CBSI, Response Insurance to Provide Banking Industry Auto Insurance Program

Veteran bank market specialist CBSI has teamed with Response Insurance to jointly market auto insurance through consumer banking institutions. CBSI, located in Harrison, NY, will promote Response’s auto insurance offer, which says that it can provide rates 10 percent to 20 percent below those of other major carriers.

The national program will enable banks to offer auto insurance quotations to their credit card, checking account and auto loan bank customers and will be communicated through direct response marketing, point of sale promotion and the Internet. Response Insurance, a subsidiary of Direct Response Corp., is headquartered in White Plains, NY and has a call center in northern California.

The Company is currently marketing auto insurance in 11 major states and anticipates distribution in 24 states by year-end. Response Insurance, a privately held auto insurance company, was founded in 1996. The Company was financed with an equity commitment of $310 million from an investor group led by Morgan Stanley Dean Witter Capital Partners, the private equity unit of Morgan Stanley Dean Witter & Co. CBSI, founded in 1972, is a consumer insurance program management organization specializing in providing value added programs to retail financial organizations.

Clients served are major financial institutions who offer credit cards, debit cards, checking accounts, and lines of credit, auto loans, and mortgages. CBSI provides insurance enhancement, fee service programs, and direct response management services to 750 banks primarily in the United States. Insurance benefits are provided to 100.5 million bank customers as of March 2000.