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Tractable Partners with Saputo Capital Collision 0

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Tractable Partners with Saputo Capital Collision

Saputo Capital Collision will use Tractable’s AI solution to improve the efficiency and experience of the vehicle repair process This application will be primarily used on insurance policyholders, in a joint venture between Saputo Capital Collision and a top Canadian carrier Toronto, ON (July 25, 2022) – Saputo Capital Collision, a Canadian-based MSO with four locations across Ontario, is partnering with Tractable to use its artificial intelligence (AI) solutions for vehicle repair. Specifically, Saputo is looking to use Tractable at its carrier-branded collision center at the start of the vehicle intake process for repairable vehicles. Joe Saputo of Saputo Capital Collision has just recently opened his CARSTAR-powered Oakville East/Mississauga South location, primarily aimed at repairing policyholder vehicles with virtually zero delay in approval from the carrier. This joint venture between Saputo and a top Canadian carrier is one of the first partnerships of its kind and is aimed at creating the best possible experience for insureds in a time of uncertainty. Saputo is looking to use Tractable to improve upon that shared goal even further. To help create a superior customer experience, Saputo’s Collision Center is sending a Tractable link to customers at initial contact before even stepping foot inside...

Applied Systems Acquires Planck 0

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Applied Systems Acquires Planck

Strategic acquisition to significantly expand and accelerate the delivery of AI capabilities across Applied’s global product portfolio Mississauga, ON (July 23, 2024) – Applied Systems is pleased to announce that it has acquired Planck, the leading Artificial Intelligence (AI) company for the insurance industry. This strategic acquisition will significantly expand Applied’s AI capabilities, accelerating its vision for the next generation of the digital roundtrip of insurance and creating more value at every stage of the insurance lifecycle for the benefit of agencies, carriers and their clients. “We believe the time is now to take bold steps to lead the insurance industry in discovering and implementing the benefits AI has to offer,” said Taylor Rhodes, CEO of Applied Systems. “By acquiring Planck, we will be investing behind a world-class team of AI and Data Science experts to accelerate the application of leading AI capabilities to insurance workflows. With our unique set of insurance technology assets that span both the agency and carrier sides of the market, our investment in Planck will deliver a significant opportunity to create AI-driven value throughout the next generation of the digital roundtrip of insurance in ways that will help our clients know more, do more of...

Sun Life recognized for innovative employee GenAI chatbot 0

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Sun Life recognized for innovative employee GenAI chatbot

Secure chatbot empowers employees to safely experiment with GenAI Over 5,000 employees using the tool per week Propelled productivity and 229 per cent increase in use less than a year after launch Sun Life named a 2024 CIO Awards Canada winner Toronto, ON (July 13, 2024) – Sun Life has been named a 2024 CIO Awards Canada winner for their Sun Life Asks GenAI chatbot. The CIO Awards Canada celebrate Canadian organizations and the teams within them that are using IT in innovative ways to deliver business value, whether by creating competitive advantage, optimizing business processes, enabling growth, or improving relationships with customers. The award recognizes the tech world’s most innovative organizations and accomplished leaders. Sun Life Asks is an internal GenAI chatbot that enables employees to find quick answers and general assistance with daily tasks. Housed within Sun Life’s existing technology ecosystem, the tool performs tasks similar to chatbots available externally and can help with everything from summarization of text to organizing ideas for a presentation or even analyzing the purpose or sentiment of an article. “GenAI is an important part of our digital transformation and we are committed to safely innovating and adopting emerging technology,” said Laura Money,...

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How a Generative AI System Handled a 401(k) Question

Tax Diversification: Having both pre-tax and Roth accounts can provide tax diversification in retirement, giving you flexibility in managing your tax liability. Future Tax Considerations: If you anticipate being in a higher tax bracket during retirement, or believe that tax rates may increase in the future, a Roth 401(k) could be beneficial. Ultimately, the decision may involve a combination of both types of accounts, depending on your individual circumstances and goals. Some individuals choose to contribute to both a regular and a Roth 401(k) to achieve a balance of immediate tax benefits and tax-free withdrawals in retirement. It’s advisable to consult with a financial advisor or tax professional who can analyze your specific situation and provide guidance based on your financial goals and current tax laws. Grading the AI’s Performance Overall, ChatGPT provided safe, accurate responses by explaining more technical financial products in layman’s terms. The accuracy of the advice is reassuring among previous complaints of chatbots “hallucinating,” or making up answers for prompts. It’s also interesting that ChatGPT picked up on the relevance of product diversity when making investment decisions, as that is a bit more nuanced than I expected for an automated response. Given the highly regulated nature of our...

12 Most Expensive Retirement Towns 0

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12 Most Expensive Retirement Towns

Start Slideshow Where people who have retired choose to settle down for the rest of their lives depends on many factors, but for most Americans the chief consideration centers on their financial circumstances. According to recent research, two-thirds of Americans who will turn 65 by the end of this decade are not financially ready for retirement and are at risk of outliving their savings. That means they will be seriously constrained in choosing where to live. Even comfortably retired people still have to keep an eye on their finances, and many relocate to places that are inexpensive and offer a satisfying life. Those who have saved enough for retirement have the luxury of considering places that allow them to pursue their desired lifestyle, have abundant amenities such as good restaurants and entertainment venues, and beckon with ideal weather. These places also often come with a hefty price tag, according to recent research from GOBankingRates. To arrive at its ranking of the most expensive retirement towns, GOBankingRates first isolated all U.S. cities with a total population greater than 25,000 and more than 25% of their population 65 and older. Researchers then pulled data from various sources, up to date as of...

