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DogPack and Healthy Paws Partner to Bring Pet Insurance into the DogPack Platform 0

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DogPack and Healthy Paws Partner to Bring Pet Insurance into the DogPack Platform

New integration brings seamless access to pet insurance directly into the DogPack platform, helping pet owners protect their dogs with ease Montreal, QC (Aug. 11, 2026) – DogPack, the leading global platform connecting dog owners through discovery, social content, and marketplace experiences, is pleased to announce a strategic partnership that introduces their United States market to Healthy Paws, a Chubb company, and a leading provider of accident and illness pet insurance coverage for dogs and cats. Through this collaboration, DogPack users will now have seamless access to pet insurance options directly within the app, helping pet owners protect their dogs with simple, transparent coverage. DogPack continues to expand beyond discovery, community, and travel into essential services for pet owners. With this collaboration, USA based users can explore insurance options in a way that feels natural, personalized, and aligned with their everyday experience on the platform. Based on their dog’s profile, users can view relevant coverage options and move through the process with a streamlined path to enrollment. “We’ve always been focused on building a platform that truly supports dog owners,” said Jonathan Punski, CEO of DogPack. “This partnership allows us to take that one step further. Our users don’t just...

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Some Gary, Indiana Residents Still Without Power Weeks After Storms

Article 0 Comments Things became all-too familiar for Kimya Williams after storms rumbled through Gary, Indiana, earlier this month leaving big chunks of the mostly-Black city in the dark for two weeks. The power outage reminded the 50-year-old of what she experienced in New Orleans in 2005 when Hurricane Katrina knocked out electricity to many. Williams’ home was one of more than 38,300 homes and businesses in Gary to lose power from the Aug. 11 storms. She initially tried to stick it out and stay put, but the darkness got the best of her and Williams’ left for Indianapolis to stay with her children. “It was too triggering. It was too dark,” Williams told The Associated Press Monday. On Monday, one of the poorest and blackest cities in America still had no power. The day before, Gary Mayor Eddie Melton called the pace of restoration “unacceptable.” “We’re at day 12 and 12 days is too long for families to be without power, 12 days is too long for parents to worry about their children and for businesses to lose revenue,” Melton said in an update to the community. Northern Indiana Public Service Co., the area’s electricity provider, said Monday that...

LMIC Launches ISI AI for Submission Ingestion, Achieving 98%+ Accuracy 0

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LMIC Launches ISI AI for Submission Ingestion, Achieving 98%+ Accuracy

Toronto, ON (Aug. 25, 2026) –  ISI is pleased to announce that Lawyers’ Mutual Insurance Company (LMIC) has successfully integrated ISI AI into its submission processing workflow. LMIC is using ISI AI to support the extraction, structuring, and review of application data across professional liability submissions. With the ISI AI Submission Agent now in production, LMIC’s underwriting team can access more complete, organized submission information earlier in the review process. Since going live, ISI AI now creates 67% of LMIC’s new business quotes with a 98%+ extraction accuracy rate prior to human involvement. This performance provides the foundation and reinforces the trust needed to expand AI’s role across LMIC’s day-to-day underwriting operations. “Launching AI into our day-to-day insurance workflows is an important step in continuing to meet our members’ needs,” said Andrew Chick, CEO at LMIC. “The accuracy and efficiency of ISI AI gives our team 15 to 20 minutes back per new business submission. This allows our underwriters to focus more time on risk evaluation, and the service experience our broker partners and members expect.” “LMIC’s go-live shows how insurers can move AI from concept to practical production use in underwriting,” said Doug Caccese, CEO at ISI. “For insurance...

