Losses and damages related to urban flooding and storms are likely to increase due to climate change. The insurance industry can potentially play a key role in climate change adaptation by contributing to the understanding of risks associated with climate change. By sharing data on the location of insurance claims associated with extreme rainfall or storms, the insurance industry can enable better-informed adaptation planning and risk management.

In Norway, within the pilot project “Insurance Loss Data Sharing Project for Climate-Resilient Municipalities” the insurance industry shared asset-level loss data with nine municipalities (Bærum, Grue, Kongsvinger, Løten, Nord-Odal, Ringsaker, Stavanger, Tromsø and Trondheim) to inform and prioritise management, renovation and reinvestment in public infrastructure. The municipalities explored the usability of the data for flood risk management and adaptation planning. The results of the pilot show the usefulness of this type of dataset for the municipalities with less extensive own information basis. However, the insurance claims datasets should be more accurate in relation to the timing and location of the damage to associate them with particular extreme weather events and support adaptation planning.