ZÜRS Flood, Backflow and Heavy Rain Zoning System
ZÜRS is a geoinformation system developed by the German insurance industry that assigns every building location a hazard class for flood, backflow and heavy rain.
Why it is critical
Flood, backflow and heavy rain are among the most loss-intensive natural perils for commercial and industrial property. Because the risk varies over very short distances, insurers need an address-accurate, objective and market-wide consistent basis for underwriting decisions and premium calculation, rather than relying on ad-hoc individual estimates.
Core elements
ZÜRS assigns every address to one of four flood hazard classes (HGK 1 to 4), based on data from German water management authorities and official flood hazard maps; since 2019, three heavy-rain hazard classes have complemented the analysis using topography and terrain slope. Data is reconciled annually with the authorities and provides nationwide coverage of Germany.
Relevance to insurance
Insurers use ZÜRS for risk selection and rating in natural catastrophe cover, as well as for portfolio management of accumulation risk. For locations in higher hazard classes (particularly HGK 4), acceptance, sublimits and deductibles are regularly subject to enhanced risk assessment and supplementary protection measures.