Due to its climate, topography and population density, floods are a pressing concern in Italy. Many areas of this country are subject to frequent and severe floods, which can cause damages to properties and even human losses. In this project, the Italian Association of Insurers (ANIA) requested a detailed study of some case-study flooded areas, including flood hazard mapping, historical event reconstruction and economical damage estimation. The aim of this project was the development of a flood vulnerability model for residential buildings.

In 2014, when this project started, insurance coverage for flood risks was relatively uncommon for residential building, while the market of flood risk insurance products for businesses and companies was already well-established. With this project, RED aimed at exploring the possibility of providing an early estimation (5-7 days delay) of flood losses in order to provide to insurance companies the right tools for the development of insurance programmes and damage estimation strategies. Furthermore, the project aimed at raising awareness within the insurance market towards the flood exposure of residential and business properties, thus increasing the potential for the development of new insurance coverage products.