Business, Free News Articles, Insurance, Travel and Tourism

By Prioritizing Customer Experience, Leading Travel Insurance Comparison Site TravelInsurance.com Reaches 50,000 5-Star Reviews on Shopper Approved

NEW YORK, N.Y. -- TravelInsurance.com today announced they have surpassed 50,000 5-star reviews through the Shopper Approved platform, one of the fastest-growing customer review companies in the United States. Verified customers on TravelInsurance.com have rated the travel insurance comparison site a 4.8 out of 5.0, with 97% noting they would recommend it to others.

"TravelInsurance.com puts the customer experience above all else, and it's incredible to see these efforts pay off," said Stan Sandberg, co-founder of TravelInsurance.com. "Our mission from the start has been to simplify the travel insurance shopping experience and provide the highest quality service to our loyal customers. Our current star rating is a nice reminder that we're achieving that goal."

The reviews for TravelInsurance.com come directly from active paying customers with recent verified purchases. This process gives every customer an equal opportunity to leave a review based on their own personal experience. Since only active paying customers can leave a review, new visitors can trust the results and have confidence in the authenticity of the review.

While today's online consumer uses comparison shopping sites for almost every e-commerce purchase, shoppers using online travel sites aren't given the same opportunity when it comes to travel insurance. The largest online travel sites and airline sites typically only give consumers a "take-it-or-leave-it" "yes" or "no" checkbox from a single travel insurance provider. While it may seem like a simplification of the process, it can limit a consumer's options.

Travel insurance comparison sites, like TravelInsurance.com, offer consumers a way to search, compare and purchase from among the most recognizable insurance provider names in the industry and afford a consumer a better chance of finding the right travel insurance plan at the right price. Consumers can buy directly and securely through the website and receive a policy via email within minutes.

Today's announcement furthers the argument that when travelers can shop around, their experience is positive in ensuring not only the process is smooth, but also that they get the best plan for their specific needs.

To view TravelInsurance.com's reviews on Shopper Approved, please visit https://www.shopperapproved.com/reviews/travelinsurance.com.

For more information and travel tips, visit https://www.travelinsurance.com/.

About TravelInsurance.com:
TravelInsurance.com helps simplify the complicated world of travel insurance by providing consumers with the easiest way to compare and buy trip insurance coverage online. A member company of the U.S. Travel Insurance Association, TravelInsurance.com is owned and operated by DigiVentures Holdings, LLC, a licensed agency that works with some of the largest travel insurers in the industry. Purchases can be made directly through the website, with policies sent via email within minutes.

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Awards and Honors, Business, Electronics, Free News Articles

AIStorm Wins Frost and Sullivan’s 2019 Technology Innovation Award for its AI-in-Sensor Fast Edge SoC

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- California-based AIStorm has developed a novel AI-in-Sensor (AIS) technology that enables real-time processing of sensor data at the edge, without digitization. The AIS technology uses a new patented technique called charge domain processing that controls the electron movement between the storage elements in the chip and uses switch charge circuits for mathematical control over the charge transfer.

AIStorm's patented chips are designed to be single chips integrating imagers (CIS or Lidar), voice (MEMs, microphones), or waveform (vibration or motion) sensors as well as flow, network, memory, power management and communication tasks. AIStorm's solutions enable "always on" imaging and audio event driven capability without polling, utilizing intelligent AI-based trigger mechanism, thus eliminating false triggers and using minimal power while waiting for an event.

AIStorm's AIS solution, powered by its charge domain and switched charge circuit processing technology, has the opportunity to overcome the shortcomings of existing GPUs and NPUs for high-performance, AI-based edge computing applications and is positioned to become a significant standard for edge computing and AI systems.

"AIStorm has gained a strong competitive advantage in the industry by developing a highly innovative AIS platform through its IP portfolio, team of engineers, and experienced leadership and has established a workplace culture of innovation and creativity." - Frost & Sullivan

"As the sensor and machine learning system are combined, and no input digitization is required, AIStorm's chips offer efficiencies five to ten times better than those of competitive systems, at a substantially reduced cost," says Lisa Orlandi, VP of World Wide Sales for AIStorm.

Link to full article: "AIStorm Wins Frost & Sullivan's 2019 Technology Innovation Award" (PDF): https://aistorm.ai/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/AIStorm-Technology-Innovation-Award-2019.pdf

About Frost & Sullivan

Frost & Sullivan Best Practices awards recognize companies in a variety of regional and global markets for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in areas such as leadership, technological innovation, customer service and strategic product development. Industry analysts compare market participants and measure performance through in-depth interviews, analysis, and extensive secondary research to identify best practices in the industry.

