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How US-Israeli War on Iran Is Upending Global Business

Article 0 Comments The U.S.-Israeli war with Iran is rattling businesses worldwide, driving up energy prices, squeezing supplies of critical raw materials and raising questions about the reliability of trade routes critical to the flow of goods from food to car parts. Below are the main disruptions so far: Travel Chaos The war has closed much of the region’s airspace and crippled Dubai and Doha airports, two of the world’s busiest transit hubs, stranded tens of thousands of passengers and forced airlines to cancel about 40,000 flights–the travel industry’s biggest disruption since the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more: Travelers Stranded by War Learn Insurance Won’t Cover Flight Cancellations Governments are scrambling to repatriate citizens, and airports are gradually resuming operations, but at only a fraction of normal capacity. Private jets have emerged as an alternative for marooned travelers to get out of the Gulf whilst others have embarked on long taxi drives across the desert to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in the hope of flying home from there. Shipments ranging from fresh produce to airplane parts are in limbo as Middle East conflict squeezes cargo capacity and pushes up freight rates. (Related: Perishables to Plane Parts Stranded as Middle East Conflict Hits...

HSB Launches Cyber Insurance for Connected Commercial Vehicles 0

HSB Launches Cyber Insurance for Connected Commercial Vehicles

Cyberattacks on Vehicles are a Serious Threat HSB Commercial Cyber for Auto covers damage to systems and data when work vehicles are hacked Key protection pays for lost business income from vehicle cyberattacks Additional coverage includes towing, transportation, and loss of use Toronto, ON (Feb. 18, 2026) – HSB is pleased to announce a new cyber insurance coverage that protects internet-connected commercial vehicles from hackers and pays for lost business income resulting from cyberattacks. HSB Commercial Cyber for Auto also covers cyber extortion, identity theft, and includes alternative transportation when targeted work vehicles can’t be operated. “Cyberattacks on commercial vehicles are a real and growing threat,” said Eric Hendricksen, commercial cyber practice lead for HSB, part of Munich Re Group. “With millions of connected commercial cars and trucks on the road, cybercriminals could hack into apps and automobile connections. Business owners need to get ahead of this emerging risk to data security, operations, and vehicle safety.” Comprehensive Protection for Commercial Fleets HSB Commercial Cyber for Auto is designed to help small and medium-sized businesses recover from disruptions caused by auto-related cyberattacks. Coverage for commercial vehicles includes: Cyberattacks, including damage to the vehicle’s systems, devices, or data from a malware attack....

Verisk and S&P Global Energy Collaborate to Deliver Insurance-Adjusted Climate Risk Intelligence 0

Verisk and S&P Global Energy Collaborate to Deliver Insurance-Adjusted Climate Risk Intelligence

Collaboration provides shared analytical foundation for helping to bridge the gap between sustainability, insurance and financial modeling for industries including banking, asset management, and real estate investment Jersey City, NJ (Feb. 17, 2026) – S&P Global Energy, the leading independent provider of information, analytics and benchmark prices for the commodities, energy and energy expansion and transition markets, and a division of S&P Global, and Verisk, a leading strategic data analytics and technology partner to the global insurance industry, are pleased to announce a new data-sharing collaboration designed to provide climate catastrophe exposure data and insights for the financial and insurance sectors. For the first time, powered by differentiating data from both companies, these sectors will be enabled to quantify the insured and uninsured financial impacts of future climate and near-term natural catastrophe events, creating a new industry benchmark for climate risk intelligence. Catastrophic events such as the recent record-setting losses from natural hazards underscore the urgent need for robust, forward-looking risk analytics to safeguard assets and support sustainable growth. This collaboration between two leading risk and data analytics providers helps to fill a critical gap in the market—offering a strong, auditable foundation for both insurance and financial institutions to manage climate...

