(PR NEWSWIRE) Autobytel.com to Offer Powerful New Insurance Services
Autobytel.com to Offer Powerful New Insurance Services
Partnership With InsurQuote Enables Consumer Comparison Shopping
From Major Providers
IRVINE, Calif., June 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Autobytel.com (Nasdaq: ABTL), the
global leader in automotive e-commerce and services, today announced a
partnership with InsurQuote to provide consumers with real-time vehicle
coverage quote information and to enable online application submission with
their carrier of choice. The one-stop shop, comparative insurance service is
another of Autobytel.com's services that is offered free to the consumer. It
can be used both by customers who are submitting a vehicle purchase request
through Autobytel.com, and by customers who are only shopping for insurance
coverage. Autobytel.com receives a fee for each application submitted.
The premiere insurance companies participating in the program include
MetLife(R) Auto & Home Insurance, The Hartford (Hartford Financial Services
Group, Inc.), and The GE Auto Insurance Program. At present, the service is
available only to consumers in California, Florida and Illinois, but is
anticipated to be available to the majority of American consumers by the end
of 1999.
"Autobytel.com and InsurQuote share a common goal of helping consumers
complete the auto insurance shopping process online," said Bill Woahn,
president of InsurQuote.com, the leading company provider of comparative
insurance rating technology. "Partnering with the leading name in Internet
automotive sales and service on the Internet allows us to create an exciting,
unique business model and to bring to online auto insurance the rigorous
customer satisfaction standards that Autobytel.com has set in online
car-purchasing."
"Our audience of serious car buyers and Internet-savvy consumers is one
that insurers want access to at the time the purchase decision is being made,"
said Mark Lorimer, Autobytel.com's President and CEO. "This new feature is
the optimal solution for their online marketing needs and represents an
enormous market opportunity for all the companies involved."
"We are also pleased to be offering our customers InsurQuote's
industry-leading technology, as well as the services of the most respected
names in the insurance industry. The ability to comparison shop with just a
few mouse clicks could provide an opportunity to realize substantial savings
for our customers," said Lorimer. "We will continue to expand services such
as financing, insurance, and maintenance programs as we strengthen our
position as the ultimate online destination for auto-related commerce."
According to Forrester Research, online auto insurance sales are expected
grow from $21 million in 1997 to nearly $850 million in 2001.
How it works:
-- At the Autobytel.com site, consumer fills out an easy online
application in less than fifteen minutes.
-- Consumer receives multiple quotes in real time from some of the
nation's top insurers.
-- Consumer submits quote application to chosen insurer's call center.
-- Call center contacts consumer within 24 hours to complete the policy
issuance.
About Autobytel.com, Inc.:
Internationally-branded Autobytel.com is the acknowledged leader in online
automotive commerce(1). The most comprehensive automotive Internet site,
Autobytel.com offers consumers a positive purchasing and ownership experience,
while providing its Accredited Dealer Network with the most efficient way to
reach online car buyers. As it assists consumers through every aspect of the
automotive lifecycle, Autobytel.com provides continuity into the next vehicle
purchase. Launched in March 1995, Autobytel.com's low-cost, no-haggle
car-buying program is available in the U.S., Canada (www.autobytel.ca), the
United Kingdom (www.autobytel.co.uk) and Sweden (www.autobytel.se). In 1999,
Autobytel.com was ranked #1 in Dealer Satisfaction with Online Buying Services
for the second year in a row(2).
About InsurQuote:
Headquartered in Provo, Utah, InsurQuote is the nation's leading company
in comparative insurance rating technology. InsurQuote's technology allows
customers to receive multiple quotes online. The rating information is
obtained from each state's Department of Insurance or is received directly
from the underwriter. The selected insurance companies' rates are then stored
in InsurQuote's in-depth library system. This technology allows InsurQuote to
provide accurate multiple online quotes to its customers.
InsurQuote Systems, Inc., (www.insurquote.com), is the leading provider of
integrated insurance rating solutions to the agency, company, and consumer
markets. These solutions utilize InsurQuote's sophisticated comparative
rating engine which enables the comparison of multiple carriers for auto, home
and commercial insurance products. In the emerging online insurance shopping
environment, InsurQuote leads the way, combining a nationwide comparison of
auto insurance rates with a complete e-commerce fulfillment solution.
Headquartered in Provo, Utah, InsurQuote also has offices in Beachwood, Ohio,
College Station, Texas and San Francisco, Calif. The company employs over 500
people, and services thousands of insurance agencies, companies, and consumer
organizations nationwide.
The statements contained in this press release, that are not historical
facts, are forward-looking statements under the federal securities laws.
These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, and
involve certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to
predict. Actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is
expressed in, or implied by, such forward-looking statements. Autobytel.com
undertakes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements,
whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Among the
important factors that could cause Autobytel.com's actual results to differ
materially from those expressed in, or implied by, the forward-looking
statements are changes in general economic conditions and increased or
unexpected competition.
(1) As reported by J.D. Power and Associates, Autobytel.com generates
nearly as many new-vehicle sales as its two closest competitors
combined.
(2) J.D. Power and Associates 1998-1999 Dealer Satisfaction With Online
Buying Services Studies(SM). 1999 study conducted among dealership
Internet specialists who completed 1,024 individual evaluations.
SOURCE Autobytel.com, Inc.
-0- 06/24/99
/CONTACT: Betsy Isroelit, ext. 17, or e-mail, betsy@rbicom.com, Cassandra
Cavanah, ext. 25, or e-mail, cassandra@rbicom.com, both of RBI Communications,
323-960-1360, for Autobytel.com; general, Don Markley, investors, Kate Rajeck,
of the Financial Relations Board, 415-986-1591/
/Web site: insurquote.com /
/Web site: autobytel.com /
(ABTL)
CO: Autobytel.com, Inc.; InsurQuote Systems, Inc.
ST: California, Utah
IN: INS AUT MLM |