About AIStorm

AIStorm is the pioneer and leader in AI-in-Sensor charge domain processing, which eliminates the latency, power and cost associated with competitive AI solutions at the edge. AIStorm is headquartered in Silicon Valley, with offices in Cleveland, Houston, Graz and Budapest. The team includes industry veterans responsible for development of thousands of products, as well as for P&L and significant revenue growth at leading semiconductor companies.

For more information, visit https://aistorm.ai.

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Alliances and Partnerships, Business, Free News Articles, NonProfit and Charities

Dryades YMCA Partners with the Recirculating Farms Coalition

NEW ORLEANS, La. -- The Dryades YMCA is partnering with the Recirculating Farms Coalition (RFC), a sustainable farming and food justice advocacy organization. RFC will relocate its farm - Growing Local NOLA - to YMCA-owned land on Jackson Avenue, where it crosses Oretha Castle Haley Boulevard in Central City, just a few steps from the Dryades Y building.

"We've wanted a community garden for some time so that our Central City youth and neighbors can strengthen their sense of community, be more active, and ultimately access affordable fresh produce. This an ideal partnership - RFC has the skills and experience, and we have the space and opportunity to further our work to address youth food insecurity," said Alicia Oliver, Operations and Mission Advancement Director of the Dryades Y.

The new farm will provide fresh fruit, vegetables, herbs and more for YMCA snacks and meals, classes and youth food pantry. RFC's team will also collaborate with YMCA staff on building a community green space with classes in gardening, health-supportive cooking and holistic wellness.

"We are so excited to be working with the Dryades YMCA," says Marianne Cufone, Executive Director of the Recirculating Farms Coalition. "This partnership will bring locally grown, healthy food to children through seniors in the YMCA programs and also offer a wide range of food and farm related classes and events to the Central City neighborhood and beyond."

Work on the new growing spaces is already underway with a Dow Promise grant and a donation of raised garden beds by Folgers Coffee. The organizations have volunteer days planned to help with preparing the site and planting. Classes and events should begin early in the new year.

About the Dryades YMCA

Since 1905, the Dryades YMCA has been an integral part of New Orleans and the greater metropolitan area by providing thousands of youth and their families meaningful opportunities to learn, grow, and thrive. The Dryades Y is for youth development, healthy living and social responsibility. We are dedicated to building healthy, confident, connected and secure children, adults, families and communities in New Orleans and the Metro region. https://www.dryadesymca.org

About the Recirculating Farms Coalition

The New Orleans-based Recirculating Farms Coalition is a collaborative group of farmers, educators, non-profit organizations and others committed to building local sources of healthy, accessible food. Through research, training and advocacy, we work to support development of innovative, eco-efficient farms. These recirculating farms can create stable green jobs and supply sustainably-grown food - fruits, vegetables, herbs and humanely-raised seafood - in diverse communities. RFC also offers community programming including farming, exercise, and cooking classes; workshops; and a weekly garden basket. For more information, visit http://www.recirculatingfarms.org/.

Media Contacts:

Marianne Cufone
media@recirculatingfarms.org
504.515.0161

Alicia Oliver
aoliver@dryadesymca.com
504.430.3326

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Books and Publishing, Business, Entertainment, Free News Articles, Product Launches

Arresting Literary Thriller Brings the Paranoid, Go-Go Miami of 1984 to Life

RICHMOND, Va. -- Haywire Books announces the release of its first title this fall, Jon Sealy's "The Edge of America" (ISBN: 978-1950182008). Drugs. Money. The CIA. Miami in the 1980s evokes a high-wire world of money, criminals, espionage, and plenty of glitz, all of which come to life in this arresting South Florida noir.

"I wrote 'The Edge of America' as a result of the 2008 financial crisis," Sealy said. "That fall, fresh out of graduate school, I was adjunct teaching and selling TVs at Circuit City. In the course of a month, my bank failed, the university where I was teaching restructured, and Circuit City filed for bankruptcy. I was out two jobs and a bank and didn't understand any of it."

Sealy's research led him down two paths. His study of the Great Depression yielded his first novel, "The Whiskey Baron" (Hub City Press, 2014), which is about a bootlegger's crumbling whiskey empire in a South Carolina cotton mill town. His study of the 1980s Savings & Loan Crisis gave him "The Edge of America," a South Florida noir in the vein of Graham Greene, Elmore Leonard and Don Winslow.

