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Cattle Ranchers Search for Feed as Wildfires Burn Grazing Lands

Article 0 Comments Pasture lands have been stripped down to a sea of sand after wildfires tore across the U.S. Plains, killing cattle and wiping out their food sources, and threatening a historically small herd already linked to rising beef prices. The loss of grass in Oklahoma and Kansas has sent ranchers scrambling for donations of hay to feed their herds as some face the prospect of running out of supplies. Since last week, the biggest wildfire, the Ranger Road Fire, burned an estimated 283,283 acres (114,640 hectares) in northern Oklahoma and southern Kansas, the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry said on Monday. It was about 65% contained. Related: Texas Fire Threat to Worsen as Oklahoma Panhandle Burns “Grass is gone,” said Collin Domer, 36, a volunteer firefighter for the Laverne Fire Department in Oklahoma who responded to the blaze. “It’s sand. Take a sand pit and cover that over 285,000 acres.” Cattle Supplies Lowest in 75 Years Other fires have burned thousands more acres in Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas. Some cattle perished, state and industry officials said, without estimating the number. “There’s been a lot of cattle loss,” said Bryce Boyer, spokesperson for the Oklahoma Department of...

Insly launches AI layer, Nora, to “remove one insurance bottleneck at a time” 0

Insly launches AI layer, Nora, to “remove one insurance bottleneck at a time”

Nora encompasses a set of AI skills that can be customised to address the specific administrative pain points of any insurance business New AI ecosystem represents an evolution from FormFlow, Insly’s broker submission tool, which is now part of Nora Tallinn, Estonia (Feb. 24, 2026) – Insly, the low-risk, enterprise-grade insurance software provider, has launched a modular AI solution, Nora. Designed to sit on top of existing insurance software, Nora automates repetitive, administrative tasks across submissions, underwriting, and claims, helping insurers and MGAs boost efficiency, reduce workloads, and free insurance professionals for more strategic tasks. Nora functions as a set of specialised skills, or capabilities, which can be customised to the exact needs and workflows of each customer. These include: data extraction and capture, email and phone call follow-up, an underwriting guide reader, and broker submission triage. Insly will continually add to these skills as new use cases emerge, with several new modules already in the pipeline. The modular approach enables customers to mix and match where Nora can best add value, by removing specific pain points and bottlenecks. Nora can be integrated at critical points in the insurance workflow, with operational control, human input and escalation configured to client needs....

Electric Vehicle Collision Claims Rise 14% in the U.S. and 24% in Canada Even as Sales of New Models Slow 0

Electric Vehicle Collision Claims Rise 14% in the U.S. and 24% in Canada Even as Sales of New Models Slow

San Diego, CA (Feb. 19, 2026) – Mitchell, a leader in the development of innovative auto physical damage technology solutions, has published its latest Plugged-In: EV Collision Insights report. This issue provides an overview of the most notable 2025 trends in collision claims and repair for battery electric vehicles (BEVs), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) and mild hybrid electric vehicles (MHEVs). While sales of new BEVs decreased approximately 2% in the U.S., claims for repairable vehicles kept climbing. The share of repairable claims also increased by 6% for PHEVs and 20% for MHEVs year over year in the U.S. and 26% and 29% respectively in Canada. “Even as BEV adoption slowed in North America last year following the end of government tax incentives, the auto insurance and collision repair industries still saw claims volume rise since more of these automobiles are on the road than ever before,” said Ryan Mandell, Mitchell’s vice president of strategy and market intelligence. “Due to their dense electrical architectures, software-driven systems and interconnected, sensor-heavy designs, these vehicles require additional diagnostic and calibration operations when damaged that can add cost, complexity and cycle time to each repair.” In 2025, BEVs averaged 1.70 calibrations per estimate compared...

