Intuit also announced today that two of Travelers Group’s family of companies -- Travelers Property Casualty and Travelers Life & Annuity -- have joined Quicken InsureMarket. Travelers Property Casualty today becomes the first carrier to introduce auto coverage through the Quicken InsureMarket service. Travelers Life & Annuity will soon begin providing real-time rate quotes for its Travelers Special T, a competitively priced, flexible term life policy.

"Quicken InsureMarket’s approach to auto insurance represents a breakthrough in online insurance," says Steven Aldrich, president of Intuit's Interactive Insurance Services (IIS) subsidiary. "The Travelers auto policies available online in much of Alabama will showcase the Quicken InsureMarket service’s real-time capabilities."

This includes interacting with an insurer’s database to produce an individualized rate quote; verifying driving records with states while a transaction is being processed online; processing payment online; providing immediate notification to approved consumers (when conditions set by each insurer are met); and enabling coverage to commence as soon as after midnight of the following business day.

"The ability to offer quotes and then coverage is a significant advantage over some other online insurance services that simply collect information online and may actually require a day or more to return a rate quote," Mr. Aldrich concludes.

New Insurers Electric and RelianceDirect Will Expand Auto Services
Quicken InsureMarket’s auto insurance service is expected to expand by adding new insurance providers and making the service available in additional states throughout 1998. Intuit announced today that two additional insurers have agreed to participate in Quicken InsureMarket by providing auto insurance services online.

Electric Insurance Company, based in Beverly, Mass., was founded in 1966 to serve the personal insurance needs of General Electric Company employees. As a direct-to-consumer insurer, it now provides insurance products in 47 states, serving GE employees and others, as well. Electric Insurance Company plans to begin offering auto policies to consumers in a number of states on the Quicken InsureMarket Web site in the spring.

RelianceDirect also plans to participate in Quicken InsureMarket by providing auto insurance services. RelianceDirect is part of the Pennsylvania-based Reliance Insurance Group. It plans to begin offering services on the Quicken InsureMarket site later this year.

Quicken InsureMarket’s service also permits users in all 50 states to request contact from a local agent representing either the Allstate Insurance Company, State Farm Insurance or Travelers to obtain rate quotes and other information about that company’s auto insurance.

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.

Insurance providers participating in the Quicken InsureMarket service include: the Allstate Insurance Company, Electric Insurance, John Hancock Financial Services, Lincoln Benefit Life, MetLife, Ohio National Financial Services, Reliance Insurance, Prudential Insurance, State Farm Insurance, Transamerica Occidental Life Insurance Company, Travelers Property Casualty and Travelers Life & Annuity, UNUM and Zurich Direct.

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 49 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.

Quicken InsureMarket is part of Quicken.com, which provides individuals with information and software tools to help them make better financial decisions. It then provides links to leading financial service providers so consumers can implement those decisions more conveniently than ever. Quicken.com content is also offered at some of the most widely accessed sites on the Internet, as the exclusive provider of personal financial tools on such sites as CNNfn and Excite.