JBA Risk Management launches new Australian flood model

UK-based flood specialist JBA Risk Management has launched a new inland flood model for Australia to meet growing demand from the insurance and risk markets for better flood insights.

Flooding, traditionally considered a secondary peril, has become an increasing concern for the insurance sector.

Recent years have seen major flood events in New South Wales and Queensland, with ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred making landfall on Australia’s east coast on March 8, 2025, causing widespread devastation. According to the Insurance Council of Australia, insurers have received over 22,000 insurance claims from policyholders across southeast Queensland and northern New South Wales following the event.

JBA’s new model provides detailed 5m flood data coverage for key urban areas, including Sydney, Brisbane, and Melbourne, while maintaining a consistent 30m resolution across the rest of the country. It integrates physical and statistical approaches to assess both pluvial and fluvial flooding from tropical and non-tropical storm events.

The model builds on JBA’s high-resolution flood maps, already used by around half of the Australian insurance market to support risk-based flood decisions.

By using fully hydro-dynamically modelled flood maps, JBA ensures a highly realistic representation of floodwater dynamics across diverse terrain. The model incorporates the latest 2D hydraulic modelling, terrain data, channel capacity, sea level science, and flood defense data.

The model also provides forward-looking insights into potential changes in flood risk and associated losses by 2050 and 2080, based on climate scenarios RCP4.5 and RCP8.5. A built-in sensitivity analysis tool allows users to explore various ‘what if’ scenarios.

Developed using Oasis-enabled technology, the model is fully customizable, enabling users to dynamically create models using event sets, hazards, and vulnerabilities in real-time. It is accessible via NASDAQ’s NMRC platform and IF Elements.

Mansi Kalra, Managing Director at JBA Risk Management, said, “Our Australia Flood Model complete with the new sensitivity tool is a first for the Australian market, providing comprehensive coverage and insight at a level of detail not previously available, enabling our users to better evaluate climate change impacts on flood risk for better portfolio planning, capital management, and regulatory compliance. Feedback from the market has already been extremely positive.”

James Knight, Head of APAC, View of Risk Advisory at Aon, commented, “JBA’s local flood solutions help our clients to make more informed decisions around flood risk. This is particularly the case in urban centres that hold the largest aggregations of flood- prone property.

“We find the modelled expectations of the floodplain match up well to some of the more major observed flooding events that we’ve experienced locally in recent years.”

Stephen Lau, Principal at Finity, added, “Flood is a significant hazard risk in Australia and New Zealand, with a number of flood catastrophes affecting numerous communities in recent years. As a result, the insurance, banking, corporate and government sectors turn to Finity for advice on how to understand, underwrite, manage and mitigate flood risk: to do this JBA’s high resolution flood models are crucial. We look forward to the launch of JBA’s Australia Flood Model, which will enable even deeper insights for our clients by offering a consistent view of risk across the entire risk transfer chain.”

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