Life insurers face a ticking time bomb as weight-loss drugs disrupt mortality predictions
Life Insurance Faces Risk Modeling Challenges from GLP-1 Weight-Loss Drugs. - GLP-1 medications cause rapid weight loss and health improvements, disrupting insurers’ ability to predict mortality based on static health data.\n. - Many patients discontinue these drugs within a year, often regaining weight and associated risks, leading to "mortality slippage" and underpriced policies.\n. - Mortality slippage has nearly tripled since 2019, now affecting ~1 in 6 policies.\n. - Insurers respond with refined underwriting questions, risk buffers, or coverage denials but see ongoing medication adherence as key to risk reduction.\n. - Drawing parallels with statins, simple changes like switching from 30-day to 90-day prescriptions can significantly improve adherence.\n. - The article stresses the insurance industry’s need to innovate retention strategies to remain financially stable and competitive.. . North Korean Fake IT Worker Scams Threaten Corporate Recruitment and Security. - Sophisticated fraudsters pose as IT professionals with fabricated resumes, sparse LinkedIn connections, deepfake interviews, and AI-like responses.\n. - The scam, costing US businesses over $88 million in six years, targets sensitive data theft and extortion, increasingly impacting Europe as well.\n. - Red flags include incongruent identity details, VPN use, refusal of in-person interviews, and suspicious behavioral cues during interviews.\n. - Companies like Netskope and Snowflake integrate cross-team efforts and threat intelligence to detect impersonators and enforce identity verification.\n. - Experts warn this model may be adopted by other criminal groups worldwide, broadening the cyber talent fraud threat landscape.. . Global Food Delivery Market Consolidates Around Five Key Players. - Meituan, DoorDash, Uber, Prosus, and Delivery Hero now capture over 90% of the global food delivery gross transaction value, driven by major acquisitions.\n. - Consolidation expands ecosystem conveniences but pressures driver wages, burdens restaurants with 15-30% commissions, and increases customer fees.\n. - Innovation continues with initiatives like Uber’s white-label delivery beyond restaurants and last-mile delivery robots partnering with DoorDash and Uber.\n. - Valuation concerns highlight DoorDash’s premium pricing (9x price-to-sales) versus more diversified, cost-effective options like Prosus and Uber.\n. - Smaller players remain acquisition candidates, offering potential upside to investors amid an industry balancing oligopoly power with technological evolution.. . Fine Dining Restaurants Use Data-Driven Personalization to Elevate Guest Experience. - Restaurants employ data analytics, customer feedback, and staff observations to tailor menus and service based on diners’ preferences and histories.\n. - This personalized approach aims to deliver memorable meals that increase satisfaction and customer loyalty, differentiating venues in a competitive market.\n. - Reactions vary, with some seeing this as a continuation of traditional hospitality and others raising privacy and authenticity concerns.\n. - The article contrasts Western personalization trends with Japanese omotenashi’s philosophy, highlighting cultural nuances in customer care.. . Enabling Seconds on Windows 11 Taskbar Clock Reduces Battery Life Marginally. - Updating the taskbar clock every second causes more frequent CPU wakeups and rendering, impacting power-saving modes.\n. - Tests on three laptops showed battery reductions ranging from 1.4% (ARM device) to 13% (gaming laptop), equating to 12–46 minutes less runtime under idle conditions.\n. - Though not critical for most users, the feature’s impact is relevant for extended battery use cases like long flights.\n. - The article references Microsoft's developer discussions and community debates about the trade-offs between UI responsiveness and energy efficiency.\n. - The findings invite reflection on subtle OS design decisions affecting system performance and power management....