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COMPULIFE®
Software Inc.
(800) 798-3488
Update News for March 2007
Here is a quick run-down on what you will find in this bulletin:
Windows Mobile Version for Phones
Improvements to Windows Software
Icons for PDF Functions
Improvements to Saving PDF Files
Drop down for Health Category
Compulife FREE Extended Warranty on PDA's
Palm PDA's Highly Reliable
Automated Updates for QuickQuoter?
Why This May Be a Limited Time Offer
Form Category Improvements
Another Company for the Forms Library
Help Us Add More Companies and Get a FREE PDA!
25th Year in Business
These topics will be dealt with in more detail throughout this bulletin.
There is a new generation of Windows Mobile phones which have been recently hitting the market. Compulife has just completed work on a version of our program which works perfectly on these new phones.
Just like the PDA software that we have introduced to this point, the new phone program is included FREE with your subscription. And just like the PDA software we have introduced, the new phone software is transferred to your SD memory card when you use the Master Menu option:
Once you update your card, and place it into the Windows Mobile phone, the new program will show up on the SD file list as:
When you select and run the program you will be asked by Windows Mobile to confirm that you want to run the program - go ahead and do that. At that point the first page of the two page client screen appears. All the client screen questions are entered using the 5 way navigation button.
IMPORTANT: The new generation of phones have no stylus input and you don't need it with Compulife. Compulife's entire program is operated with just the 5 way navigation button. Think of it as the Compulife video game.
Once the first page of the client screen is entered, the right button takes you to the second page of the client screen. When that is completed a right button does the comparison. You move from field to field using the update and down arrows, and you select choices with the center button.
We have tested the new software on the following 3 phones. NOTE: Click on any of the phones listed below for more information about the phone:
These phones all run Compulife perfectly.
WOW! - the phones are really fast. Comparison results are very quick. It only took a second to get results. We demoed the software for the phone sales people and they were amazed you could have 125 life companies on such a tiny device.
NOTE: All of the above phones have full QWERTY keyboards. These phones are the electronic industry's (and Microsoft's) answer to the BlackBerry juggernaut. These phones, when combined with web access, can send and receive e-mails instantly. They can also browse the web.
Prices for these phones ranged from $150 to $250 depending on what phone plan you sign up for. We expect prices to drop - given that there is clear competition among the phone manufacturers. The problem with BlackBerry is that the manufacturer has no competition for its service or hardware. The only competition that occurs is among Blackberry retailers.
Cost of unlimited web access packages ranges from $30 to $40 per month which is about $10 more than BlackBerry.
IMPORTANT: You don't have to have this data service to use the phone as a phone or as a Windows PDA. You can still have your daytimer functions, contact lists, etc - all the things you expect from a PDA.
MORE IMPORTANT: You can quote Compulife on these phones without having the more expensive data package.
If you are looking for a new phone, and like the idea of a PDA, you need to look hard at these phones. If later you decide you want the instant e-mail or web browsing, you can add those services at any time.
As to the quality of these phones as phones, we questioned retailers about reception. They were making claims that the phones are as good as the Motorola RAZR. From my personal experience the RAZR has the best reception of most phone brands.
Here is some really GREAT NEWS about the DATA packages in combination with these phones. READ THIS CAREFULLY:
The phones have Bluetooth technology. For those who buy the data packages, it means if your laptop has Bluetooth (it's easy to add if it doesn't), your cell phone can act as a wireless modem for your laptop computer. Make sure you understand this: Using Bluetooth your laptop can communicate wirelessly to the cell phone which then allows high speed access to the web - ALL done wirelessly.
REALLY IMPORTANT: This is NOT WIFI! In other words, you don't have to be near a hot spot to get wireless access to the web. Your phone simply has to have access to the cell system. If you are where you can make a cell phone call, your laptop is where it can connect to the web.
NOTE: We understand that the "hi speed" web access of these phones is really a two stage system. In some places, like near large cities, the phone will give higher performance where newer cell towers (called 3G) can handle higher speed. In outlying areas the performance will drop off as the phones have to use older communication technology (called EDGE). But that is looked after by your phone - the computer just talks to the phone.
The beauty is that the phone, which has 24 hour a day web access, can give your laptop (or any other Bluetooth computer you have) access to the web - and that's included in the $30 to $40 per month.
PLEASE REMEMBER: Compulife does not need web access to run on the phone. The program is transferred to the SD memory card, the card is put in the phone, and you have access to quotes on the phone - no web access required. The phone can deliver faster quotes than if it was using a version on the web.
