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Britain’s Navy Prepares to Clear Mines in Strait of Hormuz While Waiting for Peace Deal

Article 0 Comments Aboard the RFA Lyme Bay docked off the coast of Gibraltar, hundreds of British sailors are waiting to be deployed for a mine-clearing mission to the Strait of Hormuz that is still in doubt. U.S. President Donald Trump has lashed out at allies for not doing more to support the United States’ war effort in Iran, whose chokehold on the strait has crippled international shipping and sent energy prices soaring. In March, Trump told NATO allies to “go get your own oil” and secure the strait themselves. On the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar, the U.K.’s Royal Navy is preparing to do that — but only once a peace agreement is reached. Trump said Saturday that a deal with Iran has been “largely negotiated” after calls with Israel and other allies in the region, but it still needs finalizing. Britain’s Armed Forces Minister Al Carns took a small group of reporters to visit the RFA Lyme Bay as it prepares for a possible international operation, led by the U.K. and France, to secure the strait. As Carns spoke, the amphibious landing vessel, docked at the gateway to the Mediterranean,...

Specialty insurance rates soften faster than expected: WTW survey 0

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Specialty insurance rates soften faster than expected: WTW survey

Specialty insurance rates soften at faster than expected pace, retreating to 2020 pricing levels, WTW survey finds New York, NY (May 6, 2026) – Specialty insurance market rates declined in 2025 and for 1 January 2026 renewals, with the pace of change exceeding expectations in the published forecasts by both brokers and insurers, according to WTW’s Specialty Insurance Marketplace Survey (SIMS). The WTW survey reflects around $250 billion of gross written premium over a 10-year cycle, including $45 billion in 2025, and covers specialty insurers operating across the London, Bermuda and the U.S. excess and surplus (E&S) markets. Rather than using broker-derived data, the survey is built exclusively on data contributed by clients of WTW’s Insurance Consulting and Technology business that participate directly in SIMS. Based on the SIMS insurance rate index, expected performance (which is net of exposure trends) in 2025 has unwound the rate strengthening gains of the last few years back to levels last seen in 2021. 2025 was the first year since 2018 for which rate adequacy for new business was lower than for renewal business. Data from 1 January 2026 renewals and new business point to continued rate softening, with a 10-point decline in the...

ServiceNow and Accenture Launch Forward Deployed Engineering Program to Scale Agentic AI Across the Enterprise 0

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ServiceNow and Accenture Launch Forward Deployed Engineering Program to Scale Agentic AI Across the Enterprise

Clients get access to more than 300 pre-built AI agent skills and agentic workflows on the on the ServiceNow AI Platform New York, NY (Mar. 17, 2026) – ServiceNow, the AI control tower for business reinvention, and Accenture are pleased to announce a forward deployed engineering (FDE) program to help enterprises take agentic AI from enterprise pilot to production at scale. Through the program, ServiceNow’s AI-native FDE team works together with industry-led Accenture FDEs inside mutual customers’ environments, collaborating to build agentic AI workflows natively on the ServiceNow AI Platform where enterprise work already runs, delivering value in production before enterprise rollout begins. “Forward deployed engineering is how ServiceNow and Accenture turn mutual customers’ agentic AI business goals into value-generating production workloads,” said John Aisien, senior vice president and general manager, Central Product Management, Security & Risk at ServiceNow. “We’re not simply handing over instructions. Our teams are in the customers’ environments, implementing ServiceNow, customer & third-party building blocks, and demonstrating the resulting value metrics in the ServiceNow AI Control Tower.” “The question our clients ask is not whether to invest in AI—it’s how to make it work at enterprise scale,” said Ram Ramalingam, lead for Software and Platform Engineering...