"The Edge of America" tells the story of Bobby West, the CFO for a Miami holding company and CIA front. After over-leveraging his business in the go-go 1980s financial culture, West turns to a deal-with-the-devil money laundering operation-a deal that quickly goes south when West's daughter makes off with $3 million out of a safe in his house.

With echoes of Iran-Contra and the Orwellian surveillance state, this novel explores greed, power and the limits of the American dream. It was immediately greeted with praise from booksellers and reviewers upon release this fall. The Southern Independent Booksellers Association (SIBA) placed it on its quarterly "Okra Picks" list.

"Sealy has created characters so thorough and a plot so vivid and intense that I had to keep reminding myself it was fiction," said Carl Kranz, a bookseller at Fountain Bookstore in Richmond, Va., adding that "The Edge of America" was "one of the most exciting books I have ever read."

About Jon Sealy:

Jon Sealy is the author of "The Whiskey Baron" (Hub City Press, 2014) and "The Edge of America" (Haywire Books, 2019). Hailed as a "grand new talent" (Bret Lott) and a "significant new voice in Southern fiction" (Ron Rash), Sealy is a native of upstate South Carolina and currently lives in Richmond, Va.

About Haywire Books:

Haywire Books is a small publishing house based in Richmond, Va. Dedicated to making sense of a chaotic world, the press publishes novels that help us engage with and better understand the rapidly changing world around us-a world gone haywire. To learn more or purchase books, visit https://www.haywirebooks.com/.

Follow Haywire Books on Facebook and Twitter.

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Business, Education and Schools, Free News Articles, Insurance

EPIC Adds Aaron Zetterower in Dallas, Texas

DALLAS, Texas -- EPIC Insurance Brokers and Consultants, a retail property and casualty insurance brokerage and employee benefits consultant, announced today that Aaron Zetterower has joined the firm as Principal of the firm's Southwest Risk Management Practice.

Zetterower will be based in Dallas, Texas and report to KJ Wagner, President of EPIC's Southwest Region. In his new position, Zetterower is responsible for new business development and the design, placement and management of property and casualty insurance programs, providing risk management strategies and solutions for mid-market and large clients.

Zetterower joins EPIC from AssuredPartners, where he served as Vice President. Prior to that, he was the National Director for Charter School Programs at Crystal & Company.

"We are thrilled to continue the growth of our Property & Casualty operation in the Southwest Region," said EPIC's KJ Wagner. "Aaron's extensive background supporting Charter Schools brings a wealth of knowledge and rich industry experience to the team. I could not be more excited to have Aaron join us," said Joffrey Clark, EPIC's Charter School Practice Leader.

Aaron Zetterower can be reached at aaron.zetterower@epicbrokers.com or 214-923-7867.

About EPIC Insurance Brokers & Consultants
EPIC Holdings, Inc. is the corporate parent overseeing investments across the entire EPIC platform. The firm's core retail insurance brokerage business, EPIC Insurance Brokers & Consultants, now has more than 2,600 team members operating from more than 80 offices across the U.S., providing Property and Casualty, Employee Benefits, Specialty Programs, and Private Client solutions to EPIC clients.

EPIC has created a values-based, client-focused culture that attracts and retains top talent, fosters employee satisfaction and loyalty and sustains a high level of customer service excellence. EPIC team members have consistently recognized their company as a "Best Place to Work" in multiple regions and as a "Best Place to Work in the Insurance Industry" nationally.

EPIC ranks among the top 15 retail insurance brokers in the U.S. Backed and sponsored by Oak Hill Capital Partners, the company continues to expand organically and through strategic acquisitions across the country. For additional information, please visit https://www.epicbrokers.com/.

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Business, Education and Schools, Free News Articles, Insurance

Aaron Schwen joins EPIC in Dallas

DALLAS, Texas -- EPIC Insurance Brokers and Consultants, a retail property and casualty insurance brokerage and employee benefits consultant, announced today that Aaron Schwen has joined the firm as Client Advocate of the firm's Southwest Risk Management Practice.

Schwen will be based in Dallas, Texas and report to KJ Wagner, President of EPIC's Southwest Region. In his new position, Schwen is responsible for new business development and the design, placement and management of property and casualty insurance programs, providing risk management strategies and solutions for mid-market and large clients.

Schwen joins EPIC from AssuredPartners, where he served as the Charter School Practice Leader. Prior to that, he was a Director at Crystal & Company.

