April 24, 2025, New York, NY - Today Floodbase, the world-leading platform for insuring uncovered flood risk, and insurance intermediary Yokahu announced a partnership to offer automated parametric policies, initially bringing much-needed flood coverage options for businesses in New Orleans. In addition to offering rapid liquidity after a major flood event, the coverages represent a financial safety net for any type of economic loss, including categories not traditionally covered, such as business interruption, revenue loss, cleanups and repair, and temporary facilities.
The vast majority of New Orleans businesses are insured against flood loss through the federal National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). The NFIP caps commercial payouts at $500,000 – an amount often insufficient for the magnitude of loss – and only covers direct property damage, excluding many other significant flood-based drivers of economic loss. Local businesses, including NOLA’s iconic hospitality sector, are severely exposed during events like Hurricane Ida (2021), which caused over three billion dollars worth of business interruption.
The new flood coverages, backed by an “A+” AM Best rated carrier and powered by Floodbase, include multiple predefined options that clients can evaluate with their broker to accommodate different protection needs and budget considerations. Yokahu’s platform facilitates quotes automatically to brokers, making the end-to-end process quick, simple, and transparent through their recently launched cat-risk.com exchange.
The new flood policies work by paying out policyholders automatically once a specific predetermined threshold is met – in the case of New Orleans, once a percentage of the city’s area is covered by flood water – which is continuously monitored by Floodbase. New Orleans is a global tourist destination, but visitors, foot traffic, and hospitality revenue all plummet when the region floods. Valid NFIP claims require on-site damage, leaving second-story or higher-elevation businesses totally uncovered when flooding disrupts Southern Louisiana. Because payouts are determined by the total area of flooding covering the city, it can help any vulnerable business during regional events. Payouts can cover any type of economic loss and can flexibly be deployed as needed by the insured. This type of coverage, known as parametric insurance, offers quicker and more comprehensive protection than any currently available to New Orleans businesses.
“New Orleans businesses have gone far too long without adequate flood insurance options, leaving them vulnerable and financially exposed in the event of major floods,” said Bessie Schwarz, Co-Founder & CEO of Floodbase. “We are excited to partner with Yokahu, to empower brokers with instant quotes of new, holistic flood coverages that put businesses in a stronger position to weather the aftermath of a catastrophe."
“With our new flood coverage options, Yokahu and Floodbase will meet a vital need for New Orleans businesses, including its beloved hospitality sector,” said Tim McCosh, CEO/Founder of Yokahu. “Yokahu is thrilled to bring our insurance capacity and automated, state-of-the-art platform to rapidly quote and payout claims for New Orleans commercial customers. We are delighted to be collaborating with Floodbase and consider this only the beginning of the areas we will cover across the U.S.”
For more information and to explore the new offerings, please reach out to Floodbase or Yokahu.
About Floodbase
Floodbase is a parametric platform for insuring uncovered flood risk. Built on more than a decade of groundbreaking science, we continuously monitor flooding worldwide. Leading re/insurers rely on Floodbase to design and deliver flood covers to corporates and public sector clients, covering previously uninsurable economic loss from flooding. Floodbase also supports FEMA, the UN, The New York Times, and others to identify and respond to major events. Follow Floodbase on LinkedIn for more news and insights.
About Yokahu
An approved Coverholder at Lloyd’s and Lloyds Lab Alumni, Yokahu is a parametric insuretech that solely underwrites extreme weather and natural catastrophe risk via parametric (re)insurance.
Yokahu’s mission is to catalyze and increase risk transfer in protecting communities from natural disasters and extreme weather in a changing climate by providing access to more scalable and accessible solutions.
In the UK, Yokahu and Cat-Risk.com are trading names of McCosh Holdings Ltd. McCosh Holdings Ltd and is an Appointed Representative of ES Risks Limited. ES Risks Limited is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
