Car Insurance

RiderPoint, Inc., an affiliate of eLEC Communications Corp. (NASDAQ:ELEC), announced today the expansion of coverage into Arizona, Georgia, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Oregon, and Washington for its online comparative insurance rater, RiderPoint IQ. The rater, provides consumers with the ability to comparatively shop for and buy their motorcycle insurance at one location, without the hassles traditionally associated with purchasing specialty insurance. The design and format of the product allows insurance agents to have access to specialty lines and carriers on their desktop computers.

“The expansion of RiderPoint IQ to 15 states is an important milestone in our continuing project,” said Craig Gironda, RiderPoint’s President and CEO. “Our development team has created and implemented a unique method for our expansion into the additional states, which allows us to easily add new carriers and markets into the RiderPoint IQ Comparative Rater. We are on schedule for our expansion into 35 states, which will allow us to reach 80% of motorcycle owners in the United States.”

Gironda continued, “Our plans call for the introduction of a full e-commerce enhancement to riderpoint.com by the end of January, which will allow customers to complete their insurance transaction online. We anticipate that we will be ready for the seasonal rush for motorcycle products that begins each year during the month of February.”

eLEC Communications Corp. is a publicly-traded local telecommunications company that is taking advantage of the convergence of the current and future competitive technological and regulatory developments in the Internet and telecommunications markets. The company provides an integrated suite of communications services to small and medium-sized business customers, including local, long distance, dial-up access, dedicated access, and Web site design and hosting, and has served as an incubator for emerging growth companies in the telecom and Internet sector.

This release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. The Company’s actual results may differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements. Factors that might cause such a difference include, among others, availability of management; availability, terms, and deployment of capital; the Company’s ability to successfully market its services to current and new customers, generate customer demand for its product and services in the geographical areas in which the Company can operate, access new markets, negotiate and maintain suitable reseller and interconnection agreements with the incumbent local exchange carriers, and negotiate and maintain suitable vendor relationships, all in a timely manner, at reasonable cost and on satisfactory terms and conditions, as well as regulatory, legislative and judicial developments that could cause actual results to vary in such forward-looking statements.

This communication appears as a matter of information only and is not an insurance solicitation. Accordingly, no employee of eLEC Communications Corp., RiderPoint, Inc. or RP Insurance Agency, Inc. is recommending or endorsing any specific insurance company, coverage or policy type within this communication.For purely informational purposes and pay commissions or fees based upon premium volume RP Insurance Agency, Inc. is not an agent for all insurers Quote availability by state of residence or any other factor is subject to change without notice.

The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR), the nation’s fifth-largest and one of the fastest-growing insurance companies, announced today that it will join InsWeb’s insurance marketplace.

Progressive will offer auto quotes in 48 states and motorcycle insurance quotes in 42 states. Additionally, Progressive will enable consumers visiting InsWeb to purchase its products completely online by providing instant quotes and electronic payment. This is the first time InsWeb users will be able to do full electronic commerce at InsWeb’s insurance marketplace, and it represents the most significant step to date in creating a nationwide e-commerce market for insurance.

“The alliance between InsWeb and Progressive brings together two of the insurance industry’s most innovative companies,” said InsWeb’s Kevin Keegan, President of the Insurance Services Group. “InsWeb and Progressive pioneered the concept of online insurance, and Progressive has reshaped the way the industry thinks about insuring consumers. Together, this powerful alliance is providing consumers exactly what they want: comparison shopping and the ability to complete the insurance transaction online.”

For Progressive, the agreement with InsWeb is consistent with its ongoing, successful effort to provide consumers with multiple ways to buy insurance, and it reflects the company’s strong belief that product comparisons are beneficial for consumers.

“Progressive has long been a champion of comparison shopping, and we share InsWeb values in enabling consumers to make more informed decisions,” said Allan Bauer, Internet Process Leader. “By making our products available at InsWeb, Progressive will reach a wider audience of online customers and strengthen our national distribution strategy.”

About The Progressive Corporation

The Progressive Corporation is a Cleveland-based insurance holding company. Its subsidiaries offer personal automobile and specialty property-casualty insurance and related services throughout the United States and in Canada. Progressive’s Common Shares (symbol PGR) are listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

About InsWeb Corporation

In addition to comparison shopping, InsWeb also provides interactive tools and research capabilities that enable consumers to make more informed decisions.

