InsureZone is a venture-funded company that was started in 1999. The company’s goal was to bring technology to an area of the insurance industry where speed and efficiency would open up opportunities in commercial and personal lines insurance; markets that exceed $500 Billion in total premium. By creating a comparative quoting service and other tools to be able to purchase and service an insurance policy online, InsureZone has created a company that allows a business owner or a consumer to purchase insurance from multiple companies via the internet. This proprietary technology platform that InsureZone has created is the key asset of company.

The original marketing strategy for InsureZone was to source leads from banks and financial institutions that wanted to sell auto and homeowners insurance through their websites. InsureZone signed up marketing partners that included: Citibank, Chase, Wells Fargo, Bank One, Nat City, and Fidelity. A call center was developed along with the carrier relationships necessary to quote and sell a policy in all states. The development of the call center was accomplished through the merger of InsureZone with Higginbotham & Associates in mid-2000. 

In early 2001 the original business plan was amended. Our marketing partners generated few leads and those that came in the door were shoppers, but not buyers. What we found was that the internet was not disintermediating insurance buyers from insurance agents as predicted. While the consumer wanted to shop on the internet, the buying decision was being made in conjunction with their trusted advisor. As a result, InsureZone adjusted its strategic plan to focus on providing service to insurance agents rather than trying to sell direct to the consumer. What many agents needed was access to national carriers and what they wanted was a single-entry web-based service.

In order to jump-start that business model, InsureZone purchased AgentSecure, a company started in 2000 by Ed Gillman as part of his Atlanta-based retail agency, Gillman Insurance Group. AgentSecure was a wholesaler that was providing market access to small and rural agents in Georgia. AgentSecure’s market strategy was to partner with the Independent Insurance Agents Associations (the Big I’s). They began with Georgia. AgentSecure’s technology edge set the company apart from the traditional phone and fax entities with whom most agencies were used to dealing.

In August 2003, InsureZone sold Higginbotham back to its principals, so that InsureZone could move at the pace it needed to in the wholesale business. The technology platform was stabilized, and with 4 national carriers being quoted electronically the company had the first opportunity to focus on the operational efficiencies that the real-time connections to the carriers made possible.

InsureZone revamped its website and added an Agent Dashboard for the delivery and management of submissions, quotes, and bound policies.  Enhancements put in place during 2004 included more carriers, a revamped website, online reporting for our agents, the automated email delivery of reports, and the creation of Clowser, our carrier appetite and underwriting management system. 2005 enhancements included the automatic re-quoting of policies that did not sell in the prior year, the addition of our first Personal Lines carriers for real time quoting, reports available via the Dashboard, a revamped payment system to enable increased flexibility in how an agent pays us, and a new self-service area for agent membership tracking.