Climate risks threaten property values: Insights from experts on prevention and insurance

Published

May 27, 2026

Subject

Event

The day offered concrete insights from three experts, who each from their own angle put words to the same fundamental question: what does it cost not to act?

Climate change and properties: Water does not negotiate

Climate change does not only alter how much water comes. It changes when, how, and for how long. Cloudbursts and heavy precipitation, rising groundwater, storm surges, and coastal flooding are not future scenarios. They are today's reality, and they are already affecting the built environment from all sides.

According to calculations from DTU, total damage to buildings, infrastructure, and businesses could run up to DKK 406 billion over the next 100 years without climate adaptation. If we invest DKK 130 billion in prevention, that bill can be reduced to DKK 56 billion. The numbers speak for themselves. Still, many property owners and managers lack a concrete and applicable basis for action. That was what the day tried to provide.

Climate risk analysis for properties step by step

Mike Danielsen, Senior Sustainability Consultant from the Council for Sustainable Building, opened the day with a review of how to work systematically with climate risk analysis in practice. Based on the EU taxonomy and the DGNB 2025 manual, he presented a four-step approach: screening of climate exposures, vulnerability and risk assessment, assessment of adaptation solutions, and finally implementation.

A key message from Mike was that working with climate risks does not have to be overwhelming. The tools already exist: DMI Climate Atlas, KAMP, and Kystplanlægger.dk provide concrete data on a building's exposure, and the Council for Sustainable Building has published a guide to climate risk analysis that helps property managers and developers get started step by step.

At least as important is to ask the right questions: Are there challenges now? Have there been previous problems with water damage? Are there particularly vulnerable parts of the building? And who should solve it if it escalates?

Insurance coverage for water damage: What does your policy actually cover?

Lene Rasmussen, Claims Director at Gjensidige, gave the day an honest and concrete look at the possibilities and limitations of insurance in case of climate-related water damage. Her message was clear: insurance is a safety net, not a solution to climate risks.

Water targets commercial properties from all sides: cloudbursts from above, storm surges from outside, and rising groundwater from below. And what is decisive for insurance coverage is not just whether you have a policy, but precisely where the water comes from. Storm surge, for example, is not covered by commercial insurance, but by the national storm surge scheme, and groundwater and moisture are normally not covered at all.

With 300% more homes threatened by storm surges towards 2050 and rising insurance premiums in vulnerable areas, it becomes increasingly crucial to know your real coverage and work actively on water damage prevention. As Lene formulated it: beautiful materials do not help if the installations are still in the basement.

Water damage prevention: The most expensive damage is the one no one saw coming

Kenneth Holck Jakobsen, CEO and Co-founder of CLIMAID, concluded the day with a perspective on what water damage to properties costs when it is not discovered in time, and what technology can do to change that.

CLIMAID works with continuous, data-driven monitoring of the health condition of buildings: IoT sensors measure moisture, temperature, and water in real time, AI agents analyze data and alert about anomalies, and operations staff or damage service can act before the damage becomes visible. The difference in cost between early detection and a fully escalated water damage is up to a factor of 300.

Kenneth also pointed to a dimension that is rarely discussed in connection with climate risks: the consequences for the residents. Dehumidification takes 4-8 weeks, mold is a health risk for almost every fifth Danish home, and rehousing is the part of the bill that does not appear on any insurance policy.

Climate adaptation of properties is not a choice, it is a prerequisite

The day showed that the industry is moving. It is no longer only the most forward-looking property investors who concern themselves with climate risks. Legislation, financial institutions, and insurance companies are increasingly demanding documentation and action, and the consequences of waiting are already measurable today.

The most important message across all three presentations was the same: prevention of climate risks makes a real difference to both property values and operating economics, and it is easier to act when you are informed.