Climate Risk Atlas/KY/Nicholasville

Nicholasville, KY Flooding & Climate Risk Profile

The primary drivers of climate-related financial risk in Nicholasville, KY are Inland Flooding, Tornado, and Strong Wind. This area also faces an unusually high intensity for Lightning and Winter Weather compared to national averages. Based on recent federal data, homeowners in this market face an estimated average annual insurance premium of $1,543, with a local policy non-renewal rate of 0.5%.

City Risk Scorecard
Physical Resilience75/100

Based on FEMA EAL and hazard intensity.

Insurance Stability
Market Stable

Metrics indicate a balanced risk-to-premium environment with standard renewal rates.

Spatial Analysis

Flood Plain Analysis

Localized Flood Dynamics in Nicholasville

FEMA Flood Maps for Nicholasville identify the "100-year" and "500-year" floodplains (1% and 0.2% annual chance), but modern climate risk analysis suggests that nearly 25% of flood insurance claims originate from properties outside of these designated high-risk zones.

Use the map above to better understand risk by looking at both the FEMA flood plain maps and FEMA Risk Inventory maps by census tract. Standard FEMA maps may not account for 'flash flooding' from intense rain events.
FEMA Designation vs. Reality
Relatively Low
Relative Vulnerability
$2,156,962
Annualized Property Exposure

Insurance Market & Climate Stress Analysis

Current Avg. Premium (2022)

$1,543
Latest Market Rate

Recent Year Change

+2.3%
YoY Increase

2030 Forecast

$1,531
Based on -0.1% CAGR

Market Retreat (Non-Renewals)

0.49%

Higher rates indicate insurers are actively reducing exposure to Nicholasville due to climate-linked risk.

Underwriting Stress (Loss Ratio)

71.0%

A ratio over 70% suggests insurers are paying out nearly all premiums as claims, forcing future price hikes.

Historical Market Trends

Toggle series below to compare costs vs. market stress indicators

Historical Trends & Forecasting

Compare premium costs against underlying risk factors.

Primary Risks

Inland Flooding

$2,156,962

Expected Annual Loss for Nicholasville

34.7Score

Relatively Low compared to US average

Tornado

$1,438,638

Expected Annual Loss for Nicholasville

83.9Score

Relatively High compared to US average

Strong Wind

$984,134

Expected Annual Loss for Nicholasville

97.0Score

Very High compared to US average

Financial Risk Inventory

MAJOR DRIVER
Inland Flooding
$2,156,962
Score: 34.7
MAJOR DRIVER
Tornado
$1,438,638
Score: 83.9
MAJOR DRIVER
Strong Wind
$984,134
Score: 97.0
Cold Wave
$664,545
Score: 74.3
UNUSUALLY HIGH
Lightning
$459,126
Score: 97.6
Hail
$201,310
Score: 79.6
Earthquake
$195,884
Score: 54.8
Heat Wave
$162,196
Score: 44.8
UNUSUALLY HIGH
Winter Weather
$82,950
Score: 90.1
Ice Storm
$52,951
Score: 70.5
Hurricane
$12,886
Score: 41.8
Wildfire
$808
Score: 45.1
Drought
$472
Score: 54.2
Landslide
$0
Score: 16.3

Recommended Mitigation Strategies

Recommended investments to protect your property value and reduce insurance liability based on your local risk profile.

🌪️High Investment

Tornado Mitigation

Reinforce garage doors and consider a FEMA-approved safe room or storm cellar.

Risk Score: 83.9
💨Low Investment

Strong Wind Mitigation

Trim large trees back from the roofline and reinforce roof-to-wall connectors (hurricane straps).

Risk Score: 97.0
🏠Low Investment

Cold Wave Mitigation

General property maintenance and insurance review recommended.

Risk Score: 74.3
🏠Low Investment

Lightning Mitigation

General property maintenance and insurance review recommended.

Risk Score: 97.6
🧊Medium Investment

Hail Mitigation

Replace roof with Class 4 impact-resistant shingles to significantly lower insurance premiums.

Risk Score: 79.6
🏠Low Investment

Earthquake Mitigation

General property maintenance and insurance review recommended.

Risk Score: 54.8
🏠Low Investment

Winter Weather Mitigation

General property maintenance and insurance review recommended.

Risk Score: 90.1
❄️Medium Investment

Ice Storm Mitigation

Install a 10kWh backup battery system to keep pipes from freezing during grid failure.

Risk Score: 70.5
🏠Low Investment

Drought Mitigation

General property maintenance and insurance review recommended.

Risk Score: 54.2

Sources and Methodology

Spatial Climate Risk Modeling

The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) and hazard risk scores are derived from the FEMA NRI zip code dataset using a population-weighted spatial join. Because Zip Codes and Census Tracts do not share perfectly aligned boundaries, we utilize US Census Block Group population centroids to identify where residents actually live.

Financial & Insurance Metrics

The pysical resilence score is calculated by synthesizing Expected Annual Loss (EAL) against the total building replacement value within a jurisdiction. This creates a "Loss Ratio" that measures physical resilience. We supplement this with ZIP-code level data from the U.S. Treasury's Federal Insurance Office (FIO), monitoring trends in premium growth, loss ratios, and policy non-renewals to identify emerging "Insurance Deserts."

Primary Data Sources

Nearby Cities

Zip Codes in Nicholasville