"We are thrilled to continue the growth of our Property & Casualty operation in the Southwest Region," said EPIC's KJ Wagner. "Aaron's extensive background supporting Charter Schools brings a wealth of knowledge and rich industry experience to the team. I could not be more excited to have Aaron join us," said Joffrey Clark, EPIC's National Charter School Practice Leader.

Aaron Schwen can be reached at aaron.schwen@epicbrokers.com or 817-727-2490.

About EPIC Insurance Brokers & Consultants

EPIC Holdings, Inc. is the corporate parent overseeing investments across the entire EPIC platform. The firm's core retail insurance brokerage business, EPIC Insurance Brokers & Consultants, now has more than 2,600 team members operating from more than 80 offices across the U.S., providing Property and Casualty, Employee Benefits, Specialty Programs, and Private Client solutions to EPIC clients.

EPIC has created a values-based, client-focused culture that attracts and retains top talent, fosters employee satisfaction and loyalty and sustains a high level of customer service excellence. EPIC team members have consistently recognized their company as a "Best Place to Work" in multiple regions and as a "Best Place to Work in the Insurance Industry" nationally.

EPIC ranks among the top 15 retail insurance brokers in the U.S. Backed and sponsored by Oak Hill Capital Partners, the company continues to expand organically and through strategic acquisitions across the country. For additional information, please visit https://www.epicbrokers.com/.

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Business, Free News Articles, Insurance, Product Launches

Commercial Insurtech Juniper Labs Announces Open Data Launch at Plug and Play Winter Summit

SUNNYVALE, Calif. -- Automated underwriting insurtech Juniper Labs today announced that it is launching the first ever open-sourced data set purpose built for commercial insurance. Juniper Labs plans to release over 40 million business records it acquired to train its underwriting models for anyone to use.

"We are open-sourcing our data because we believe data is not a product. Data is a platform. We are setting out to dramatically change the way the industry views data - we believe the future of insurance is open," said Lance Poole, Juniper Labs CEO. "The thing that excites us about the philosophy of open-source, is that it allows for solutions to emerge that we couldn't have never created on our own."

Juniper Labs will give the carrier partners of Plug and Play the first opportunity to use the open dataset. "As we've had the privilege of being a part of Plug and Play, we've been in a position to see how forward-thinking the partners of Plug and Play are. Because of that, we want to invite the Plug and Play partners to be the anchor members of this open data community" said John Stevenson, Juniper Labs CTO.

By moving to an open source platform, Juniper Labs follows in the footsteps of other tech companies like Databricks, GitLab, MongoDB and Docker. Mr. Poole went further to state, "We believe that data in insurance has to be open. We want to establish a data protocol and if everyone is building their own walled gardens, that will never happen. We take a lot of inspiration from the world wide web. Tim Berners-Lee knew that the web would have never gotten critical mass if it wouldn't have been open. We can't own the data. We can only work with the community to be stewards of the data."

Carriers and executives interested in Juniper Lab's open data project are invited to sign up at openjuniper.com

About Juniper Labs:
Founded in 2019, Juniper Labs builds automated underwriting solutions for commercial insurance carriers. They have a suite of APIs that automate the application process and the challenge of properly classifying businesses. They are stewards of OpenJuniper, the first ever open dataset purpose built for commercial insurance.

Connect with Juniper Labs:
- https://www.juniperlabs.io
- https://twitter.com/labsjuniper

*PHOTO link for media: https://www.Send2Press.com/300dpi/19-1209s2p-lance-poole-300dpi.jpg
*Photo caption: Lance Poole, CEO of Juniper Labs.

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Advertising and Marketing, Business, Free News Articles, Safety and Security Solutions

Valentis Security welcomes new Business Development Lead in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

PITTSBURGH, Pa. -- Valentis Security is proud to announce and welcome Joseph Ortiz as its new Business Development/Inside Sales Lead. Ortiz will be responsible for business development throughout the markets that Valentis is licensed to operate in.

Ortiz has 20 years experience collectively in both law enforcement as a New York Police Officer and the contracted security industry. He brings to Valentis 7 years' experience in sales and business development, including his time performing these tasks at one of the largest security companies in North America. Ortiz also brings supervisory experience with overseeing security guard operations in various capacities.

Marnie Sutch, CEO of Valentis, stated, "We welcome Joseph as part of our growing team as we continue to strategically place personnel in key roles to help facilitate our growth."

