What does it take to rebuild after disaster as a business leader, a homeowner and a policyholder? Garret Gray has spent his career trying to improve how insurers and property owners respond to damage. As President of Insurance Solutions at Cotality (formerly CoreLogic) and founder of Next Gear Solutions, he’s been at the centre of building tools for claims, risk assessment and recovery. But this year, the conversation became personal. A wildfire tore through Garret’s neighbourhood in California, forcing an emergency evacuation and leaving his home heavily damaged. That experience has shaped the way he thinks about risk, resilience and the urgency of modernising the systems we rely on. In this episode, Matthew Grant speaks with Garret about what he’s learning, not just from running a technology platform, but from living through the very risks his business is built to address. Garret reflects on: What the industry often underestimates about “secondary” damage and long-tail claims Why speed not just coverage is critical in claims response How Cotality is using AI to streamline damage assessment, measurement and documentation Where underwriting still falls short on using granular property data effectively The potential for aerial imagery, building code data, and mitigation scoring to improve pricing The evolving role of regulators, particularly in high-risk states like California He also shares what it takes to keep innovation alive inside a larger company and why so many of the original founders of acquired businesses are still working alongside him today. If you like what you’re hearing, please leave us a review on whichever platform you use or contact Garret Gray or Matthew Grant on LinkedIn. Sign up to the InsTech newsletter for a fresh view on the world every Wednesday morning. Continuing Professional Development This InsTech Podcast Episode is accredited by the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII). By listening, you can claim up to 0.5 hours towards your CPD scheme. By the end of this podcast, you should be able to meet the following Learning Objectives: List the ways AI and automation are improving claims workflows, from measurement to estimate validation. Measure the impact of faster claims processing on overall loss severity and policyholder experience. Specify the data and tools required to assess property-level risk more accurately, including aerial imagery and local building codes. If your organisation is a member of InsTech and you would like to receive a quarterly summary of the CPD hours you have earned, visit the Episode 364 page of the InsTech website or email cpd@instech.co to let us know you have listened to this podcast. To help us measure the impact of the learning, we would be grateful if you would take a minute to complete a quick feedback survey.