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People Moves: Markel Taps Talbot’s O’Donoghue to Lead Fine Art & Specie for London; Aon’s Global ReSpecialty Team Promotes Mitchell, Hires Floodflash’s Rimmer

Article 0 Comments This edition of International People Moves details appointments at Markel and Aon. A summary of these new hires follows here. Markel Taps Talbot’s O’Donoghue to Lead Fine Art & Specie for London Operations Markel Insurance, the insurance operation within Markel Group Inc., announced the appointment of Danny O’Donoghue as head of Fine Art & Specie, effective immediately. Danny O’Donoghue O’Donoghue will be responsible for leading the strategic and sustainable expansion of Markel’s fine art & specie portfolio to further enhance the organization’s position in London as a fine art & specie insurer. O’Donoghue will be based in London, reporting to Dan McCarthy, director of Marine at Markel International. His principal duties will include identifying, assessing and underwriting complex risks across four key areas – fine art, specie, jewellers block and cash in transit – while supporting underwriters in his team with their professional development. Alongside these duties, O’Donoghue will foster broker relationships and work closely with Markel’s Claims and Actuarial functions, where he’ll keep abreast of industry developments, ensuring coverage remains tailored for broker partners and insureds. He’ll also identify collaborative opportunities across the business’ international Fine Art & Specie teams to enhance broker service levels and...

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Gov. Newsom Issues Executive Order to Prep Workers, Businesses for AI Disruption

Article 0 Comments California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an executive order to attempt to deal with the impacts of artificial intelligence on workers and businesses. Related: Acrisure to Cut 2,250 Employees, Citing Advances in Technology and AI The order directs the state to explore policies that include severance standards, employment insurance and transition support for displaced workers, worker ownership models, universal basic capital concepts, expanded workforce training and better tracking of hiring and payroll trends to help respond to potential layoffs and economic disruption. The order directs the certain state agencies to: Evaluate and support opportunities to expand and enhance worker ownership models to support capital growth and build wealth from productivity gains among workers, including employee-owned company structures. Support small businesses through educational and incentive opportunities on best practices and applications for using emerging technology. Identify ways the collective bargaining process has delivered positive outcomes for workers. Add more on-the-job training and AI preparation in higher education. Review policies that provide workers with a safety net, including severance and other forms of compensation such as stock or other forms of equity. Increase awareness and enrollment of employment insurance programs. Create an AI playbook to modernize job training programs, including...

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Delay in Calling Police Does Not Wreck UM Claim, WV Supreme Court Says

Article 0 Comments A West Virginia uninsured motorist policy specified that the policyholder must report an accident to police within 24 hours. But that’s not enough to negate a claim, the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals decided this week. The West Virginia National Auto Insurance Co. policy for Danny and Jackie Dobbins also noted that the insurer has no duty to provide coverage if the failure to report the incident “is prejudicial to us,” the court explained in overturning a lower appeals court decision in the case. The couple did report the crash to the insurance company within four days, and West Virginia National began its own investigation of the claim. “… We conclude that, under the clear and unambiguous language of the subject policy, West Virginia National was required to prove that its investigative interests were prejudiced by petitioners’ failure to report the accident to a police, peace, or judicial officer within twenty-four hours,” the high court wrote in its May 21 opinion. The carrier failed to prove any prejudice was caused by the delay in reporting to authorities, the justices said. The Dobbins said their pickup truck was struck by another truck that left the scene. They...

IBM Consulting Expands AI Capabilities to Accelerate Enterprise Transformation 0

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IBM Consulting Expands AI Capabilities to Accelerate Enterprise Transformation

New updates to IBM Enterprise Advantage fast-track enterprise AI transformation across hybrid and regulated environments Pearson and Providence accelerate AI transformation with IBM Expanded AWS and SAP collaborations boost multi agent interoperability and deployment flexibility Armonk, NY (May 6, 2026) – IBM is pleased to announce new capabilities delivered through IBM Enterprise Advantage, a first-of-its-kind asset-based consulting service that helps clients build and operate their own hybrid-AI platforms. IBM also introduced updates across IBM Consulting Advantage, its internal hybrid-AI platform for delivering consulting services to clients. Pearson, Providence, and Amazon Web Services (AWS) joined IBM Consulting on the Think stage today to share how they are using these capabilities to deploy AI across critical workflows and systems. “Organizations aren’t just trying to scale AI, they’re trying to scale it with control across multiple AI stacks and within their business context,” said Mohamad Ali, SVP and Head of IBM Consulting. “With Enterprise Advantage, we help clients build their own internal AI platforms with sovereignty at the core, and with Consulting Advantage, we use that same approach to deliver our services to clients. Both are powered by IBM watsonx.” New Capabilities to Create AI Agents with Business Context IBM introduced two new updates to Enterprise...