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Google Expands Gemini Enterprise AI Platform for Law Firms, Lawyers

Article 0 Comments Alphabet’s Google on Tuesday expanded its Gemini Enterprise artificial intelligence platform with new tools for lawyers and law firms, accelerating a race among technology companies to meet legal sector demand for AI. The company said its Gemini Enterprise for Legal would help law firms use AI to manage routine and complex work to allow lawyers to focus on higher-value services, while keeping their data secure and confidential. The new plug-in for Gemini Enterprise includes integration with legal software and data platforms and a stable of AI agents that Google said can handle specialized legal and administrative functions without significant human oversight. Alphabet launched Gemini Enterprise for business customers in October, in a bid to attract more corporate clients with its AI offerings. Google Cloud has become one of Alphabet’s fastest-growing businesses. In addition to legal, Google on Tuesday said it was unveiling industry tools for the financial services sector and would later roll out other industry-specific offerings. Rival AI companies including Anthropic have also expanded their enterprise offerings in recent months, including in the legal sector. A 2026 report on the legal industry’s adoption of AI from Deloitte found that law firms are investing heavily in the...

FM Announces Acquisition of FortressFire 0

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FM Announces Acquisition of FortressFire

Transaction brings together FortressFire’s physics-based wildfire risk modeling platform and FM’s leading engineering and research capabilities Johnston, RI (Aug. 10, 2026) – Commercial property insurer FM is pleased to announce the acquisition of FortressFire, a leading provider of wildfire intelligence that combines machine learning and physics-based modeling. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. Through a data-driven, science-backed approach to wildfire risk modeling, FortressFire helps protect homes, businesses and communities from wildfire loss. Operating as an independent, wholly owned division of FM, FortressFire’s platform enables insurers and property owners to better understand and manage wildfire risk down to an individual property level. Its wildfire intelligence solutions include aerial wildfire reports, monitoring, analytics, ground inspections and mitigation assessments to provide actionable, structure-specific insights and mitigation recommendations. “FortressFire shares FM’s core belief in the power of data-driven, location-based risk mitigation and protection measures to help clients better understand and manage wildfire exposure,” said Malcolm Roberts, chairman and chief executive officer of FM. “The FortressFire team brings powerful tools to assess and mitigate wildfire risk, and we are excited to welcome them to the FM family.” “For years we’ve argued that the best risk management is ignition prevention—and that the path to...

Westland Insurance acquires Interior Savings Insurance 0

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Westland Insurance acquires Interior Savings Insurance

Acquisition brings together two proudly BC-based organizations and expands Westland’s presence across the Southern Interior Surrey, BC (Aug. 6, 2026) – Westland Insurance, one of Canada’s largest insurance brokerages, is pleased to announce that it has acquired Interior Savings Insurance Services Inc. (ISI), part of Beem Credit Union, effective August 1. This acquisition reflects Westland’s strategic focus on expanding its presence in BC and deepening the organization’s capabilities in personal and commercial insurance solutions, while bringing greater value to clients within their local communities. Based in BC, with 13 locations across the Thompson, Okanagan, and Similkameen regions, Interior Savings Insurance has been serving clients for over 80 years, building a strong reputation for personalized and trusted advice, tailored coverage, and long-standing client and community relationships. The firm offers a full suite of personal and commercial insurance solutions, including coverage for home, auto, travel, and business. The acquisition is strategically compelling for Westland because it broadens the company’s BC presence in communities where local knowledge and relationships matter and further solidifies Westland’s leadership in risk management solutions in these areas. Interior Savings Insurance also brings durable client relationships, a diversified insurance portfolio, and a community first perspective that closely align with...