NOTE: All of the above phones use the newer, smaller SD cards. The Motorola Q used a MINI SD card whereas the Dash and Blackjack use MICRO SD cards. Compulife can talk directly to any and all of these cards once they have been placed into USB adapters and plugged into the computer.
I would be happy to answer anyone's questions on these new phones. Call me, Bob Barney, at 888-798-3488.
Remember, Compulife's new phone software is FREE with your subscription.
The newest version of the Windows software contains a number of improvements we hope you will find helpful. I should note that most of these are the result of feedback from new users. We continue to attract a large number of new trial users due to our "Dare to Compare" challenge program, which gives new users a 4 month FREE subscription. It is through assisting these new users that we learn where we have weaknesses in our system. We hope these changes help.
We have now added icons that let you quickly call the functions to save a quote as a PDF file or to create an e-mail and attach a PDF file. These icons are now at the top of the display file and so you no longer need to click on "File" and select these options from the "File" list - you can simply click on the shortcut icon.
We have also added the icons to the "File" options list. The descriptions have also been modified to make them a little easier to understand.
If you are saving printouts as PDF files we have made a couple of changes. First, once you identify the folder that you are saving the printouts to, the system will default to that same folder the next time you save the printout. Previously the system defaulted to the \COMPLIFE folder and would not remember a different folder the next time you ran the system. Personally, I like to save my PDF files in a folder I made called "QUOTES".
The system now offers a default name for your PDF file. The name is made up of the client name you entered into the client entry screen, plus the date and time that the quote was saved. It will appear as:
If you do not like this naming convention, simply type over it. We think this is an improvement over making you type in a name from scratch.
A number of new users always seemed to struggle with the regular versus preferred selection, in combination with the Plus check box. We have decided to replace that with a drop down selection. We think the function is obvious.
What is new is the addition of a Health Analyzer (P+) entry to the list. Essentially this button does a one step variation on three things you could have done manually:
First, it sets the system to P+ as the health category.
Second, it immediately begins the health analyzer function.
Third, when a comparison is run, the system automatically sorts the comparison results based upon health class.
It is the third option which we suspect most subscribers will find new (and hopefully useful). At the top of the comparison results columns are sort options. For example, if you want to see companies in alphabetic order, you can click on the company name header and the results are sorted by company name. It's a useful option if you can't find a company you are looking for. Above the column which shows the health class results (green check or red X or yellow question), you can click the green down arrow which will move all the green checks to the top, sorted by premium. If you use the new Health Analyzer (P+) entry, that will be the default comparison result.
To sum it up, if you want to rely upon the Health Analyzer to govern the results of your comparison, the new option will get you the results with fewer clicks.
Compulife is now offering a FREE extended warranty on used Palm PDA's purchased from Compulife by Compulife subscribers. The extended warranty will be for as long as the balance of time remaining on your current subscription to Compulife. During the balance of your current subscription your Palm PDA will be warranted against ANY failure with the exception of LCD screen breakage or battery replacement. If during that period you require a battery replacement, Compulife will provide one new battery replacement for $17.50 which is half price (installation labor and return shipping included).
IMPORTANT: For a limited time Compulife is offering you the ability to extend your FREE warranty by extending you current subscription for up to 3 years. Here is one example of how the cost is determined:
Suppose you have 6 months left on your current personal use subscription. If you already own a Palm PDA that you purchased from Compulife, and you do nothing else, you now have a FREE 6 month warranty as described above. If you wish to add time to that 6 month warranty, you can do so by adding time to your current subscription. The regular price for a one year personal use subscription is $199. To top up your remaining 6 months to 12 months you can do so by paying 6/12 X $199 which equals $99.50. That will extend your current subscription to 12 months and extend the FREE warranty on your Palm PDA from 6 to 12 months. You can further boost that FREE warranty to 24 months by paying an additional $150 which is the difference in cost to add a second year to a one year subscription. You could further boost that FREE warranty from 24 months to 36 months for an additional $100 which is the difference in cost between a 2 and 3 year subscription.
NOTE: Subscription rates for Standard Agency versions and Term4Sale Agent versions are different from the rates used in this example. If you wish to top up your subscription, and need to know the specific costs, you can give Compulife a call at 800-798-3488.
The ability to "top up" the FREE extended warranty will ONLY be available to existing PDA owners until March 31, 2007. If you do not act by then, the FREE extended warranty will simply cover you to the end of your current subscription, for whatever period of time remains. Once again, this FREE warranty only applies to used PDA's purchased from Compulife.