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New York City’s Last Striking Nurses Approve New Contract

Article 0 Comments Nurses at a big New York hospital system approved a new contract Saturday, voting to end a major nursing strike after more than a month. More than 4,000 nurses in the privately run NewYork-Presbyterian system went on strike Jan. 12. They are now due to start returning to work in the coming week. The union, called the New York State Nurses Association, said 93% of its members at NewYork-Presbyterian voted to ratify the three-year contract. Two other big private hospital systems, Montefiore and Mount Sinai, ended their nurses’ walkout earlier this month by inking contract agreements with the same union. “We are so happy with the wins we achieved, and now the fight to enforce these contracts and hold our employers accountable begins,” union President Nancy Hagans said in a statement Saturday. NewYork-Presbyterian said that it looked forward to its nurses’ return and that the contract “reflects our respect for our nurses and the critical role they play as part of our exceptional care teams.” Both sides had said Friday that they had reached a tentative deal. Union members voted on it Friday and Saturday. Provisions included staffing improvements, raises topping 12% over three years and safeguards...

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Duffy Will Brief Congress Next Week on El Paso Shutdown

Article 0 Comments Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said he will brief lawmakers on Capitol Hill next week about the temporary closure of airspace around El Paso, Texas, earlier this month. Duffy told reporters Friday that he stood behind the Federal Aviation Administration’s decision, despite the controversy that followed the action. “Was it a mistake to close the airspace?” a reporter asked during a press conference on an unrelated topic in Washington, to which Duffy replied: “No.” Related: Drones, Drugs, Laser Beams Stir Confusion Over Texas Skies The FAA imposed flight restrictions, which drew backlash from local officials and were initially intended to last 10 days, on Feb. 10 but lifted them the following day. Administration officials, including Duffy, said the closure happened because drones from Mexican drug cartels breached US airspace. Others familiar with the events said the FAA was concerned about the Department of Homeland Security’s use of a military counter-drone laser system and the possible safety implications for nearby civilian aircraft. They said the system’s operation wasn’t coordinated with the FAA. On Friday, Duffy denied there was a lack of communication between the agencies involved. When asked about the veracity of his initial statement about a Mexican drug...

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Insurtech Qumis Secures $4.3M Seed Round

Article 0 Comments Qumis, a lawyer-built AI-driven platform for commercial insurance coverage intelligence, announced a $4.3 million oversubscribed seed round led by MTech Capital, with new strategic investor American Family Ventures and participation from all prior investors. Total funding reaches $6.75 million. The Chicago-based insurtech said it will deploy the capital to expand its go-to-market team and deepen product capabilities as demand grows from large brokers, carriers, and coverage-focused law firms. Qubis’ platform combines proprietary document processing with multi-stage legal reasoning trained on thousands of real-world coverage analyses. Qumis previously raised $2.2 million in pre-seed funding. Topics InsurTech Tech 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 Insurtech? Get automatic alerts for this topic.

Travelers Launches Industry-Leading Agentic AI Claim Assistant Developed with OpenAI 0

Travelers Launches Industry-Leading Agentic AI Claim Assistant Developed with OpenAI

New intelligent voice capability enhances the customer experience Hartford, CT (Feb. 18, 2026) – The Travelers Companies, Inc. is pleased to announced the launch of AI Claim Assistant, an industry-leading solution developed using OpenAI model capabilities and APIs. The fully agentic intelligent voice service uses advanced language and speech recognition technologies to handle customer claim calls. This capability is initially being used with customers who are calling to file an auto damage claim and will expand to additional lines of business and a broader set of claim interactions over time. The launch reflects Travelers’ commitment to disciplined innovation and its strategy of combining advanced analytics, AI and human expertise to deliver superior customer outcomes through a more efficient process. “The technology behind our AI Claim Assistant is remarkably dynamic and responsive, and early customer feedback has been overwhelmingly positive,” said Nick Seminara, Executive Vice President and Chief Claim Officer at Travelers. “This innovative service provides our customers with a claim filing experience that’s convenient, efficient and effective.” OpenAI stood out for its rigor, reliability and enterprise-grade security. Travelers selected OpenAI’s models and Realtime API after extensive testing and benchmarking to ensure the strongest possible technology at scale. “Travelers has built...

