Insurable Interest Canadian Insurance Blog

Latest IBM Bob Updates Help Enterprises Deliver Production-Ready Software Fast IBM Bob is Built to Optimize the Cost of AI-Driven Development Beyond the Model IBM Bob Now Offers Pre-Built, Customizable Enterprise Workflows for IBM Z, IBM i, Plus Java Modernization New York, NY (July 16, 2026) – IBM is pleased to announce major updates to IBM Bob, its agentic software development platform, including new multi-agent capabilities, built-in AI cost and use analytics, and pre-built, specialized workflows for modernizing enterprise systems. Now that organizations are using AI to write massive amounts of code, their software development challenges have moved to other parts of the process with 85% of DevSecOps professionals surveyed agreeing that AI has shifted the bottleneck from writing code to reviewing and validating it.[1] IBM Bob is architected to bring AI capabilities wherever software engineering work happens. Rather than limiting AI to a single development interface for isolated tasks, Bob provides a unified foundation for teams to coordinate across the software development lifecycle. For example, engineers at Jack Henry, a leading financial services and banking technology provider, were facing challenges maintaining and evolving a large RPG codebase as its application portfolio expanded in size and complexity. “Using IBM Bob,” explained Kevin Sligar, Chief Technical Architect at...

Fully digital life insurance application experience with real-time underwriting decisions powered by advanced analytics, predictive modelling and AI-enhanced capabilities Provides personalized real-time decisions up to an industry-leading $5 million across Term Life, Universal Life and Whole Life policies, aligned with BMO Insurance’s full accelerated underwriting limits Helps clients move forward with coverage in the moment by eliminating traditional medical requirements for many applications Toronto, ON (July 16, 2026) – BMO is pleased to announce the launch of SmartDecision, an innovative underwriting solution that uses advanced analytics and AI-enhanced capabilities to deliver real-time decisions to clients and advisors. Available for eligible applications up to an industry-leading $5 million across its suite of life insurance products, SmartDecision represents a meaningful step forward in improving the underwriting journey. Leveraging advanced analytics, predictive modelling and AI-enhanced capabilities, the platform helps personalize client experiences and automate certain processes. SmartDecision also augments advisor capabilities, giving them more time to focus on client interactions. It evaluates risks and delivers decisions within seconds, reducing the traditional delays associated with underwriting requirements and follow-up meetings. “We’re fundamentally changing how underwriting is delivered,” said Katarina Nikolic, VP & Chief Corporate Underwriter, BMO Insurance. “SmartDecision equips advisors with immediate, high-quality decisions...

More organizations have reached the stage where AI is part of everyday work — rising to 22 percent, up from 13 percent in Q1, the biggest move of any stage on the AI maturity journey. One-third of leaders (33 percent) cite limited understanding of usage costs, as a key deployment challenge for AI agents. Organizations where CEOs are accountable for decisions based on AI outputs, report higher confidence in their AI strategy, (60 percent vs. 22 percent), are more likely to realize meaningful business value (57 percent vs. 21 percent) and report established ROI (14 percent vs. 4 percent). Leaders with strong cost visibility are five times more likely to achieve ROI (15 percent vs. 3 percent). London, UK (July 1, 2026) – Organizations are entering a pragmatic phase of AI, where success is no longer defined by experimentation, but by how effectively leaders turn investment into real business value, according to KPMG’s Q2 2026 Global AI Pulse Survey of more than 2,000+ business leaders across 20 countries at organizations with annual revenues exceeding US $50+ million. While AI remains a top priority, cited by 79 percent of leaders as a key investment area (up from 74 percent last quarter) and...

FM Report: “Understanding Power Generation: Loss Trends and Predictive Analytics” Johnston, RI (July 15, 2026) – Aging equipment, protracted replacement times and a variety of risk-management shortcomings threaten efforts to meet rising global power demand fueled by AI data centers and broad-based electrification, according to a new report by commercial property insurer FM. The report, Understanding Power Generation: Loss Trends and Predictive Analytics, details power-generation systems’ chief vulnerabilities, most prevalent causes of loss and recommended practices for improving resilience. “Power generation is a pillar of national and global security,” said Stuart Keller, chief engineer at FM. “Losses within this sector reverberate beyond individual facilities, affecting macroeconomic performance, energy availability, the resilience of critical infrastructure and local communities. As demand increases and system complexity grows, maintaining operational efficiency and proactively managing risk are essential.” Where the vulnerabilities lie Mechanical and electrical breakdowns are the primary drivers of loss, accounting for more than 70% of all loss events in power generation and over 80% of total financial impact annually, the report says. Gas turbines are the single largest source of property damage across the sector. Gas turbines and transformers are major drivers of business interruption losses in large part due to ongoing supply...

Nearly 80% of utilities expect more extreme and volatile demand patterns Around one in five data center power requests may never materialize, distorting forecasts At the same time, AI is expected by 60% of utilities to play a growing role in improving grid efficiency and unlocking operational gains, but only few have implemented advanced AI-driven approaches Paris, France (July 1, 2026) – The rapid expansion of AI-driven data centers is not only increasing electricity demand, but making it significantly harder to predict, challenging how power systems are planned and delivered. A large majority of electricity executives expect more extreme and less predictable demand spikes, while more than three quarters say they struggle to forecast future needs accurately, according to the Capgemini Research Institute’s latest report, AI Meets The Grid: Shaping The Data Center Power Play. The research, which surveyed over 600 senior electricity executives from organizations with annual revenue exceeding $500 million, highlights how power systems are entering a new phase as AI workloads become increasingly unpredictable. According to the report, forecasting has become significantly harder, but AI is also part of the solution with a majority of executives expecting AI to unlock significant efficiency and operational gains. A new era...