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Rainier Partners Acquires Texas MGA Platform Apex

Article 0 Comments Rainier Partners, a private equity firm investing in lower middle-market services businesses, has acquired Apex Insurance Services, a multi-brand managing general agency (MGA) platform focused on the Texas non-standard auto insurance market. Headquartered in Richardson, Texas, Apex manages five MGAs — Apollo MGA, Apollo Specialty, Newstar General Agency, Excellent Insurance Services, and Ignition Insurance Services — creating one of the largest non-standard auto insurance distribution networks in the state. Apex is led by a seasoned management team with over 100 years of combined experience and leverages disciplined underwriting, data-driven pricing, and a broad independent agent network. With Rainier’s partnership, Apex plans to continue its organic growth in Texas and potentially new states. The platform will also seek strategic M&A and will explore adjacent product categories. Topics Mergers & Acquisitions Texas Insurance Wholesale 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 you liked about it. Submit No Thanks Here are more articles you may enjoy. Interested in Insurance Wholesale? Get automatic alerts for this topic.

Survey Finds 34% of U.S. Consumers Are Willing to Use GenAI for Holiday Gift Recommendations 0

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Survey Finds 34% of U.S. Consumers Are Willing to Use GenAI for Holiday Gift Recommendations

Marketers Should Prepare for More Fragmented Discovery Journeys Stamford, CT (Oct. 14, 2026) – More than one-third, or 34%, of U.S. consumers report being very or extremely willing to use Gen AI-backed tools or chatbots for holiday gift recommendations, according to a survey by Gartner, Inc., a business and technology insights company. A Gartner survey of 1,004 US consumers conducted in August 2026 found that AI is emerging as a potential avenue for shopping inspiration, though traditional discovery and purchase channels remain dominant. “AI is beginning to establish a role in the holiday shopping journey, but it is not replacing the channels consumers already use,” said Emily Weiss, Sr Principal Analyst in the Gartner Marketing practice. “Consumers who use AI for holiday shopping are also consulting a wider range of other sources, meaning marketers should prepare for more fragmented discovery journeys.” AI Expands, Rather Than Replaces, Holiday Shopping Discovery Retailer websites, traditional internet searches, and friends’ and family wishlists remain the most common sources of holiday shopping inspiration. In-store shopping and Amazon are also expected to remain the leading purchase channels, with 77% of consumers planning to shop in stores and 75% planning to shop on Amazon. Consumers who currently use...

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DOJ Recovers $604K in Back Wages from Indiana Auto Parts Manufacturer

Article 0 Comments The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $604,000 in back wages for 829 workers after an investigation found an Indianapolis-area vehicle parts manufacturer failed to properly calculate overtime wages. Investigators with the department’s Wage and Hour Division found that Toa (USA) LLC, a major automotive supplier that serves top-tier automotive companies, did not include a non-discretionary attendance bonus for hourly employees when calculating overtime during applicable workweeks, in violation of the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Toa (USA) LLC, with manufacturing facilities in Mooresville, is the primary body structure and suspension components supplier for Subaru of Indiana Automotive and Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America. Source: DOJ Topics Auto Manufacturing 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 you liked about it. Submit No Thanks Here are more articles you may enjoy. Interested in Auto? Get automatic alerts for this topic.

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Turkish Insurer Sinks as Top Executives Arrested in Fund Probe

Article 0 Comments Turkiye Sigorta AS shares extended losses after local media reported that two of its top executives were arrested as part of a sweeping probe into allegations of market manipulation in Turkish funds. Chief Executive Officer Taha Cakmak and his deputy Gurol Sami Ozer were detained earlier this month, according to state-run Anadolu Agency. The company’s shares have been hit hard, tumbling 18% in the past two days and falling to the lowest in almost two years. (Editor’s note: Bloomberg originally published this article on Oct 27, 2026 at 12:55 pm). Broadcaster NTV reported allegations that Turkiye Sigorta, a state-back insurance company, had steered cash into funds managed by Tera Portfoy Yonetimi, the brokerage firm at the center of the fund crisis, citing sources it did not identify. Cakmak’s lawyer, Ersin Yucel, said his client has denied all wrongdoing, and plans to appeal the arrest. Cakmak and Ozer join a growing list of prominent figures from Turkey’s finance scene who have been arrested as authorities try to get a grip on a crisis that has battered stock and bond markets. Prosecutors have said they’re investigating a vast scandal that saw local investment funds buy up shares in often-obscure...

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Ohio Judge Blocks Lawmakers From Killing Clean Air Law

Article 0 Comments A Franklin County judge blocked last week a state law that eliminated Ohioans’ special legal powers to sue polluting neighbors like steel or other industrial plants that spit smoke, ash or other fumes into the sky. This marks the second time in a short few years that environmental interests have managed to squash, at least temporarily, an effort to kill the air nuisance rule, which has been on the books in Ohio for more than 50 years. The ruling last week from Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Julie Lynch states that lawmakers’ directive to state officials to repeal the air nuisance rule, which was slipped into the state budget as an 11th hour amendment, violated a provision of the state constitution that says legislation can span only a single subject. “The Air Pollution Amendment has nothing to do with appropriations or state operations. Therefore, it violates the Constitution’s one-subject rule,” she said. The air nuisance rule is fairly simple. It says that the emission or escape of smoke, ash, dust, grime, acid, fumes, gas, vapors or others that endanger health, safety or welfare of the public or property is an unlawful nuisance. Since 1974 the rule has...