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AM Best Upgrades Credit Ratings of Arkansas’ Kinsale

Article 0 Comments AM Best has upgraded the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating (Long-Term ICR) to “a+” (Excellent) from “a” (Excellent) and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of A (Excellent) of Kinsale Insurance Company (Kinsale) based in Little Rock, Arkansas. The outlook of the Long-Term ICR has been revised to stable from positive while the outlook of the FSR is stable. Concurrently, AM Best has upgraded the Long-Term ICR to “bbb+” (Good) from “bbb” (Good) of Kinsale Capital Group. The outlook of the Long-Term ICR has been revised to stable from positive. These Credit Ratings (ratings) reflect Kinsale’s balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as very strong, as well as its strong operating performance, favorable business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management (ERM). The Long-Term ICR upgrade reflects the strengthening of Kinsale’s business profile, supported by its increased scale, established position in the U.S. excess and surplus lines market and demonstrated ability to grow while maintaining disciplined underwriting and strong profitability. Kinsale is a property/casualty insurance company founded in June of 2009, operating exclusively in the U.S. excess and surplus lines market and has grown to approximately $2.0 billion of gross written premiums as of year-end 2025. The company...

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Piracy Observer Says Somali Incidents Rising as Navies Stretched

Article 0 Comments The world’s top maritime piracy observer said incidents off the coast of Somalia are on the rise again after a pair of fresh attacks this week — as two major regional conflicts stretch naval forces in the area thin. Yemen’s Houthis said last month that they would block Saudi Arabia’s ports and targeted several vessels, forcing many ships to avoid the area. At the same time, the Iran war brought chaos to the industry with dozens of freighters attacked in and around the Persian Gulf. (Editor’s note: This article was published by Bloomberg on Aug. 21). Naval authorities this week reported that a pair of ships were attacked by Somali pirates, adding to previous concerns about a rising number of incidents this year. Back in 2008-10, they targeted hundreds of vessels, forcing some owners to sail all the way around Africa to stay safe. “While naval assets are in the region, other maritime security threats are taking precedence, due to which opportunity has potentially arisen for the Somali pirates, who had been successfully deterred and disrupted for over a decade,” said Cyrus Mody, a director at the International Maritime Bureau, which maintains a global piracy database. On...

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Thousands in Indiana Still Without Power After Deadly Storms

Article 0 Comments Tens of thousands of people in northwest Indiana remained without power Wednesday, more than a week after deadly storms leveled trees and knocked down power lines across the region. Northern Indiana Public Service Co. said crews were working nonstop to fix the outages, but 75,000 customers still lacked electricity by late afternoon, mostly in Lake County next to the Illinois border. They included more than 20,000 customers in Gary, where residents lined up again at community centers for hot meals and a place to charge phones. The latest news for Gary wasn’t good: Full restoration is not expected there until Aug. 25, NIPSCO said. Roughly 300 poles and 44 power transmission poles need to be repaired or replaced in Gary as a result of the storm, which carried winds of 99 mph (159 kilometers per hour), said Melody Birmingham, an executive at NIPSCO’s parent company. Birmingham acknowledged the “real burden” of losing perishable food and people living for days without air conditioning after a “historic storm” that initially left 300,000 customers in the dark. “These aren’t simple repairs,” Birmingham said at a news conference. “These are systems that are being rebuilt.” Utility says low-income residents are not...

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Explosions at Ohio Recycling Plant Claim 2 Lives

Article 0 Comments Explosions rocked an Ohio industrial recycling business earlier this week, killing two workers and sparking a large fire, officials said. Flames and dark smoke poured from Brent Industries in Toledo on Tuesday as fire engines surrounded the building, TV news video showed. Crews later discovered the bodies of two employees, a man and a woman, inside the smoldering building, said Toledo Fire Chief Allison Armstrong. Two or three other employees had minor injuries, she said. Two explosions occurred shortly before 5 a.m. Tuesday, during a shift change, Armstrong said. Crews had to deal with hazardous materials, runoff and the threat of more explosions while first searching for victims and accounting for the other employees, she said. Environmental officials said monitors showed that there was no hazardous threat in the air. Demetrius Langston said he felt the explosion half a mile (0.8 kilometers) away. He ran outside with his phone and captured video of a huge plume of smoke rising into the dark sky. “The shock waves came down the block,” he said. “Then we all heard it again. Boom! You could feel it.” Armstrong said the fire was still burning Tuesday afternoon. She also said there were...