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Guidewire Delivers the Open, Secure, and Complete Core Platform for Agentic Insurance 0

Guidewire Delivers the Open, Secure, and Complete Core Platform for Agentic Insurance

Insurers gain speed and precision across the insurance lifecycle to launch products faster, assess and price risk more effectively, and resolve claims sooner San Mateo, CA (Oct. 27, 2026) – Guidewire has launched a new platform approach to agentic insurance, giving insurers an open, secure, and complete foundation for putting AI to work across the insurance lifecycle. By bringing together the applications, data, workflows, and controls insurers need, Guidewire sets out a practical model for moving from isolated AI experiments to governed agents that improve the speed and precision of insurance decisions and actions. “Insurance is a business of decisions and actions made in context,” said Mike Rosenbaum, chief executive officer, Guidewire. “By embedding agentic capabilities where insurers already run their core operations, Guidewire gives agents the context and controls they need to work with speed and precision on a proven durable foundation.” Guidewire agents run on the same trusted platform as its core applications and work with an insurer’s current data and workflows. For agents to work effectively, they need to know what is true, what has already been done, and what they are allowed to do. The platform’s controls enforce those boundaries with consistent security and a clear audit...

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Some 40% of US Planned Data Center Capacity Is in States Wanting to Hit Pause

Article 0 Comments Data center opposition had been building across the country, one moratorium or blocked project at a time. Then, virtually overnight, the midterm election tilted a broad swath of the regulatory map against the AI buildout. Newly elected governors in Ohio, Georgia, Michigan, New Mexico and Texas campaigned on a promise to stop — or at least pause — data center construction statewide, while those in New York and Oregon pledged to prolong pauses already in place. Gubernatorial candidates calling for a moratorium on data centers also lead in Alaska and Kansas, though those races have not been called. All told, about 40% of pending data center capacity in the US is planned to be built in states where newly elected governors have promised to stop or pause such construction, according to data from Cleanview, a market intelligence company. That’s on top of 46 local ballot measures approved or on track to pass that also stall development, according to Bloomberg Economics; at least 17 of those are outright bans on large-scale data centers. “It was obviously not a very good night if you’re a data center developer,” said Justin Teresi, a Bloomberg Intelligence policy analyst. The political victories...

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AM Best Upgrades Credit Ratings of Illinois Casualty and Lebanon Valley

Article 0 Comments AM Best has upgraded the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) to A (Excellent) from A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings (Long-Term ICRs) to “a” (Excellent) from “a-” (Excellent) of Illinois Casualty Company (ICC) and Lebanon Valley Insurance Company (LV). The outlook of the Credit Ratings (ratings) has been revised to stable from positive. ICC and LV are domiciled in Rock Island, Illinois. Concurrently, AM Best has affirmed the FSR of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term ICRs of “a” (Excellent) of Tuscarora Wayne Insurance Company (TW) and its affiliate, Keystone National Insurance Company. The outlook of these ratings is stable. TW and Keystone National Insurance Company are domiciled in Wyalusing, Pennsylvania. The aforementioned companies are collectively referred to as Mutual Capital Insurance Group or the group. The ratings reflect Mutual Capital Insurance Group’s balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as very strong, as well as its adequate operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management (ERM). The rating upgrades of ICC and LV follow the recent regulatory approval of the intercompany pooling agreement between TW, LV and ICC, effective July 1, 2026. The rating upgrades are based on AM Best’s expectation that the business...

Expeflow Launches Governed AI Agents That Catch Document Errors Before They Become Costly Mistakes 0

Expeflow Launches Governed AI Agents That Catch Document Errors Before They Become Costly Mistakes

New document-review agents flag missing, inconsistent and unsupported information in claims, case files and regulatory submissions, with human oversight and a full audit trail built in Waterloo, ON (Oct. 27, 2026) – Expeflow is pleased to announce it has launched governed AI agents for document review. The agents help regulated organizations catch errors, gaps and inconsistencies in high-stakes documents before those problems turn into delays, compliance exposure or costly rework. The agents check each document against approved sources, systems of record and policies. They flag contradictions, missing data, incomplete sections and unsupported claims. Every finding links to the evidence behind it, so reviewers can see what was flagged, why it was flagged and what needs follow-up. “Organizations need to process more information without taking on more risk,” said Terry Stepien, CEO of Expeflow. “Our document-review agents add a controlled verification layer to document-driven work. Teams catch issues earlier, skilled reviewers spend their time on the exceptions that matter, and there is a clear record of how every finding and decision was reached.” Built for regulated, document-heavy work Expeflow is designed for workflows where inaccurate or incomplete information carries real consequences. These include healthcare and financial administration, insurance claims, applications, contracts,...

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Missouri Releases Workers’ Comp Rates for 2027

Article 0 Comments The Missouri Department of Commerce and Insurance (DCI) announced the release of workers’ compensation rates for employers for 2027. The National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) has proposed rate-neutral loss costs at 0%, keeping average rates steady for Missouri businesses. The stable rate environment is driven primarily by a sustained decline in claims frequency across the state. The NCCI’s 2027 loss cost filing and the department’s independent actuarial review are available on DCI’s website. Proposed average changes in loss costs by industry group are below: Manufacturing: +1.2% Contracting: -2.0% Office & Clerical: -1.2% Goods & Services: -0.2% Miscellaneous: +1.3% Topics Workers’ Compensation Missouri 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 Workers Comp? Get automatic alerts for this topic.

