Car Insurance

Farmers Insurance customers may qualify for a special discount on Home insurance when they also have a Farmers New World Life Insurance Company policy. The Home Life Discount is similar to the Auto Life discount already offered to Farmers auto customers. These innovative discounts are part of an effort by Farmers to provide its valued customers with greater savings on their insurance options.

“The Home Life Discount and the Auto Life Discount combined with Farmers’ competitive level term rates, whole life and attractive universal and variable universal life products provide auto and home customers with an attractive solution to their life insurance needs,” said Jim Vannice, State Executive Director for Tennessee. “Our goal is to try to make buying insurance simple and easy for our customers - we want to be a one stop shop. Not only are we making things easier for our customers, but we are also giving them a discount in the process,” said Vannice.

To get more information about the program, customers can check with their local Farmers agent for more information or on the web at Farmers.com.

Farmers Insurance Group of Companies(R) is the nation’s third-largest Personal Lines Property & Casualty insurance group. Headquartered in Los Angeles and doing business in 41 states, the insurers comprising Farmers Insurance Group of Companies provide Homeowners, Auto, Business, Life insurance and financial services to more than 10 million households through 17,000 exclusive and independent agents and district managers.

The addition of IFA Insurance Co. to the list of carriers on ebix.com expands what has quickly developed into the largest insurance marketplace online, offering seven lines of insurance and unparalleled resources such as competitive quotes in which the consumer names the price, carrier ratings, vehicle crash test results, and an insurance advice center. ebix.com provides consumers access to over 800 agents representing nearly 2,000 different carriers, as well as direct access to 16 leading carriers who are quoting to consumers themselves.

“We are excited that IFA Insurance has recognized the power of the ebix.com marketplace and decided to join our site,” said Robin Raina, President and CEO, ebix.com Inc. “ebix.com Inc. looks forward to signing up additional high-quality companies like IFA Insurance seeking to join the largest aggregator of insurers online.”

“As an expression of our continued dedication to New Jersey drivers, we have joined ebix.com so we can meet the online demands of our customers,” said David Walsh, Vice President, IFA Insurance Company. “ebix.com is yet another avenue for us to provide highly competitive insurance rates, convenience and priority claims service.”

IFA Insurance Company is a New Jersey based company, providing private passenger auto insurance to the drivers of New Jersey since 1972. The company and its founders are dedicated to the New Jersey marketplace. All policy servicing and processing is done in New Jersey by Jersey residents. IFA Insurance is an independent, customer-focused, property-casualty insurer.

About ebix.com:

ebix.com, an HP Enabled E-Service which ebix.com Inc. launched on September 8, 1999, is the only site on the Web to meet the insurance needs of both the consumer and the insurance professional. ebix.com includes a virtual marketplace, ebix.mall, where consumers can define their policy coverages and seek competitive quotes from a number of carriers or agents/brokers in a timeframe defined by the consumer. This allows consumers to compare prices in a non-threatening environment and buy insurance online if they so desire.

ebix.com also incorporates powerful and secure business tools for agents/brokers, including the workflow and management engine ebix.link. ebix.link is currently being piloted by a number of leading carriers and agents in the United States and Mexico, drawing from ebix.com Inc.’s strong business relationships with six of the ten largest insurance agencies in the world and over 3,000 agencies in the United States. This workflow engine, launched in January, can save insurance professionals up to 70 percent in time, energy and costs associated with processing day-to-day transactions.

About ebix.com Inc.:

Founded in 1976, ebix.com Inc. - formerly known as Delphi Information Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: EBIX) - is a leading international supplier of software and Internet solutions to the property & casualty insurance industry. The recent name change to ebix.com Inc. aligns the identity of the company with its strategic focus of using the Internet to enhance the way insurance business is transacted, through solutions that encompass both e-commerce and web-enabled agency management systems. An independent provider, ebix.com Inc. employs hundreds of insurance and technology professionals who provide products, support and consultancy to over 3,000 customers on six continents. ebix.com Inc. is the only insurance software provider that offers agency/broker management systems created by insurance professionals to serve the unique needs of each insurance segment around the world. ebix.com Inc.’s agency management products feature fully customizable and scaleable software designed to improve the way insurance professionals manage all aspects of insurance distribution, including: marketing, sales, service, accounting and management.

Electric Insurance Company of Beverly, Mass., recently joined Quicken InsureMarket offering real-time auto insurance rate quotes and online policy purchase services in Alabama, Colorado, Connecticut, Indiana, Washington and Wisconsin. Early next year additional states are expected to be added, including California, Florida, Illinois, Ohio, Virginia and New York.

This is a key development for consumers because it creates the first site where a driver can enter information and receive quotes from more than one company for policies available for online purchase.

“The Internet makes it possible to introduce many innovations in products and services for consumers, and Electric Insurance is committed to leading the way in delivering these enhancements to a nationwide consumer audience,” says Steven Paul, Electric Insurance Marketing Manager. “Giving consumers the ability to do business with Electric Insurance online gives us another opportunity to showcase our company’s competitive prices and extraordinary customer service, the keystones to our success as a company. We’re proud to be working with Intuit and Quicken InsureMarket to make the Internet’s potential a reality in helping consumers save time and money.”

“We are building a marketplace that enables comparison shopping and purchasing so consumers do not have to go searching from site to site, entering the same information time and time again in order to seek savings on their insurance,” says Steven Aldrich, president of Intuit Insurance Services, Inc. (IIS).

