Latest articles as of July 10
News: Wearable tech is a potential key to reducing injuries in physically demanding work environments
The root of it: A partnership between Nationwide and Kinetic, piloted at Mid‑Ohio Food Collective, uses wearable sensors to monitor risky movements and provide real‑time alerts to workers. The wearables, adopted by 88% of the workforce, drove notable reductions in ergonomic risks and reinforced safety culture. Dashboards deliver aggregated insights, ensuring privacy while guiding continual improvements and helping the carrier achieve 1 million injury‑free workplaces by 2030.
News: US tariffs are slowing global growth and denting insurance premium expansion
The root of it: Swiss Re warns that recent US tariffs are cooling global GDP – from 2.8% in 2024 to ~2.3% in 2025–26 – which is predicted to inhibit total insurance premium growth from 5.2% in 2024 to around 2% in 2025. Non-life and life are both expected to decelerate, while niche lines like credit, surety, and marine may find an upside amid shifting supply chains.
News: Hard lessons from the Texas floods – and the opportunity to do better
The root of it: The recent Texas floods caused devastating loss of life and property, exposing deep vulnerabilities in communities and insurance systems. The tragedy revealed serious flaws in outdated risk models, underscoring a deeper issue – people struggle to grasp and act on low-probability, high-impact risks. This presents a dual challenge for insurers, modernizing underwriting with real-time data and helping communities better understand and prepare for climate-driven threats.
News: 2025 US wildfires nearly doubled the number of fires compared to last year
The root of it: In 2025, the US has experienced 36,156 wildfires year-to-date – nearly double last year’s total of 17,739 over the same period. As of July 9, 111 are still ongoing. The fires have affected more than 2.13 million acres (compared to 2.90 million acres burned by this point in 2024). Alaska leads with 79 active blazes, of which only two have been extinguished. Since 1980, wildfires cost the US about $3.3 billion annually, per NOAA estimates.
News: AI is transforming our daily lives faster than we suspect
The root of it: AI is rapidly reshaping work and education in subtle, even imperceptible ways. Its influence on hiring, learning, and decision-making is expanding at a pace that exceeds people’s ability to grasp its scope. Experts ranging from OpenAI CEO Sam Altman to Geoffrey Hinton, the “godfather” of machine learning, predict that we may only understand AI’s actual impact on our lives and work until after significant changes have already occurred.
News: Prompting is programming so here's why we’re all software engineers now
The root of it: As AI tools become more powerful, the ability to prompt them effectively – essentially “natural language programming” – is emerging as a core professional skill. HR experts are urged to embrace this new managerial competency as a source of competitive advantage. Just as spreadsheets 40 years ago de-emphasized hard math skills to empower a new generation of data analysis, prompt literacy quietly transforms knowledge work across insurance and other industries.
News: X (formerly Twitter) CEO abruptly resigns after two years
The root of it: Linda Yaccarino has resigned as CEO of X after a two‑year tenure under Elon Musk. Her departure follows a fresh crisis after X’s AI chatbot, Grok, launched antisemitic tirades. Musk acknowledged Grok’s flaws, citing its over‑compliance with prompts, and promised fixes. Yaccarino did not link her exit to the incident, thanking the team for their “remarkable” work.
Latest articles as of July 3
News: AXA and Allianz top insurance AI innovation/maturity rankings
The root of it: Evident Insight’s inaugural AI Insurance Index ranks 30 major carriers on talent, innovation, leadership, and transparency. AXA tops the poll with 63 points, Allianz closely follows at 61.5, far above the average score of 35.5. Other findings: European carriers excel in AI research and ethics; U.S. P&C firms lead in talent density. Results show early AI investment drives measurable financial gains and competitive advantage.
News: AI‑driven multimodal tech will be the key to fighting insurance fraud
The root of it: As reported by Deloitte, P&C insurers are adopting AI-powered multimodal systems—integrating text, images, audio, video, and sensor data—to detect and prevent fraud across the claims lifecycle. By moving beyond rules-based models, this approach can reduce false positives, free investigators for complex cases, and potentially save the industry $80-160 billion by 2032
News: Hertz AI is really good at detecting vehicle damage – maybe TOO good
The root of it: Hertz has rolled out UVeye AI scanners at its Atlanta airport location – with plans to deploy them at 100 U.S. sites this year – to detect damage on rental cars before and after use automatically. Customers report being billed $195–$440 for tiny scuffs flagged by AI, saddling renters with short payment windows and limited recourse, prompting public backlash and broader questions about fairness vs. efficiency.
News: Success for companies using AI hinges on human creativity and expertise are
The root of it: A new study by the University of Utah’s Jay Barney argues that AI won’t deliver a long‑term competitive advantage as generative AI tools become more equally accessible. Success hinges on human ingenuity – novel applications, partnerships, and creativity. As AI automates and commoditizes routine work, differentiation and value will come from human-driven innovation and personal connections.
News: Tech superstars reveal their top 3 job skills for the age of AI
The root of it: Eight leaders from Cisco, Dropbox, and other titans say succeeding in the age of AI requires more than technical chops. Skills like deep thinking, creativity, emotional intelligence, and ethical judgment are now as critical as mastering AI tools. For insurance leaders, developing T-shaped talent (emphasizing breadth and depth of knowledge) and promoting cross-functional collaboration will be key to driving value from AI across the enterprise.
News: If AI job skills are essential, why do some businesses still consider using AI "cheating " at work?
The root of it: A new survey reveals that 40% of Gen Z men use AI to take shortcuts at work – often without disclosure. The trend is sparking discussions among employers about ethics, productivity, and transparency, while workers cite such concerns as job insecurity, unfair biases, and “AI burnout.” As AI tools become more accessible, insurers and other businesses must balance innovation with governance to ensure responsible use and maintain trust in the workplace and the marketplace.
News: New Anthropic model proves comically inept at running a business
The root of it: Anthropic's AI model Claude was tasked with running a virtual beverage company – and failed hilariously. In tests, Claude hallucinated expenses (and proper workplace attire), misunderstood inventory, and ignored profit goals despite having access to spreadsheets and other tools. The experiment reveals the current limits of agentic AI for autonomous decision-making and underscores the need for human oversight, especially in high-stakes industries like insurance.
News: Makers of The Naked Gun reboot dunk on AI-generated content (while recycling 37-year-old IP)
The root of it: A new poster for "The Naked Gun" reboot, starring Liam Neeson, playfully mocks AI-generated content in a single, simple sight gag. At the same time, it delivers a not-so-subtle reminder that AI is still a hot-button issue in Hollywood, highlighting the current gap between AI’s vast potential and the technology's limitations in producing original creative work.
Read our 2025 State of AI Adoption in Insurance Report for insights and perspectives on AI adoption from more than 240 insurance executives.