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South Dakota Aquifers in Decline, Threatening Fresh Water Supplies

Article 0 Comments Geologists and hydrologists can use scientific charts and graphs to understand the increasing water challenges facing South Dakota, but it only takes a brief visit to Bear Butte State Park near Sturgis for a non-scientist to see the outcome of decreasing water levels. The lake that forms the centerpiece of the state park is usually a 215-acre expanse of fresh water that extends 15 feet deep and is home to walleye, crappie and catfish as well as an array of waterfowl and wildlife. But this year, as lingering drought has combined with falling levels in underground aquifers, the lake is nearly gone. Only a small strip of surface water remains, with depths measured in inches instead of feet. A popular fishing pier is surrounded by hundreds of yards of baked-out lakebed and dried up vegetation. For the past several years in South Dakota, the combined effects of rising population, long-range drought and increased residential, commercial and agricultural water use are causing water shortages across the state. Scientific readings show that many underground aquifers are drier than normal or seeing reduced water pressure caused by lower volumes. But the naked eye can also see the outcomes. Water level...

Only 13% of CIOs Say Their Enterprise Has Realized Significant or Transformational Value from AI: Gartner Survey 0

Only 13% of CIOs Say Their Enterprise Has Realized Significant or Transformational Value from AI: Gartner Survey

CIOs Must Strive to be Vanguards, a Cohort That Delivers Better Business Outcomes While Also Reporting High CEO-Perceived AI Value Stamford, CT (Oct. 26, 2026) – Only 13% of CIOs reported their enterprise has realized significant or transformational value from AI so far according to Gartner, Inc., a business and technology insights company. While AI use cases have accelerated over the past two years, the likelihood of use case success remains one in five. Speaking at Gartner IT Symposium/Xpo, Alicia Mullery, VP Analyst at Gartner, said, “Volume is not value. AI is creating a reckoning for organizations that lack fundamental disciplines, such as defining use-case value ahead of time and establishing criteria for when to walk away.” The Gartner 2027 CIO and Technology Executive Agenda survey of 2,002 CIOs and technology executives from May to July 2026 found that vanguards, defined as CIOs who are delivering better performance on business outcomes while also reporting high CEO-perceived AI value, are more likely to establish stopping rules at two points in the lifecycle: pilots and production. Defining these guidelines becomes essential as organizations rapidly transition from initial experimentation to active deployment across GenAI, traditional AI and AI agents. Organizations with guidelines for determining...

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Trump Says More FEMA Aid is Coming to Texas After 2026 Floods

Article 1 Comment President Donald Trump pledged to provide more federal aid to Texas flood victims after the Federal Emergency Management Agency denied the state’s initial request to help individuals recovering from widespread floods in July. The flooding swept through portions of southwest Texas and the Hill Country, which was still building back from another deadly flash flood a year earlier. While FEMA had approved assistance for some counties to cover infrastructure repair costs, individuals were left to rely on limited nonprofit funds and their own money to recover. Nim Kidd, chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management, formally appealed FEMA’s denial of individual assistance Tuesday, the same day Trump promised to open up more recovery funds at a Republican campaign rally in Corpus Christi. “We’ll work that out on Monday,” Trump said in his remarks. The president said he made the decision at the request of U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is running for the other U.S. Senate seat in Texas and appeared on stage with Trump. Kidd asked FEMA to reconsider its denial for 20 of 30 counties where individuals needed aid, including Kerr and Uvalde. Kidd also appealed the agency’s...

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Snap Finalizing Settlement to Avoid LA Trial on Addiction Claims

Article 0 Comments Snap Inc. is finalizing a settlement in a lawsuit filed by two teenagers who say years of compulsive scrolling and posting on the company’s photo-sharing app contributed to their mental health struggles, according to attorneys for the plaintiffs. The agreement, reached partway through jury selection in Los Angeles, would enable the company to avoid the next high-profile social media addiction trial. The case in California state court was set to be the latest test of thousands of such lawsuits. The teenagers previously reached confidential settlements with Meta Platforms Inc., TikTok and Google’s YouTube. “Our ultimate goal is to hold these social media companies accountable for how their actions have impacted millions of children across the country, and these settlements allow us to keep building toward that goal,” John Morgan and Emily Jeffcott, attorneys for one of the teens, said in a statement announcing the agreement. Terms of the settlement weren’t disclosed. Related: As AI Laws Proliferate, Liability and Coverage Questions Multiply The two cases, which were combined by the judge, would have been the second to go to trial among thousands of lawsuits filed by young users and their family members accusing the social media companies of...

Total Loss Auto Claims Weigh on Insurance Customer Satisfaction 0

Total Loss Auto Claims Weigh on Insurance Customer Satisfaction

Amica Ranks Highest in Customer Satisfaction in JD Power Auto Claims Study Customer satisfaction is improving for repairable claims as repair shop backlogs ease and cycle times improve 26% of auto insurance claims are total losses, creating a drag on customer satisfaction Among total loss claimants with loans on their vehicles, 25% receive payouts that are less than they currently owe Troy, MI (Oct. 27, 2026) – How satisfied are auto insurance customers in that moment of truth when they need to file a claim? According to the JD Power 2026 U.S. Auto Claims Satisfaction StudySM, that depends on whether the damage is repairable or not. This year, overall customer satisfaction with the auto insurance claims process improves 4 points (on a 1,000-point scale) when damages are repairable but declines 12 points when vehicles are deemed a total loss, marking a third consecutive year of declining satisfaction for total loss claims. Overall, 26% of auto insurance claims were classified as total losses in 2026, up from just 16% four years ago as vehicle repairs become more costly, more customers keep their vehicles on the road longer and higher deductibles remove smaller repairs from the claim process. “A complex mix of...