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Attorneys for Suspect in LA Wildfire Seek Release Based on New Evidence

Article 0 Comments Defense attorneys for the man accused of sparking the deadly Palisades Fire in Los Angeles held a news conference Thursday to call for his release from jail in light of new evidence they say shows he is not responsible for the blaze. Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, was charged in October with starting what became one of the most destructive wildfires in California history. It began Jan. 7, 2025, in hillside neighborhoods of Pacific Palisades and Malibu and killed 12 people. Related: California Bill Requires Insurers to Offer, Renew Coverage for ‘Fire-Safe’ Homes Prosecutors say Rinderknecht started a fire on Jan. 1 that burned undetected deep in root systems before flaring back up a week later. Rinderknecht has pleaded not guilty, and his attorneys say he is being used as a scapegoat for the Los Angeles Fire Department’s failure to fully extinguish the earlier blaze. The U.S. attorney’s office declined to comment. Rinderknecht’s attorney Steve Haney pointed to a newly released deposition in which a firefighter testified that he noticed the ground was still smoldering from the fire on Jan. 2 and alerted a supervisors that there were hot spots. That testimony was gathered as part of a lawsuit...

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AM Best Upgrades Issuer Credit Rating of First Chicago Insurance Group Members

Article 0 Comments AM Best has upgraded the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings (Long-Term ICRs) to “bb+” (Fair) from “bb” (Fair) and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of B (Fair) of First Chicago Insurance Company and United Security Insurance Company. The outlook of the Long-Term ICRs has been revised to stable from positive, while the outlook of the FSR is stable. Both companies are domiciled in Bedford Park, IL and are collectively known as First Chicago Insurance Group (First Chicago). The Credit Ratings (ratings) reflect First Chicago’s balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as adequate, as well as its adequate operating performance, limited business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management (ERM). The upgrade of the Long-Term ICRs reflects enhancements to the group’s ERM framework that include measurable risk appetite and tolerance statements, as well as the formalization of a structured program as it relates specifically to insurance operations. Management has been memorializing and enriching the ERM function diligently within its organization over the past few years. A new ERM committee has been established to fortify the regular review of a new ERM dashboard, which tracks known risks to ensure the group remains within its appetite and to identify emerging...

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AI ‘Man Camps’ Offer Golf, Free Steaks to Lure Workers in Texas

Article 0 Comments Companies competing for workers to build data centers are finding that a motel room with sluggish Wi-Fi isn’t much of a draw. Try free steaks and golf simulators. As data-center development has exploded with the rise of artificial intelligence, competition for water and power supplies is pushing construction further into rural areas that often lack the housing and infrastructure to support the hundreds or thousands of temporary workers needed to build hulking warehouses of computer servers. That’s forcing developers to increasingly lean on a stopgap solution that was popularized during the shale-oil boom of the 2010s: sprawling temporary villages known as man camps. The Target Hospitality data center camp near Afton, Texas. Photographer: Mark Felix/Bloomberg These temporary housing villages can vary from wood-framed two-story apartment buildings to containerized modular homes or trailer parks supplied with electricity and water. But to lure in-demand electricians, welders and pipefitters, developers are going the extra mile and offering game rooms, rib eyes and shuttle rides to work. That’s fueling a lucrative niche for companies including Target Hospitality Corp. and Civeo Corp. that specialize in mobile housing. It’s effectively a back-door play for a share of what Bloomberg Intelligence estimates is $700...

Coalition’s 2026 Cyber Claims Report Finds Initial Ransom Demands Surged 47% — But Most Businesses Refuse to Pay 0

Coalition’s 2026 Cyber Claims Report Finds Initial Ransom Demands Surged 47% — But Most Businesses Refuse to Pay

Business email compromise and funds transfer fraud still comprise the majority of cyber insurance claims, data shows Vancouver, BC (Mar. 5, 2026) — Coalition, the world’s first Active Insurance provider designed to help prevent digital risk before it strikes, has released the findings of its 2026 Cyber Claims Report, revealing that initial ransom demands in the full-year 2025 surged 47% year-over-year (YoY). However, while ransomware actors substantially increased their demands, a record 86% of businesses refused to pay, suggesting that organisations have improved their cyber resiliency with viable data backups and incident response plans. “The data suggests a turning point in the economics of ransomware: while threat actors escalate their demands to push for higher, seven-figure payouts, cyber insurer support is helping businesses limit losses and is starting to help tip the scales back in favor of defenders,” said Rob Jones, Coalition’s Global Head of Claims. “Ultimately, we’re seeing the continuous partnership that Active Insurance offers between Coalition and our policyholders is reshaping the loss profile of cyber insurance and creating better outcomes.” While ransomware was the most costly type of claim in 2025 with an average loss of USD $269,000, business email compromise (BEC) and funds transfer fraud (FTF)...

