HometownQuotes.Com Expands West
April 04, 2005 (PRLEAP.COM) Business News
PINEBLUFF, N.C. – HometownQuotes.Com, an online insurance quotes service, has begun servicing select markets west of the Mississippi including all of Colorado, Austin and Dallas, Texas, and Kansas City and St. Louis, Missouri. Previous markets include Nashville, Philadelphia, Louisville, and Knoxville, Tennessee.“We have taken the approach that slow growth is best for our customers, our agents, and ourselves,” said Matt McWilliams, Vice-President of Customer Relations. “Our number one goal is to provide both insurance consumers and agents with an easier way to reach each other.”
Customers using HometownQuotes.Com are able to get quotes for a variety of products such as homeowners, auto, renters, life and health insurance by filling out one simple form. Up to five agents compete for each customers business. The questions asked on the forms are the same questions that are most often asked by insurance agents in providing accurate quotes for consumers.
The general concept of HometownQuotes.Com is not a new idea. Online quotes services have been around for over a decade. HometownQuotes.Com is unique in two aspects though. First, it was founded by insurance agents who know the insurance business and understand the questions that consumers have. These agents designed the site specifically with the consumer in mind.
Secondly, the marketing strategy differs from the other sites as well. HometownQuotes.Com markets its services locally and not on a national scale. “We feel that this accomplishes two main objectives,” McWilliams said. “It targets consumers who want a local agent, rather than a faceless 800 number halfway across the country, and it allows us to control our growth, which helps us provide a better service to both our agents and our customers.”
The site has become known for its dedication to providing educational materials as well, to customers and agents alike. The agents run two blogs, one with money-saving insurance tips and another filled with insurance industry news for agents and industry executives.