SAFECO Joins Answer Financial's Nationwide On-Line Insurance Platform; SAFECO Strengthens Answer...

Business Editors

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 29, 2002

SAFECO, one of the country's largest independent agent insurance carriers, has announced that it will provide automobile, home and other property and casualty policies through the Internet and call center platforms of

SAFECO joins a select group of property and casualty (P&C) companies featured by Answer Financial, with Web sites that include www.answerfinancial.com and www.answercenter.com.

"SAFECO is a leader and innovator in many areas, especially in personal lines of insurance," said Alan C. Snyder, president and CEO of Answer Financial. "We are exceptionally proud to have SAFECO offer several of its products through our platform, which reaches more than 15 million members, as well as customers of third party institutions that have chosen Answer to act as the backbone of their insurance offerings."

"Answer Financial has grown dramatically in recent years and has a very desirable customer base for our policies," said Nancy Carlson, SAFECO's vice president of distribution marketing and operations. "We see the employee and affinity marketplaces as key growth areas for our products in these and possibly other lines of insurance."

In addition to an advanced, highly functional Internet platform, Answer Financial operates an integrated 24-hour call center staffed by licensed, salaried, financial professionals who provide customer service and facilitate client transactions. The staff is not commission-based and Answer Financial does not accept incentives to advertise or promote any one product or carrier over another.

SAFECO, in business since 1923 and based in Seattle, is a Fortune 500 company that sells insurance and related financial products through more than 17,000 independent agents and financial advisors.

Answer Financial Inc. -- rated #1 by Yahoo! Internet Life and selected by Gomez.com as the best one-stop insurance shopping resource -- features auto, home, life, health, dental and long-term care insurance as well as annuity products, prepaid legal services, home warranty, vision and prescription discount plans, online banking, travel protection, pet insurance and more through its affiliated Web sites. The company offers products from more than 200 top-rated national providers through intranets, the Internet and a toll-free phone service staffed by experienced, salaried and licensed agents. Answer Financial Inc. is a voluntary benefit to hundreds of large employers and affinity groups and today serves millions of American families.