ORIGINAL PAPER Estimation of industrial and commercial asset values for hazard risk assessment Isabel Seifert Æ Annegret H. Thieken Æ Mirjam Merz Æ Dietmar Borst Æ Ute Werner Received: 21 January 2008 / Accepted: 19 March 2009 / Published online: 22 April 2009 Ó Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2009 Abstract For risk analyses not only knowledge about the impact of different types of hazards, but also information about the elements and values at risk is necessary. This article introduces a methodology for a countrywide estimation of asset values for com- mercial and industrial properties using Germany as an example. It consists of a financial appraisal of asset values on the municipal level and a further disaggregation by means of land use data. Novelties are the distinction of 60 economic activities, the consideration of production site sizes and the application of a dasymetric mapping technique for a sector- specific estimation and disaggregation of asset values. A validation with empirical data confirms the feasibility of the calculation. The resulting maps can be used for loss esti- mations e.g. in the framework of cost–benefit analyses that aim to evaluate hazard miti- gation measures or for portfolio analyses by banks and insurance companies. The approach can be used for other countries if the necessary data is available (mainly in industrialized countries). In any case, it reveals the critical points when estimating commercial and industrial asset values. Keywords Asset estimation  Industrial and commercial asset values  Risk assessment  Loss estimation  Dasymetric mapping I. Seifert (&) Helmholtz Centre Potsdam, GFZ, German Research Centre for Geosciences, Section Hydrology, Telegrafenberg, 14473 Potsdam, Germany e-mail: Isabel.Seifert@gfz-potsdam.de A. H. Thieken alpS—Centre for Natural Hazard and Risk Management Ltd., Leopold-Franzens-University Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria M. Merz Institute for Industrial Production, University of Karlsruhe (TH), 76187 Karlsruhe, Germany D. Borst  U. Werner Institute for Finance, Banking and Insurance, University of Karlsruhe (TH), 76128 Karlsruhe, Germany 123 Nat Hazards (2010) 52:453–479 DOI 10.1007/s11069-009-9389-9