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US-Iran Clashes Escalate as Fears Grow of Extended Conflict

Article 0 Comments Fighting between the US and Iran over control of the Strait of Hormuz intensified after a period of relative calm, triggering a fresh jump in energy prices as fears grow of an open-ended war. The US military carried out a second round of strikes in three days overnight, targeting radar systems and mine-laying capabilities along Iran’s southern coast. Iran retaliated with drone and missile volleys on US bases across the Middle East, in line with a pattern used throughout the six-month war. Tehran accused the US of hitting a wedding ceremony in the southern coastal city of Sirik,with the Iranian Red Crescent Society saying at least four people died while about 67 were injured. The organization, which had previously put the number of fatalities at five, said the total may rise. “The US military never targets civilians,” said US Navy Captain Tim Hawkins, a spokesperson for Centcom, which oversees US forces in the Middle East. Iranian officials likened the incident to a strike on an elementary school in the city of Minab during the early days of the conflict. That attack killed an estimated120 children and is under investigation by the US military. “This cruelty cannot be...

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People Moves: Sunstar Insurance Group Names Ashby as Chief Information Officer

Article 0 Comments Sunstar Insurance Group announced it has hired Tod Ashby as Chief Information Officer, where he will lead the company’s technology strategy, enterprise infrastructure and systems modernization as Sunstar continues to build the scalable platform needed to support its growth. In this role, he will oversee enterprise architecture, cloud and cybersecurity strategy, data and reporting infrastructure and the technology integration of newly acquired agencies, working closely with Sunstar’s executive team to advance Sunstar’s Corporate Infrastructure priorities. Ashby brings four decades of technology leadership experience across the insurance industry, with a focus on enterprise transformation, M&A due diligence and integration, cloud and infrastructure modernization and cybersecurity governance. He has held senior technology roles at AssuredPartners, Prime Risk Partners, HUB International and Van Gilder Insurance Corporation, where he led enterprise infrastructure, compliance and integration programs for organizations scaling to more than $2 billion in revenue. His background as a systems leader, governance architect and CIO across multiple private equity-backed platforms positions him to make an immediate impact. Was this article valuable? Thank you! Please tell us what we can do to improve this article. Submit No Thanks Thank you! % of people found this article valuable. Please tell us what...

As HNW Individuals Embrace Increasingly Fluid, Multi-Phase Lives, Only 17% Have an Integrated Wealth Plan to Keep Up 0

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As HNW Individuals Embrace Increasingly Fluid, Multi-Phase Lives, Only 17% Have an Integrated Wealth Plan to Keep Up

New Manulife research finds fragmented planning is creating blind spots as longer lives reshape how wealthy individuals live, work and transfer wealth across generations Toronto, ON (Aug. 18, 2026) – Longer lives are changing what wealth needs to do. As high-net-worth (HNW) individuals expect to remain active for decades beyond traditional retirement age, many are rethinking how they work, invest and use their wealth throughout their lives. Rather than planning for a single retirement phase, they are increasingly preparing for multiple stages of work, reinvention, family responsibilities and new opportunities. This shift is prompting a rethink of traditional approaches to wealth planning. That is the central finding of The New Fluidity (opens in a new tab), new research from Manulife and FT Longitude among 1,000 HNW and mass-affluent individuals across Asia-Pacific and the Middle East. While many wealthy individuals are adapting their lifestyles and investment strategies to longer lifespans, relatively few have put in place an integrated wealth plan that connects investments, protection, succession and family governance. Retirement is no longer a finish line Traditional notions of retirement are giving way to more fluid, multi-phase lives — what the Manulife-FT report describes as “portfolio lives”, where HNW individuals continue to...