Messagepoint Acquires Sefas 0

Messagepoint Acquires Sefas

Acquisition advances comprehensive AI-powered platform for omnichannel management, orchestration, and digital delivery of regulated customer communications Toronto, ON (Mar. 5, 2026) – Messagepoint, a leading customer communications management (CCM) solutions provider, is pleased to announce the acquisition of Sefas, a CCM and enterprise communications processing (ECP) software vendor. Enterprises—especially in regulated industries—are under growing pressure to communicate faster and more accurately across channels, while reducing the cost and effort required to manage those communications. This acquisition strengthens Messagepoint’s ability to move organizations from fragmented document production to an orchestrated, trackable communications journey across channels. The acquisition builds on Messagepoint’s established OEM partnership with Sefas, first announced in 2021, and will accelerate product innovation through deeper platform integration. Messagepoint currently OEMs key Sefas solutions, including Messagepoint Composer (Sefas Designer) and Messagepoint ECP (Sefas Producer), to help organizations modernize regulated communications management across print and digital channels. In addition to deepening existing integrations, Messagepoint plans to bring additional solutions to customers—most notably Conductor, an omnichannel orchestration layer that coordinates and tracks high-volume print and digital communications, and Electronic Delivery Gateway (EDG), which helps integrate and manage digital delivery services. This acquisition positions Messagepoint to deliver an AI-powered platform that supports a more...

Crawford & Company Releases “Built For The Future: 2026 Predictions” 0

Crawford & Company Releases “Built For The Future: 2026 Predictions”

Crawford leaders offer expert insight into the trends and forces that will shape the U.S. claims landscape in 2026 Atlanta, GA (Mar. 5, 2026) – Crawford & Company® is pleased to announce a new report, Built for the Future: U.S. Predictions Report 2026, which explores the forces reshaping the insurance claims industry and offers expert insight into how organizations can prepare for what lies ahead. As the industry enters 2026 amid evolving catastrophe risk, accelerating digital adoption, and shifting market conditions, the report brings together perspectives from Crawford leaders across its U.S. operations. Their insights highlight where the claims ecosystem is headed and what it will take to build resilience, intelligence, and adaptability in an increasingly complex environment. “Built for the Future reflects how the claims industry is moving from discussion to action,” said Mike Hoberman, CEO, U.S. Operations. “The organizations that succeed in the years ahead will be those that invest intentionally in resiliency, embrace data and automation thoughtfully, and remain agile as market conditions continue to evolve. By doing so, they will be better positioned to leverage their expertise and drive meaningful results as the landscape transforms.” The report examines four key areas shaping U.S. insurance claims in 2026: Catastrophe recovery trends and the...

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Why EV Chargers Are Booming Despite Slumping New Car Sales

Article 1 Comment Despite the plunge in US electric vehicle sales, it appears there’s a critical enough mass to sustain the companies building public charging infrastructure. ChargePoint Holdings Inc. posted a 7% increase in sales in the last quarter of 2025, even as new EV sales fell by nearly 40% compared to the year-earlier quarter. “A lot of people get fixated on the new EV sales,” ChargePoint Chief Executive Officer Rick Wilmer said. “But what really drives our business is not only new EV sales, but the cumulative number of EVs that are on the road.” There are now roughly 5.8 million EVs zipping along American roads. With drivers increasingly relying on public charging, companies are racing to install more stations. EVgo Inc. is another company expanding its network. The firm aims to build up to 1,650 new slots to charge electric cars in the US this year, which would be 38% more than it installed last year. “We’re actually really excited about this year,” CEO Badar Khan said to investors on Tuesday. “I think it’s a year of really ramping up.” US chargers have become more reliable and far faster, which encourages more people to use them, according to...