Fathom deepens AXA Climate tie-up for flood risk data

Flood risk modelling specialist Fathom has expanded its collaboration with AXA Climate's Altitude platform, adding deeper integration of probabilistic flood models and terrain data for investors and corporates assessing physical climate risk.

The renewed agreement embeds more of Fathom's forward-looking flood datasets within Altitude's climate and nature-related risk platform. It is aimed at portfolio-wide assessments that link hazard data to financial exposure and resilience planning.

Across the Asia-Pacific region, around 11.5% of natural disaster losses are insured, according to figures cited in the announcement. As a result, much of the economic loss from floods, storms and other hazards falls on businesses, asset owners and public balance sheets rather than insurers.

Risk quantification

Altitude is used by investors and corporates to assess exposure to climate hazards across assets and supply chains. It draws on physical indicators, such as water depth at different probabilities, and applies them by asset type.

Under the expanded collaboration, Altitude draws more extensively on Fathom's probabilistic flood models. These models use a range of scenarios and likelihoods rather than a single deterministic event, and are widely used in insurance and catastrophe risk markets for pricing and portfolio management.

The integration also adds FathomDEM+, Fathom's terrain model. Fathom says the dataset uses machine learning to provide near-LiDAR-quality elevation data globally. Elevation and terrain details affect flood-mapping outcomes, particularly in flatter areas where small changes in elevation can alter the predicted extent and depth of inundation.

The expanded integration is positioned as a response to demand from financial institutions and large organisations for hazard data that supports decisions on capital allocation and resilience. Climate-related disclosure frameworks and emerging regulatory expectations have increased scrutiny of how firms quantify physical risk across portfolios.

Investment decisions

Flooding remains one of the most costly climate-related hazards in many regions because it can affect dense urban areas, transport links and industrial sites. For investors with geographically diverse portfolios, flood exposure can span property, infrastructure, utilities, agriculture and manufacturing assets.

Altitude says it uses physical indicators to assess flood risk by asset type and generate adaptation recommendations. Commercial terms and user pricing were not disclosed.

Fathom was founded at the University of Bristol in 2013, and supplies flood risk intelligence to insurers, financial institutions and engineering organisations. Since December 2023, it has been part of Swiss Re.

Altitude is based in Paris and is part of AXA Climate, which develops services focused on climate risk, including software products. The platform is described as science-based and focused on climate and nature-related risks.

A key challenge in physical risk analytics is converting hazard maps into metrics that can be compared across assets and linked to financial outcomes. Users often combine hazard intensity data with information on building type, elevation, local defences, and vulnerability curves, along with assumptions about business interruption and recovery time.

In that context, probabilistic hazard data can help compare risk across locations using consistent return periods and exceedance probability curves. Terrain data quality can also influence results, particularly for drainage patterns, river channels and coastal flood pathways.

Théophile Bellouard, VP of Altitude at AXA Climate, said the collaboration strengthens the platform's decision-making assessments.

"Working with Fathom helps us provide scientifically validated risk assessments ready for real-world decision making," said Théophile Bellouard, VP of Altitude, AXA Climate. "The probabilistic nature of their models allows us to quantify multi-peril flood hazards across a wide range of scenarios. This gives our clients an unparalleled view of exposure, supporting precise risk pricing and capital allocation as global climate risk intensifies."

Fathom's Head of Insurance, Harry Vardigans, said the work reflects expectations for transparency in how models are built and applied.

"After three years of working together, we're delighted to evolve our collaboration with Altitude," said Harry Vardigans, Head of Insurance at Fathom. "Seeing our models embedded within platforms like Altitude is a strong validation of our glass-box approach and the growing expectation that financial risk decisions are grounded in transparent, defensible science."

The expanded integration is expected to be used to assess flood exposure across portfolios and inform risk pricing and capital allocation as the costs of physical climate risk rise.