Alliant Insurance Services to Acquire Nava, Creating an AI-Native Model for the Future of Employee Benefits 0

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Alliant Insurance Services to Acquire Nava, Creating an AI-Native Model for the Future of Employee Benefits

This combination brings together connected intelligence, human expertise, and national scale to improve benefits performance every day, not just at renewal Irvine, CA (Aug. 18, 2026) – Alliant Insurance Services is pleased to announce that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Nava Benefits, combining Alliant’s advisory depth, analytics, scale, and risk expertise with Nava’s AI-native HQ platform to help define the next generation of employee benefits brokerage. The acquisition comes at an important inflection point for the industry. Technology has long supported benefits brokerage, but artificial intelligence creates an opportunity to fundamentally change how benefits are delivered. Rather than adding another technology layer to a traditional service model, Alliant and Nava intend to create a more connected operating model in which real-time intelligence, technology, and human expertise work together to improve benefits performance for employers and their people. “AI is not an incremental change for our industry. It creates the opportunity to rethink how benefits are delivered from the ground up,” said Kevin Overbey, President of Alliant Employee Benefits. “This acquisition is about leading that transformation and building a model that is more connected, more responsive, and more capable of delivering measurable value for employers and the people...

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AM Best Downgrades Financial Rating of Illinois’ Prime Insurance

Article 0 Comments AM Best has downgraded the Financial Strength Rating to B (Fair) from A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating to “bb+” (Fair) from “a-” (Excellent) of Prime Insurance Company based in Chicago, Illinois. Concurrently, AM Best has maintained the under review with negative implications status for these Credit Ratings (ratings). The ratings of Prime reflect its balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as adequate, as well as its adequate operating performance, neutral business profile and marginal enterprise risk management (ERM). These rating actions reflect AM Best’s continuing concerns related to the adequacy of the company’s loss reserves and its decreasing risk-adjusted capitalization contributing to a lower overall balance sheet assessment. AM Best also revised the assessment of Prime’s ERM to marginal from appropriate reflecting concerns regarding the effectiveness of Prime’s reserve risk management relative to the size and complexity of this risk. The marginal assessment also contemplates the effectiveness of the company’s capital management plans and the potential regulatory implications related to lower risk-based capital levels as prescribed by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. Management’s ability to meet these required levels is another consideration, the ratings agency said. Prime reported $111 million adverse reserve...

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New Illinois Law Requires Insurance for High-Speed E-Bikes

Article 0 Comments Some Illinois e-bike riders will need to carry insurance starting in 2027 under a law signed this week by Governor JB Prtizker. The new law requires riders of e-bikes and e-motors capable of traveling over 28 mph to have a driver’s license, title, registration and insurance. Illinois joins New Jersey as the only states to require insurance for high-seed e-bikes. Most states consider e-bikes to be in the same class of vehicles as bicycles, meaning riders don’t need to carry liability insurance, according to Progressive. Illinois Senate Bill 3484 draws a distinction between bicycles, lower-speed e-bikes and higher-powered e-bikes. “As these high-powered devices become faster and more common on our streets and sidewalks, the stakes are simply too high to leave them unregulated and outpacing public safety,” Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias said. E-bikes have grown in popularity in recent years, leading to a rise in serious injuries. E-bikes have also led to a spike in claims involving battery related fire risks, according to Verisk. The Illinois law prohibits e-bikes and micromobility devices such as e-scooters, electric skateboards and electric unicycles from operating on sidewalks, and prohibits them from operating over 28 mph on roads, bike...

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Ross Fire Grows Into One of Largest Wildfires on Record in North Texas

Article 0 Comments The Ross Fire has grown into one of the largest wildfires in the Dallas-Fort Worth area’s recorded history, scorching 85,000 acres across Palo Pinto and Jack counties in just three days. The fire, which began Monday near Palo Pinto, grew with extraordinary speed in the dry ranchland. By Tuesday, officials reported that the fire had doubled in size in a few hours to about 50,000 acres. By Wednesday, the estimate had climbed above 80,000 acres. As of Friday morning, the Texas A&M Forest Service said the fire was 26% contained, which refers to the portion of the fire’s perimeter where firefighters have established a line or barrier aimed at stopping the fire from spreading. Firefighters have reported extreme fire behavior, including trees torching in groups amid strong winds. There have been no reports of injuries from the fire, but some rural residents have been advised to evacuate over the past three days and officials told residents in or near affected areas to be prepared to leave quickly if conditions change. Local officials have closed numerous roads in Palo Pinto County, including parts of U.S. 180 and Texas 254 as crews continue responding to the fire. As much...