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Behind ‘Another Record Year’ for eMoney: CEO

What You Need to Know Savvy advisors see the future of their practice in the financial planning process. Advisors who can build financial plans more efficiently and collaboratively will stand out. The evolving landscape of financial advice demands a tech-forward approach. More and more wealth advisors see the promise of their practice in the financial planning process, according to eMoney CEO Susan McKenna. The effort to craft a holistic (and fee-based) client relationship is steadily overtaking the traditional investment-oriented approach. It’s been nearly two years since McKenna became the CEO, having moved into the role after leading the firm’s marketing and client acquisition efforts since 2018. The “big planning trend” has only accelerated in that time, she said, leading to a series of record growth years for eMoney’s planning platform. “You sometimes hear people talking about a growth issue in the advisory industry, but we’re not seeing that,” McKenna recently told ThinkAdvisor. “We’re actually on track for another record year as more advisors embrace a planning-centric approach.” More than 109,000 financial professionals across firms of all sizes use the eMoney platform to serve more than 6.3 million U.S. households, with a combined wealth of more than $2 trillion. McKenna said...

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California Commissioner Announces FAIR Plan Modernization Deal

Article 0 Comments California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara said on Friday that he and the California Fair Plan have agreed to establishing a new high value commercial coverage option with limits up to $20 million per building and other steps that he said will modernize the state’s “insurer of last resort.” The changes are part of Lara’s so-called Sustainable Insurance Strategy intended to stabilize the California homeowners insurance market and address the insurance crisis. Carriers are pulling back from the state’s homeowners market, blaming blamed wildfire losses as well as regulations. State Farm has applied for large rate increases in California, a year after the carrier got rate approvals of 7% and 20%. The insurer, the largest in California, insures nearly one-in-five homes in the state. It recently requested a 30% rate increase for its homeowners line, a 52% rate increase for renters and 36% rate increase for condo coverage. Related: California Wildfire Continues to Spread Rapidly to 164K Acres Allstate, which stopped issuing new California homeowners insurance policies in 2022, is seeking an increase in its California homeowners insurance premiums by an average of 34%. It would be the largest rate increase this year and would impact more than...

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Business Moves: NFP, Clear Group, and Strategic Risk Group Complete 4 Acquisitions

Article 0 Comments Three brokers – NFP, Clear Group, and Strategic Risk Group – each announced acquisitions during July. In reverse chronological order, the acquisitions are listed as follows: NFP, the New York-based insurance broker and Aon subsidiary, announced on July 24 that it had acquired DuSean Barrett Bloodstock Insurances Ltd., which trades under the name of Barrett Private Insurances. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. Acquisition of Dublin-based business will strengthen the specialized insurance solutions and services NFP offers in Ireland. John Barrett, director of Sean Barrett Bloodstock Insurances Ltd., will join NFP as a managing director with a focus on growing the company’s Private Client Group in Ireland and the UK, which focuses on providing customized risk solutions for high-net-worth individuals and families. “We’ve established a strong presence in the Irish market through organic growth and acquisition, and the expertise of the team at Sean Barrett Bloodstock Insurances will undoubtedly strengthen it further,” said JP Allcock, group managing director, NFP in Europe. “Their commitment to delivering excellent service to their clients with a personalized touch aligns with our approach, and we look forward to their active involvement in expanding our private client offerings in the Irish...

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Paris Trains Hit By Sabotage Hours Before Olympics Kick Off

Article 1 Comment Trains to and from Paris, including the international Eurostar service, were hit by what authorities called a “massive attack aimed at paralyzing the network” of France’s super-fast trains just hours ahead of the inauguration ceremony of the 2024 Olympic Games. Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said the opening ceremony will go on as planned. “Coordinated malicious acts targeted several TGV lines last night and will seriously disrupt traffic until this weekend,” French Transport Minister Patrice Vergriete wrote in a post on the X social network. Fires were set off at three critical rail-line nodes, with people seen fleeing the sites in vans, Jean-Pierre Farandou, the head of the national rail company SNCF, said on BFM TV. The sites were chosen to have heavy consequences on the traffic, he said. The company will have to repair its network cable-by-cable, he said, adding that many trains will have to be canceled. About 800,000 passengers will be affected. SNCF couldn’t immediately say if this was the biggest disruption the train operator had ever faced, although it wasn’t able to come up with an incident that had affected more travelers over a weekend. “It’s absolutely appalling,” French Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera said...

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At Schwab, Donor-Advised Fund Grants Surge 31% in 2024

Schwab’s donor-advised fund arm, DAFgiving360, has reported that its donors significantly increased their giving during the 2024 fiscal year. In total, donors recommended more than $6.6 billion in grants to charity, a 31% increase from the previous year. More than 1.1 million individual grants supported 141,000 charities. Nearly 4,000 advisors worked with the organization, formerly known as Schwab Charitable, in fiscal 2024. That’s a 15% increase from the previous year. Professional advisors managed 80% of DAFgiving360’s donor account assets. About 63% of donor contributions in fiscal year 2024 were non-cash assets, such as securities and appreciated assets. “Contributing appreciated non-cash assets that have been held more than one year to a donor-advised fund can increase the amount available for charities by as much as 20% by potentially eliminating a donor’s capital gains tax liability on the assets,” DAFgiving360 said in a statement. Donors contributed to organizations in all 50 states, including 652,000 grants to support local causes in the donors’ own states.