Verisk Brings Its Trusted Analytics and Generative AI Capabilities Directly into Anthropic’s Claude 0

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Verisk Brings Its Trusted Analytics and Generative AI Capabilities Directly into Anthropic’s Claude

New Verisk Model Context Protocol (MCP) connectors enable conversational, natural-language interactions, provide contextual access to Verisk’s trusted insurance analytics inside enterprise AI environments. Enables underwriting and claims professionals to access Verisk’s regulatory-grade data within Claude, surfacing relevant insights and reducing manual tasks. AI-enabled insurance workflows with embedded governance and security controls that reinforce trust, ensure humans remain at the center of every decision. Jersey City, NJ (May 5, 2026) – Verisk, a leading strategic data analytics and technology partner to the global insurance industry, is pleased to announce its trusted insurance analytics are now available in Claude, Anthropic’s family of AI models, through standardized Verisk Model Context Protocol (MCP) connectors. These connectors enable insurance and property restoration professionals to access insights conversationally within a secure, governed environment, and bring meaningful efficiency. Verisk’s analytics and solutions are used by U.S. property & casualty insurers, including the top 100 insurers, as well as global insurers, reinsurers and brokers. This deep understanding of essential processes, platforms, and workflows positions Verisk to responsibly support the next evolution of how insurance professionals engage with trusted data and analytics through AI. Building on this foundation, Verisk MCP connectors simplify access to insurance analytics, surfacing contextual insights...

AI trailblazers see higher revenue growth while broader P&C industry lags 0

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AI trailblazers see higher revenue growth while broader P&C industry lags

The moment of truth for property & casualty insurance: Artificial intelligence trailblazers see 21% higher revenue growth while broader industry lags The 10% of insurers that have advanced AI capabilities are outperforming peers on revenue growth and share price Trailblazers are scaling beyond AI pilots through strategic implementation, comprehensive training and explainable AI tools Paris, France (May 5, 2026) – Property and casualty (P&C) insurers face a widening competitive divide, with only 10% of the industry successfully scaling AI, while others struggle to capture meaningful benefits. Now in its 19th edition, the Capgemini Research Institute’s World Property & Casualty Insurance Report 2026 suggests the AI maturity gap can be partly explained by the fact that 42% of insurers track no AI metrics. Without a way to measure and validate what works, 60% of insurers remain in the exploration or proof-of-concept stage. The report shows only a small cohort of insurers are currently treating AI as a core operating capability, rather than a set of tools, by ensuring alignment across strategy and talent, technology foundation, and organizational adoption simultaneously. These insurers are defined as “intelligence trailblazers,” achieving up to 21% higher revenue growth and approximately 51% greater increase in share price...

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Ohio Man Sentenced for Causing $860K in Computer Fraud Losses

Article 0 Comments A 36-year-old Ohio man has been sentenced for computer fraud after causing more than $860,000 in losses, Acting U.S. Attorney John G.E. Marck announced. Maxwell Schultz, Columbus, Ohio, pleaded guilty Nov. 18, 2025. Senior U.S. District Judge Lee H. Rosenthal has now ordered him to serve 24 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by three years of supervised release. At the hearing, the court heard about the damage and sophistication of the attack and how Schultz used another employee’s account to mask his intrusion which led to the investigation of that account initially. In handing down the sentence, Judge Rosenthal noted this is not the appropriate reaction to being fired. Schultz was also ordered to pay $862,516.74 in restitution. On May 14, 2021, Schultz was terminated from his position as a contract employee in his company’s information technology department. Shortly after, he accessed the company’s network by impersonating another contractor to obtain login credentials. He ran a PowerShell script that reset approximately 2,500 passwords, locking thousands of employees and contractors out of their computers nationwide. Schultz also searched for ways to delete logs, PowerShell window events and cleared multiple system logs. The attack to the...