Quicken InsureMarket is the leading insurance site on the Internet, with participation from major, national insurance carriers, and the ability to offer real-time rate quotes and online payment options, which can speed the process of buying insurance. The full-service site also features a library of educational material so consumers can learn more about insurance, as well as interactive insurance planning tools and information from independent insurance experts. Visitor traffic at Quicken InsureMarket has expanded rapidly, reaching 4 million unique sessions for the year-to-date, as of October 31, 1998, which is four times greater than the 1 million sessions for 1997 as a whole.

Intuit’s IIS subsidiary or its designated employees are licensed as insurance agents for life and health in 50 states and Washington, D.C., and as agents for property and casualty in 50 states and Washington, D.C. IIS also associates with licensed resident agents in those states where insurance transactions must be conducted with or through resident agents.

About Electric Insurance

A direct writer of auto and homeowners insurance, Electric Insurance Company was founded more than 30 years ago to provide quality, economical insurance products to employees of General Electric Company. Electric Insurance has expanded to service the insurance needs of the general public and now sells insurance products in 47 states. As a direct writer, Electric Insurance offers its policyholders the benefit of dealing first-hand with their insurance company, providing additional opportunity for cost savings. In addition, the company continues to invest in state-of- the-art technologies to expedite processes, reduce costs and enhance customer services.

financial software and Web-based services company, develops and markets Quicken, the leading personal finance software; TurboTax, the best-selling tax preparation software; and QuickBooks, the most popular small business accounting software. Intuit’s Quicken.com offers a complete set of personal finance news, information, and tools, including the leading mutual fund and insurance sites. Intuit’s products and services enable individuals, small businesses, and financial professionals to better manage their financial lives and businesses.

“Many service members don’t know that they might qualify for reduced or suspended auto insurance payments, if no one is driving their car,” advises Denny. “The rules depend on the state and on the insurance company.”

Handling car insurance payments is important, but may be overlooked by military staff dealing with so many deployment issues, he says. Whether the payments are made on time and consistently, or if an insured is dropped due to non-payment of premiums, can have an effect on future insurability and on the cost of future auto insurance policies.

Here are four steps for U.S. service members to use to make sure their coverage is secure and that they’re paying the lowest rates:

1. Check with your agent and state insurance department to find out whether state laws allow your auto coverage to be reduced or suspended while deployed on active duty.

2. Consider whether you can change your policy to lower limits or less coverage if the car will not be driven while you are deployed. Insuring the car for the absolute minimum may be the best option for continuous coverage at the best rates.

3. Set up a payment plan with your carrier so auto insurance payments will be made automatically, deducted from your bank account. This should avoid the situation of being dropped for non-payment.

4. Ask your insurance company for special discounts or coverage rules for members of the military. If they do not offer anything, shop around for a company that is more responsive to your needs. When revising your policy, use a comparison shopping Web site like www.AutoInsurancePlanners.com to get the most choices and best car insurance rates.

The Auto Club Group (ACG) - the largest affiliation of AAA clubs in the Midwest - announced today (February 9) the launch of a new online insurance quote system that allows customers to obtain a competitive, real-time insurance quote any time of the day or night.

“Consumers shop in many ways today, and we keep pace with their preferences by offering multiple channels through which they can purchase AAA-branded products and services,” said Steve Monahan, president and COO of the Auto Club Insurance Association (ACIA). “These channels include our call centers, along with our branch network, sales offices and the Internet.”

According to Monahan, ACG’s new online consumer quote system, enhanced current capabilities by allowing a consumer to request and retrieve a real-time quote 24/7. Easy to use and attractively designed, the new online quote application includes a retrieval mechanism that allows the consumer to store a quote for up to six months.

In addition to the storage function, there is a group discount page that can help consumers identify possible savings opportunities, and there is a display of four different coverage packages - minimum, low, medium and high - to present a variety of pricing and coverage options. Also, a quote can be customized to meet any consumer’s specific needs.

Obtaining an insurance quote at AAA.com involves a quick and easy 5-step process. The online quote tool collects driver information, driver history, vehicle information, driver/ vehicle assignment and desired coverages.

The very first screen the consumer will see after entering his or her name and address is the group discount page, which has links to various banks, chambers of commerce, credit unions, employer groups and other group affiliations. Each of these pages has a drop-down menu that allows the consumer to easily select his or her group.

The discount applies to all vehicles insured under the policy when at least one household resident belongs to a qualifying group. The discount is automatically applied as part of the quote process.

At AAA, a wide variety of rating discounts are available to qualified policyholders. For example, with two or more vehicles insured, you may qualify for a multiple-vehicle rate. If you insure your car and your home or have life insurance through AAA, you may qualify for additional discounts. If the insured vehicle is equipped with certain anti-theft or safety devices, or if the driver pledges to wear his or her safety belt at all times, even more discounts apply.

For consumers who are not familiar with insurance terms such as “Personal Protection,” “Residual Liability,” or “Uninsured/Under-Insured,” the online quote tool offers a coverage guide that explains about No-Fault insurance and mandatory and non-mandatory coverages, enabling the consumer to determine the best coverages for his or her needs.

The AAA.com web portal also provides consumers with the means to find an agent, make online payments, make changes to a policy or even report a claim. It’s quick and easy and can be done from the comfort of your own home.

“We are very excited to introduce this great new functionality for our potential customers,” said Monahan. “The online quote system allows us to provide one-stop shopping for a growing number of people who use the Internet to gather information before they make their purchasing decisions. And with AAA offering new, competitive pricing, multiple discounts and award-winning claims service, we’re sure that decision will be an easy one.”

AAA offers automotive, travel, insurance and financial services to more than 49 million members in the United States and Canada. AAA Minnesota/Iowa is part of The Auto Club Group, with 4.1 million members in eight Midwest states.