Building Better Cities

FutureProof-ing cities and pricing climate risk with Alisa Valderrama

In 2023, national insurance companies pulled out of Florida and California, citing escalating climate risks. Since then, natural disasters have only intensified, forcing property owners and developers to confront a critical challenge: How do we protect homes and investments in climate-risk areas?

Following Hurricanes Milton and Helene, these questions have taken center stage—not just in impacted areas, but in all regions vulnerable to climate change.

In this episode, host Kate Gasparro speaks with Alisa Valderrama, founder of FutureProof. As a climate-based insurtech start-up, FutureProof prices climate risk using insurance data and weather models. Drawing on decades of experience at the World Bank, NRDC, and Scripps Institute of Oceanography, Alisa shares how quantifying climate risk for insurers is changing the way we build (and rebuild) with resilience.

Resources:

Helene and Milton are both likely to be $50B disasters

Why insurance companies are pulling out of California and Florida 

Thanks for listening to Building Better Cities!
If you'd like to stay connected, don't forget to Subscribe and Follow.
You can find all our archived newsletters and podcasts right here.
Want to get in touch? Just email the team at kate@buildingbettercities.com.