Cotality’s use of AI stands out not just for its technological sophistication, but for its direct and measurable impact on one of the most pressing challenges facing American homeowners today: the crisis in property insurance affordability.
Since 2021, insurance premiums across the US have risen by an average of 33%, far outpacing increases in mortgage principal, interest, and property taxes. For millions of homeowners, this cost escalation threatens long-term affordability and security. Cotality’s use of AI addresses this head-on by reimagining the risk underwriting landscape itself.
At the core of the innovation is the application of AI-powered image analytics to property-level data: highly specialized, fine-grained analysis that identifies resilience factors which reduce wildfire risk. These insights are fed into insurers’ risk models, enabling them to adjust underwriting decisions and reduce premiums by up to 20% for properties meeting resilience criteria. That is a game-changer for homeowners in fire-prone states like California, where coverage is being dropped or priced out of reach.
The strength of Cotality’s solution lies in its systemic approach. It is using AI to flag individual homes in collaboration with supplying insurers, financial institutions, and regulators with a complete property risk profile that includes reconstruction cost estimates, peril-specific risk scores, and resilience assessments. This positions AI not as an isolated tool, but as a foundational capability for climate adaptation in the built environment.
A compelling example is Cotality’s work in Paradise, California, the site of a catastrophic 2018 wildfire. The company used its data and modelling capabilities to create a blueprint for rebuilding the town, demonstrating how risk could be reduced by over 70% and insurance premiums by over 50%. This was not just theoretical but was a real-world application of AI insights to inform building codes, planning decisions, and mitigation strategies. Few AI programs can claim that kind of tangible, life-altering impact.
Underpinning this capability is a formidable AI manufacturing plant, Cotality’s internal data and technology engine. With over 22,000 data sources ranging from drone footage to sensor telemetry and point cloud data, the pipeline fuses everything from aerial imagery to fax-based inputs into a structured and actionable intelligence layer. This is built on a tech stack with a cloud platform at its core and powered by a cross-functional team of more than 300 specialists, including peril scientists, forensic meteorologists, structural engineers, and geospatial analysts.
This fusion of deep domain expertise with advanced AI workflows enables Cotality to deliver hyper-localized, high-fidelity risk assessments at scale for individual properties and entire communities. The result: 1.5 million property professionals supported, over 2 million homes restored last year, and a growing national impact on resilience planning.
Cotality is applying AI and truly transforming how housing risk is understood, priced, and mitigated.
