Intuit Launches Online Car-Insurance Service

Intuit Inc. this week launched its Quicken InsureMarket online car-insurance service in Alabama as the first step in a planned national roll-out. Intuit’s Web site (https://www.insuremarket.com) takes information from car insurers’ databases and from interested consumers to provide individualized rate quotes and process transactions online, in real time. It also offers customized information about the risk of car theft, car damage or bodily injury in accidents, by taking information on the car model and the driver’s ZIP Code. Two Travelers Group Inc. companies, Travelers Property Casualty and Travelers Life & Annuity, will be the first insurers to offer car insurance through the Quicken online system. Intuit also said Beverly, Mass.-based Electric Insurance Co. and Reliance Insurance Group, based in Pennsylvania, plan to begin offering insurance services through its online site later in the year. Other insurance companies are participating on a limited basis, enabling users to contact them through the Web site to get information about rates. Although several companies are offering car insurance online, Intuit said its service is faster, enabling coverage to begin as soon as after midnight on the day after the transaction.