arranged by geographic coordinates; and
a second computerized device connected to said network which calculates flood risk information for geographic location using an algorithm to process database information contained in said databases.