Swiss Re Corporate Solutions to acquire QBE’s Global Trade Credit and Surety business 0

Swiss Re Corporate Solutions to acquire QBE’s Global Trade Credit and Surety business

Zurich (Feb. 20, 2026) – Swiss Re Corporate Solutions, the commercial insurance arm of the Swiss Re Group, has agreed to acquire the Global Trade Credit and Surety business of QBE Insurance Group (QBE), subject to regulatory approvals. Upon successful completion, the acquisition will strengthen Swiss Re Corporate Solutions’ primary credit and surety insurance offering and expand its capabilities to address the risk management needs of corporate clients. The transaction supports Swiss Re Corporate Solutions’ strategic ambition to diversify its portfolio and capture new growth opportunities. QBE’s Global Trade Credit and Surety business operates through a highly experienced team with a strong presence in Australia, New Zealand and the UK. The portfolio is expected to generate annual revenues of approximately USD 200 million. This specialty insurance line plays a critical role in helping companies manage payment and performance risk arising from their accounts receivable. Globally, this segment of the insurance market generates around USD 19 billion in premium annually, with continued growth potential driven by heightened economic uncertainty, more complex supply chains and rising demand for sophisticated risk transfer solutions. Ivan Gonzalez, CEO of Swiss Re Corporate Solutions, said: “This acquisition marks an important milestone for Swiss Re Corporate Solutions. It allows us to expand our offering in this attractive segment by strengthening our global credit and surety platform with a well-managed, profitable portfolio...

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More Snow Coming to California After Deadly Avalanche

Article 0 Comments A blast of mountain snow and flooding rain is falling over California, the last of a string of storms that brought much-needed moisture to the state yet triggered a deadly avalanche in the Sierras. Winter storm warnings stretch from the California-Oregon border to just outside Palm Springs in Southern California. Mountain peaks in the Sierra Nevada could see another two feet (0.6 meters) of snow into Friday, days after an avalanche killed eight people on a backcountry ski trip and left another presumed dead. The storm unleashing Thursday is “the last big flood of precipitation in a parade of systems that have moved through the state and brought all the snow,” said meteorologist Ashton Robinson Cook with the U.S. Weather Prediction Center. That snow has made travel treacherous: Interstate 80 has closed at the Nevada border due to spinouts over the Donner Summit, according to California Highway Patrol. The heavily-trafficked Grapevine pass that leads into the San Joaquin Valley north of Los Angeles County could see up to four inches of snow Thursday, with flooding rain possible in the Los Angeles metro area. Moderate to heavy snow is being observed across the mountains and foothills of interior...

AIG’s GenAI Deployment Sees Outcomes ‘Beyond Expectations’ 0

AIG’s GenAI Deployment Sees Outcomes ‘Beyond Expectations’

New York, NY (Feb. 12, 2026) – American International Group (AIG) has reported significant progress in its deployment of artificial intelligence over the last year, with CEO Peter Zaffino indicating AI has become integral to the company’s core infrastructure, with GenAI embedded across underwriting, portfolio management, and operations. “We’re seeing a massive shift in our ability to process a significant submission flow way beyond our expectations without additional human capital resources,” said Zaffino on a recent fourth-quarter earnings call. Referring to a 2025 Investor Day discussion slightly less than one year ago, he added, “What we had outlined in March was aspirational; and six to twelve months later, we see the capabilities are much greater.” Zaffino said AIG has made “significant progress embedding gen AI across our core underwriting and claims processes,” expanding the technology deployment across multiple lines of business. The Underwriting by AIG Assist tool, which has been rolled out to seven additional lines, is scheduled for broader deployment in 2026 across North America, the UK, and EMEA. AIG’s excess and surplus unit, Lexington Insurance, saw a 26% YOY increase in submission counts, and the company has already reached more than 370,000 submissions against its original goal of...