Insurance Marketing Podcast Examines Insurers' Record Spending on Advertising.

OLDWICK, N.J. -- The latest edition of The Insurance Marketing and Advertising Podcast analyzes record-breaking advertising spending by the U.S. insurance industry. The audio interview features Jon Swallen, Senior Vice President of Research at TNS Media Intelligence, which tracks marketing and

"Over the past several years, we've seen a rapid surge in the volume of advertising spent behind insurance: auto, medical, property/casualty and life, the whole gamut, to the point where, from 2003, total [advertising dollars] spent on insurance has nearly doubled," Swallen reports in the interview. "In 2006 it was a $3.2 billion advertising marketplace, and it's on track in 2007 to exceed that level as well."

Swallen is a featured speaker at the 2007 Insurance Marketing and Advertising Summit, set for November 8 at the Hilton New York, in New York City. The one-day conference, presented by the A.M. Best Company, will explore marketing and advertising in the insurance industry. In conjunction with the conference, A.M. Best is continuing its podcast series focused on insurance marketing and advertising issues. For details about IMAS, to register and to listen to podcast interviews with Jon Swallen and other featured speakers, visit www.ambest.com/conferences/imas.

To subscribe to the podcast series, visit The Insurance Marketing and Advertising Podcast at http://feeds.feedburner.com/insurancemarketing. The podcast is also available via iTunes, at http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id= 191080586. (Due to its length, this URL may need to be copied/pasted into your Internet browser's address field. Remove the extra space if one exists.)

Founded in 1899, A.M. Best Company is a global full-service credit rating organization dedicated to serving the financial and health care service industries, including insurance companies, banks, hospitals and health care system providers. For more information, visit www.ambest.com.