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Oklahoma Landlord to Pay $52K for Violating Fair Housing Act

Article 0 Comments The Justice Department announced that the owners of a residential rental property in Oklahoma City have agreed to pay $52,500 to resolve a lawsuit alleging that they refused to rent a one-bedroom apartment to a single mother upon learning that she would be living with her child, in violation of the Fair Housing Act. Under the settlement agreement, the defendants must pay $52,500 to the woman who was denied an apartment. The Defendants must also implement a nondiscrimination policy and practices, and undergo training to prevent future discrimination, including familial status discrimination, at The Vintage at Mesta Park. The Department’s lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma in August 2025, alleges that in July 2022 a woman inquired about renting a one-bedroom unit in Defendants’ 36-unit apartment complex known as The Vintage at Mesta Park. The apartment was close to her work, and across the street from a school where she hoped to send her then-three-year-old son. The woman viewed the available unit, a newly remodeled one-bedroom unit, and told Defendants’ rental agent that she wanted to move forward with renting the unit. Defendant Jacqueline Fox, who managed the property and...

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Michigan, Ohio Gas Prices Spike Further Amid Refinery Breakdown

Article 0 Comments Gas prices in two Midwestern battleground states saw further hikes on Thursday as the region’s market grapples with a refinery issue in Illinois. In Michigan, prices rose to $4.74 a gallon on Thursday, up from $4.59 a gallon on Wednesday, according to GasBuddy, a fuel savings app that tracks prices in live time. In Ohio, prices stood at $4.34 a gallon, up from $4.05 a gallon on Wednesday. GasBuddy’s prices differ slightly from those released by AAA, which issues nightly updates on prices. A shut-down of a key unit at ExxonMobil Holdings Corp.’s Joliet, Illinois, refinery had already pushed prices significantly higher on Wednesday in both states. Polls show tight Senate races in both states, with the cost of living and pump prices top voter issues in the midterm elections 12 days from now. Democrats must hold on to their seat in Michigan, a state won by President Donald Trump in 2024, if they hope to flip control of the US Senate. Republicans similarly see Ohio as crucial to maintaining their majority. The impacts are spreading throughout the broader area, with price hikes in Wisconsin and Indiana, as well as Illinois. Copyright 2026 Bloomberg. Topics Michigan Pricing...

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Insurer Doesn’t Get a Mulligan in $12M Georgia Solar Farm Claim, Appeals Court Says

Article 1 Comment Zurich American does not get to reclassify a loss as one with a much higher deductible after it had already paid part of the claim, a federal appeals court said in a case involving rain damage to a massive solar farm in Georgia. “Golfers get mulligans. But in this case, the insurance company does not,” the U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals wrote in its Oct. 22 opinion. Zurich American had written a builder’s risk policy for First Solar, which was constructing a 200-megawatt solar plant near Warner Robins, in central Georgia, in 2018. Five heavy rain events in 2019 and 2020 left water standing in the former farm field, causing extensive damage to the solar components. A Zurich adjuster determined that the loss was due to water damage, not flooding, and Zurich sent advance payments totaling $600,000 for the first three rainfall events. The policy allowed a $100,000 per-event deductible for water damage. But Zurich then reversed course, arguing that the deluges in 2019 and 2020 were actually flood events. In the policy, flood damage carried a much higher deductible—$2.5 million per event. That meant that all of the claimed damage was below the First Solar...

NTT DATA Opens AI Factory Munich Where Clients Can Validate their AI in a Live Environment 0

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NTT DATA Opens AI Factory Munich Where Clients Can Validate their AI in a Live Environment

Helping clients move AI from pilots to production in a live, production-grade environment Enabling organizations to test AI they own and control against their own use cases before making investment decisions Bringing together NTT DATA’s consulting, data, AI, infrastructure, security, operations and managed services expertise with leading technology partners including Dell Technologies and NVIDIA Munich, Germany (Oct. 14, 2026) – NTT DATA, a global leader in AI, digital business and technology services, is pleased to announce the opening of the NTT DATA AI Factory Munich, a real-world environment where clients can test how their AI applications will perform at scale before they invest in broad deployments. Unlike a traditional AI demonstration or innovation lab, the AI Factory Munich operates within a live data center environment (NTT Global Data Centers’ Munich 2 Data Center), allowing clients to evaluate AI workloads against the infrastructure, security, data, governance and operational requirements they will face in production. AI deployments typically stall between pilots that prove an idea and enterprise-scale production that delivers value. To bridge this gap, the AI Factory Munich leverages NTT DATA’s capabilities from consulting, infrastructure and AI platforms to managed services, data centers and its global partner ecosystem. Among active partners, NVIDIA...

IBM Teams Up with SAP to Help Businesses Modernize Operations and Advance AI-Readiness 0

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IBM Teams Up with SAP to Help Businesses Modernize Operations and Advance AI-Readiness

Volumetric Building Companies cuts operational cycle times by 50% with SAP Cloud ERP Second Nature Brands extends and strengthens their common enterprise platform following its Voortman acquisition Modernized ERP foundation positions clients to scale operations and support AI-readiness Armonk, NY (Oct. 14, 2026) – IBM is pleased to announce IBM Ready for SAP Solutions to help midsize and fast-growing organizations accelerate cloud ERP modernization, unify enterprise data, and establish an AI-ready digital core. Volumetric Building Companies and Second Nature Brands are among the clients using the solution to support growth and future AI initiatives. Volumetric Building Companies (VBC), a global modular construction company, reduced operational cycle times by 50% across purchasing, manufacturing, and inventory processes following a three-month SAP Cloud ERP transformation with IBM. Second Nature Brands, a portfolio company and creator of premium snacks and treats, recently completed an SAP Cloud ERP transformation with IBM that integrated its acquired Voortman Bakery business and established a common enterprise platform for its operations. The two transformations demonstrate how IBM Ready for SAP Solutions can support different business needs, from improving operational efficiency to integrating acquired businesses onto a common enterprise platform. “As our business continues to grow, we needed technology that...