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First US Phosphate Plant in Decades Planned Amid Global Conflict

Article 0 Comments Farm cooperative CHS Inc. and fertilizer producer OCP North America are proposing a $450 million phosphate fertilizer plant in Louisiana, bolstering domestic supplies as global conflicts have increasingly thwarted the flow of foreign crop nutrients. The proposed plant in Waggaman, Louisiana, the first of its kind in the US in over four decades, would produce more than a million tons of phosphate-based fertilizer annually, according to a Wednesday press release. The US produced about 5 million metric tons of finished phosphate fertilizers in 2024, according to Bloomberg Green Markets. The announcement comes as global fertilizer markets have been roiled by geopolitical conflict, first in Russia and Ukraine and then in the Middle East. Trade disruptions have elevated prices for the key crop nutrients and stoked concerns in the US about food security. The facility could reduce US dependency on imported phosphate fertilizers by more than 48%, according to the release. “We need to clap real loud for that. That is a really big deal,” Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said of the plant at an event in Louisiana on Wednesday. The facility will provide “true competition for the American farmer’s dollar as a new entry comes to play...

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Mercury Insurance Founder Joseph Dies at Age 104

Article 0 Comments George Joseph, who founded Mercury General Corp. nearly 65 years ago, has died at age 104, the company announced this week. Joseph served as chairman from the company’s founding and led Mercury as CEO for 45 years, ending his time at the helm in 2006. After stepping down as CEO, he remained the company’s as executive chairman. George Joseph During his time as CEO, Mercury grew from a small California insurer with six employees and 90 agents into a large writer of private passenger automobile insurance. The company completed a public offering in 1985, and expanded beyond California beginning in 1989. It was listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 1996. The company’s written premiums broke the $3 billion mark in 2006. Joseph was recognized during his career for his contributions, including being named “Company Person of the Year” by the Professional Insurance Agents Association in 1987. Joseph was also known for his efforts to change Proposition 33, California’s insurance law, which many carriers have blamed for forcing them to use outdated catastrophe models and for keeping them from raising rates to better reflect the state’s growing wildfire risk. In 2010 and 2012, he backed two...

Applied Systems Launches New Vendor Certification Program 0

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Applied Systems Launches New Vendor Certification Program

New program enables agencies and brokerages to extend their technology strategy with certified integrations in a faster, more secure way Chicago, IL (Aug. 12, 2026) – Applied Systems® is pleased to announce it has launched its Vendor Certification Program, a new third-party integration program that provides customers with a fast, trusted way to extend the value of their Applied solutions. The new program formalizes Applied’s decades-long commitment to an open, connected ecosystem, giving vendors a clear, single path to certification and giving mutual customers a faster, lower-cost way to activate the technology partners of their choice. Every certified vendor completes a thorough onboarding and certification process, ensuring each integration meets Applied’s standards for quality and reliability before it ever reaches an agency or brokerage. Activating a certified integration is easy, faster than a standard integration build, and doesn’t require any additional purchase from Applied. Certified vendors have access to the latest Applied Epic releases, ensuring integrations stay current, reliable, and ready to meet their most demanding challenges. Initial companies with certified integrations include Ascend, Adapt, Coverflow, Fulcrum, Inteveo EcoLink, Lightspeed, Outmarket, Quandri, RecordLinker, Sonant, and Xilo, with more expected to join in the months ahead. “Applied has long supported a vibrant...