BIKENET, AN internet site for motorcycle enthusiasts created originally by fans and now half-owned by Dixon Motors, is seeking to list on the Alternative Investment Market with an offer that values the company at around pounds 20m.

The company, selling motorbikes, accessories and insurance online, aims to raise up to pounds 7m from the issue. Shares are expected to be priced between pounds 1 and pounds 2, and bike aficionados will be able to register for shares on the company’s website.

BikeNet, which is one of Europe’s largest motorbike affinity sites, supplies bikes made by Dixon’s subsidiary Carnell Motorcycles. It guarantees to deliver the lowest like-for-like price on its UK bikes.

Dixon is already involved in a similar supply arrangement for Jamjar.com. This Direct Line-owned site promises reductions of up to 30 per cent on dealers’ prices for cars.

Garry Cuthbertson, chief executive of BikeNet, said yesterday: “The flotation will secure for us first-mover advantage. It will also give us the working capital to increase market share.” He said the institutional uptake has already been strong.

Investec Henderson Crosthwaite has been appointed as adviser and broker to the issue, which is being offered to institutional and retail investors from tomorrow.

BikeNet, which was set up in 1995, has seen its website hits grow to 135,000 in June this year.

RiderPoint, Inc., an affiliate of eLEC Communications Corp.Announced today the addition of Mendota Insurance Company into its online comparative insurance rater, RiderPoint IQ. The rater, located at www.riderpoint.com, provides consumers with the ability to comparatively shop for and buy their insurance at one location, without the hassles traditionally associated with purchasing specialty insurance. The design and format of the product allows independent insurance agents to have access to specialty lines and multiple carriers instantly, over the Internet.

“Mendota has excellent motorcycle and personal watercraft policies, and by representing Mendota and other specialty insurance carriers, in essence we are scouring the entire market for the best insurance products available in order to make them easily accessible through our website,” stated Vince Razete, President of RiderPoint’s Insurance Division. “We are being very aggressive with specialty insurance marketing, and it is this type of aggressiveness that attracts excellent companies like Mendota. Only through partnerships with national and regional carriers can we provide the depth of choice and access that are required by the consumers of the 21st century.”

“We are excited about our relationship with RiderPoint,” stated Larry Johnson, Motorcycle Product Manager for Mendota Insurance Company. “All of our independent agents have had access to our cycle and watercraft products, but by partnering with RiderPoint we have the opportunity to amplify our products throughout our current markets and avoid direct writing mechanisms that are adverse to our independent agency distribution system.”

eLEC Communications Corp. is a publicly traded local telecommunications company that is taking advantage of the convergence of the current and future competitive technological and regulatory developments in the Internet and telecommunications markets through the integration of its telecommunications and Internet services. The company provides an integrated suite of communications services to small and medium-sized business customers, including local, long distance, dial-up access, dedicated access, and Web site design and hosting, and has served as an incubator for emerging growth companies in the telecom and Internet sector.

This release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. The Company’s actual results may differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements. Factors that might cause such a difference include, among others, availability of management; availability, terms, and deployment of capital; the Company’s ability to successfully market its services to current and new customers, generate customer demand for its product and services in the geographical areas in which the Company can operate, access new markets, negotiate and maintain suitable reseller and interconnection agreements with the incumbent local exchange carriers, and negotiate and maintain suitable vendor relationships, all in a timely manner, at reasonable cost and on satisfactory terms and conditions, as well as regulatory, legislative and judicial developments that could cause actual results to vary in such forward-looking statements.

This communication appears as a matter of information only and is not an insurance solicitation. Accordingly, no employee of eLEC Communications Corp, RiderPoint, Inc. or RP Insurance Agency, Inc. is recommending or endorsing any specific insurance company, coverage or policy type within this communication. Insurance companies appear at RiderPoint.com for purely informational purposes and pay commissions or fees based upon premium volume or traffic activity produced by Riderpoint.com. RP Insurance Agency. Quote availability by state of residence or any other factor is subject to change without notice.

A Fidelity Investments(R) company, today announced three alliances which offer customers access to extended warranty protection for automobiles, travel insurance for U.S. residents, and pet health care insurance. The deals were signed with Warrantybynet.com, WorldTravelCenter.com(SM) from Insuractive(R) and Veterinary Pet Insurance.

