ZestyAI’s AI-Powered Hail and Wind Risk Models Continue Rapid Expansion With Approvals in Five States

Property and climate risk analytics leader ZestyAI today announced regulatory approval of its Severe Convective Storm Suite in Oklahoma, North Carolina, Louisiana, Wisconsin, and Arkansas—covering more than 12 million residential and commercial properties. 

Severe convective storms caused $58 billion in insured losses in 2024, marking the second-costliest year on record. A recent ZestyAI analysis revealed that in these five newly approved states, more than 2.1 million properties face a high risk of filing a hail claim—putting over $31 billion in potential roof replacement costs on the line. 

Unlike traditional models, ZestyAI’s AI-driven risk models predict the likelihood and severity of claims at the individual property level by analyzing the interaction of local climatology with property-specific characteristics.

Built, tested, and validated on an extensive claims database, the models provide a granular, transparent understanding of risk—delivering the top risk factors for each property, and equipping insurers with the accuracy needed to improve underwriting, optimize pricing, and reduce preventable losses.

“Severe convective storms now cost insurers more than hurricanes, yet traditional underwriting tools don’t provide the precision needed to keep pace with rising losses,” said Bryan Rehor, Director of Regulatory Affairs at ZestyAI. “These approvals reinforce the insurance industry’s shift toward data-driven, property-level risk assessment.”

ZestyAI’s SCS models have now been thoroughly vetted and approved by regulators across 14 states—covering more than 44 million properties across the Midwest, Great Plains, and South. 

SCS Suite:

• Z-HAIL™: Predicts which roofs are most likely to sustain hail damage and file claims—along with the potential claim size—by analyzing unique structural characteristics and accumulated damage, providing risk insights beyond traditional territory or neighborhood-level estimates.
• Z-WIND™: Uses AI-driven 3D analysis to assess roof condition, complexity, and vulnerability, providing insurers with forward-looking insights into wind claim likelihood and severity.

Z-STORM™: Predicts the frequency and severity of storm claims by examining how climatology interacts with each property’s unique features, delivering a more precise view of storm risk.