ZestyAI , the leading provider of AI-powered property and climate risk analytics, today announced that its non-weather water risk model, Z-WATER , has received approval in Wisconsin for use in underwriting and writing.
Non-weather water is one of the costliest and fastest-growing perils in homeowners insurance , now ranking as the fourth costliest peril overall , with claim severity up 80 over the past decade -surpassing hurricanes . These losses stem from everyday risks like burst pipes, appliance failures, and plumbing leaks. With average claim costs now exceeding 13,000 , their financial impact rivals catastrophe events.
Z-WATER is built, tested, and validated with real insurer loss data , ensuring accuracy and regulatory credibility. The model uses computer vision to analyze aerial imagery alongside tax assessor data, permit records, climatology science, and infrastructure insights to assess key property-level risk factors. By modeling how these variables interact, Z-WATER predicts both the frequency and severity of non-weather water claims with up to 18x greater accuracy than traditional models.