About Valentis:

We are a fully operational security logistics solution for a variety of clients and security concerns. We are growing domestically, and envision global ventures, in risk management and security logistics with services and products under development to create a network of global affiliates, lead through branding, and expand our clients; financial institutions, governments, religious facilities, maritime, cybersecurity, combined with specially-developed training, software and telecommunication consultancy, and more. We are mindful and committed and care about our clients, team, and shareholders.

Learn more at: https://valentissecurity.com/

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Business, Free News Articles, Insurance

Raylene Chiarizzio joins EPIC in Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- EPIC Insurance Brokers and Consultants, a retail property and casualty insurance brokerage and employee benefits consultant, announced today that Raylene Chiarizzio has joined the firm as Senior Vice President of the firm's Southwest Risk Management Practice.

Chiarizzio will be based in Los Angeles, California and report to KJ Wagner, President of EPIC's Southwest Region. In her new position, Chiarizzio is responsible for complex program design, placement and management of property and casualty insurance programs, providing risk management strategies and solutions for mid-market and large clients. Chiarizzio joins EPIC from Willis Towers Watson.

"We are thrilled to continue the growth of our Risk Management operations in the Southwest Region," said EPIC's KJ Wagner. "Raylene's extensive risk management experience brings a wealth of knowledge and rich industry experience to the team. I could not be more excited to have Raylene join us."

Raylene Chiarizzio can be reached at Raylene.chiarizzio@epicbrokers.com or 213-628-5525.

About EPIC Insurance Brokers & Consultants
EPIC Holdings, Inc. is the corporate parent overseeing investments across the entire EPIC platform. The firm's core retail insurance brokerage business, EPIC Insurance Brokers & Consultants, now has more than 2,600 team members operating from more than 80 offices across the U.S., providing Property and Casualty, Employee Benefits, Specialty Programs, and Private Client solutions to EPIC clients.

EPIC has created a values-based, client-focused culture that attracts and retains top talent, fosters employee satisfaction and loyalty and sustains a high level of customer service excellence. EPIC team members have consistently recognized their company as a "Best Place to Work" in multiple regions and as a "Best Place to Work in the Insurance Industry" nationally.

EPIC ranks among the top 15 retail insurance brokers in the U.S. Backed and sponsored by Oak Hill Capital Partners, the company continues to expand organically and through strategic acquisitions across the country. For additional information, please visit https://www.epicbrokers.com/.

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Business, Education and Schools, Free News Articles

Cottage Cooking Adds Baking Class to its Schedule Lineup

ASHEVILLE, N.C. -- Cottage Cooking, known for their dinner-party style cooking classes, has recently expanded into offering daytime baking classes. Founders, John Godts and Liisa Andreassen, recently attended some baking classes at the King Arthur Flour Baking School in Norwich, Vermont, and are excited to share what they learned.

"To date, we've given three baking classes and they've all been great fun," Andreassen says. "We typically bake buttermilk biscuits, candied ginger scones and a hearty, sandwich-style white bread."

Classes last about four hours and are $75 per person. So far, they've been very well received.

Godts, who enjoys baking bread and sharing tips, takes the intimidation out of baking for his guests. He says it's a great "stress reliever."

"There's nothing like coming home from a long day and kneading some bread," he says. "It's a great way to unwind."

Guests receive detailed recipes, hand-on baking training and a tips sheet with do's and don'ts to help elevate their baking skills. They also learn about compound butters and easy-to-make jams.

If the weather is nice, guests can enjoy freshly-brewed tea, to accompany their baked goods, while sitting on the back deck under the shade of their hosts' umbrella or cozy up in the firepit on chillier days.

"We're also doing brunch classes where we incorporate some of these baked goodies too," Andreassen says. "Brunch typically includes potato latkes, an egg frittata and scones."

While the couple's dinner-party style classes continue to be at the core of their business model, they're quickly getting known for these new offerings too.

About Cottage Cooking Asheville

Founded in March 2015, Cottage Cooking was started to fund the couple's appetite for travel. John is a physical therapist by day and his wife, Liisa, is a freelance writer. Since they started their cooking class business, they've been to 11 countries and 18 states. They enjoy taking cooking classes when they travel and share what they learned with their guests. They also pick up aprons from different cities and guests enjoy trying them on for size. Cooking classes are designed for the home cook and given in the couple's renovated 1950's style ranch home in North Asheville, about two miles from downtown.

For more information, visit: https://cottagecookingasheville.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Cottage.Cooking/

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