With the addition of these new policy types, Insurance.com now provides access to 11 categories of coverage, including auto, home/renter, health, life, long-term care, motorcycle/ATV, recreational vehicle, and watercraft insurance.

“Insurance.com provides access to competitively priced, top-quality products as well as online information to help consumers make informed purchase decisions for their insurance needs,” said Insurance.com President Lou Geremia. “The addition of these new products strengthens Insurance.com’s position as a comprehensive resource for researching and buying insurance.”

Extended warranties take over where the auto manufacturers’ warranties leave off, covering service and repairs. Through its new arrangement with Warrantybynet, Insurance.com now offers access to warranties for anyone buying a new or pre-owned vehicle, including coverage for all makes and models of cars, trucks, motorcycles and sport utility vehicles. Each service contract also provides a membership in Warrantybynet’s 24-hour roadside assistance program, which lasts for the life of the policy.

As people begin to travel again, many are looking to protect themselves while they are away from home. Travel insurance covers a variety of possible situations unique to travel, whether extending adequate medical coverage to an overseas traveler or protecting the cost of a trip in the event the cruise line or airline goes out of business. Through WorldTravelCenter.com, Insurance.com offers access to 23 travel insurance plans from nine different providers, protecting U.S. residents who travel both domestically and abroad.

“With so much attention on travel concerns, we’re pleased to provide policies that can help mitigate some of the most common problems consumers experience when traveling, ” said Geremia. “With WorldTravelCenter, Insurance.com can make a wide range of policies and information available for consumers to secure the appropriate insurance coverage and make it easier to relax during a trip.”

While both the warranty and travel insurance offerings help protect customers on the road, the new Veterinary Pet Insurance policies are designed to help animal companions at home. Americans are expected to spend more than $7.7 billion for pet health care in 2002(1). A pet health insurance policy can help defray costs when an animal becomes ill, injured or elderly and veterinary costs begin to rise. As the nation’s oldest licensed pet medical insurance plan, Veterinary Pet Insurance policies cover more than 6,400 medical conditions for a wide range of animals, including dogs, cats, rabbits, birds, snakes, mice and many more. Policies are available in all 50 states and pet owners can seek veterinary care worldwide. Customers interested in pet insurance will be able to get free quotes and purchase coverage by calling Insurance.com’s toll-free customer service line.

Geremia noted that Insurance.com plans to continue expanding its educational content and increasing to the availability of products that allow customers to act on their research. “Once someone has determined what their insurance needs are,” he said, “we’ll be there to help find the coverage that best fits the situation.”

About Warrantybynet

Warrantybynet is a leading online provider of extended warranties for both new and pre-owned cars, trucks, SUV’s and motorcycles. The site offers a wide variety of comprehensive, flexible and affordable programs designed to meet the individual needs of customers, and provides free, no obligation price quoting online. The company is located in Brick, N.J.

About Insuractive and WorldTravelCenter.com

WorldTravelCenter.com(SM) is a web site and business operated by Insuractive(R) for the sale of travel insurance and other related products. Insuractive was formed for the purpose of supporting marketing and sales of insurance products on the Internet. Located in Alexandria, Va., Insuractive strives to design and develop the best plan of action for each product it markets.

About Veterinary Pet Insurance

Founded in 1980 by Dr. Jack Stephens with the support of 750 independent veterinarians, Veterinary Pet Insurance (VPI), Brea, Calif., is the nation’s number-one medical insurance for dogs, cats, birds, rabbits and other common exotic pets, with over 220,000 policies in force. Exclusively endorsed by American Humane, VPI policies make the miracles of veterinary medicine affordable by covering more than 6,400 medical treatments for accidents and illnesses, with optional coverage available for preventive and routine care. Policies are licensed in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. VPI policies in California are underwritten by Veterinary Pet Insurance Co. of Brea, Calif. Elsewhere, policies are underwritten by National Casualty Co., an A+15 rated company, in Madison, Wis.

Insurance.com(SM) from Fidelity Investments(R) is a comprehensive online resource for insurance information and products. With more than 170 providers, Insurance.com Insurance Agency, LLC offers access to auto, home/renter, health, life, long-term care, motorcycle/ATV, pet health, recreational vehicle, travel, and watercraft insurance.