Compulife has now been offering used Palm PDA's for over a year and they have proven to be highly reliable. The PDA's have no bugs and we have had very few service issues. We are now extending the Compulife warranty to underline for our subscribers that a used Palm PDA is a good buy and there is no need to spend hundreds of dollars on equipment when less than $100 will get you all that you need.
If you are not carrying Compulife on a PDA you are missing out on some very easy prospecting opportunities. And if I hear one more agent tell me they don't talk about insurance outside the office, I think I will need to be checked into a mental health facility. I remember a time when life insurance sales people were REAL sales people.
Insurance Squared customers, using Compulife's on-line term quote engine, are now allowed to host QuickerQuoter updates for FREE.
And if you use Insurance Squared to host your QuickerQuoter updates, Compulife will maintain those updates on the Insurance Squared server for FREE.
For QuickerQuoter purchasers it means that all you will need to do is e-mail a link to the page and/or place a link to the page on your web site. Your page will look like either of these two U.S. samples:
NOTE: The www.compulife.us server used for the above examples is the server provided by Insurance Squared. Compulife rents space on that server, just as we rent space from 6 other Internet Providers for our services to Compulife subscribers.
In the next few months we would like to introduce a more automated update procedure for QuickerQuoter updates, but this would be in conjunction with the Insurance Squared update hosting. If we are able to do so, the QuickerQuoter program would be able to alert your agents that new updates are available, and the system can get those updates automatically.
NOTE: The decision to put automatic updates into our QuickerQuoter software will be dependent on the number of QuickerQuoter buyers who elect to use Insurance Squared to host those updates. If there is an insufficient number of agencies using Insurance Squared for those updates there is no point offering automatic updating. Updates will continue to be manual updates just as they are now.
If you do NOT use Insurance Squared as your on-line term quote provider, you can do so for ONLY $179 per year. Once you do your QuickerQuoter update web page and update hosting is FREE.
ALSO IMPORTANT: Insurance Squared now offers an on-line forms library option which can be added to that on-line term quote service for only $120 per year. Click Here to obtain full details.
QuickerQuoter is a Compulife-like comparison software program containing only the companies that the agency selects. The agency pays a single, low cost license fee and can then provide unlimited copies of the software to all its brokers for FREE.
Click Here for more information on QuickerQuoter. The web page contains a FREE U.S. sample of QuickerQuoter.
NOTE: The products and companies included in the FREE U.S. samples of QuickerQuoter are up-to-date and current. The companies we have selected are those U.S. companies which have provided Compulife with their forms for our Forms Library. If you are a life company, and would like to be added, please call Bob Barney at (888) 798-3488.
IMPORTANT: FREE software for your brokers.
THINK ABOUT IT: If you don't give this software to your brokers for FREE, then maybe your brokers will get it from your competitors for FREE. And then your brokers will be quoting the companies that your competitors want them to quote.
The agencies who act sooner will be the agencies to benefit the most. To date over a dozen agencies have acquired QuickerQuoter.
Just as FREE PDA software comes with Compulife, QuickerQuoter comes with FREE PDA software. So before you say, "But we already have on-line quoting software for our brokers for FREE", please pay attention to the fact that this software includes FREE PDA software.
Some agencies have told me they don't think that's important because their agents aren't using PDA's. There are some points I would like to make:
First, more and more agents are buying Palm and/or Windows Mobile phones. Those phones ARE PDA's and they can run QuickerQuoter. Do you want to be the one pointing that out to your agent, or do you want your competitor pointing it out?
Third, read some of the following testimonies that Compulife has received from subscribers using insurance comparisons on their PDA:
The point is this: Agents are going to find out about this capability - one way or the other. The sooner they do, the sooner they will make money with it. And that means they will not only be making money for themselves but for the agency they do business with. Do you think agents will appreciate the agency that was first to bring that to their attention?
There is another reason you do not want to delay offering this to your agents. This QuickerQuoter Offer may be for a limited time only. I make the point to warn you that you might find your competitors having access to this software but you may not be able to get it in the future. In other words, you snooze you lose. And if you do act immediately, we will give you a Special Guarantee that you will want to read about - KEEP READING.
In making this offer Compulife is concerned about how it might impact our existing retail business to agents. Some agents may elect to use your FREE QuickerQuoter software rather than pay for our software - and that's not good for us. However, some agents that you give FREE software to may want the full Compulife package - and that's good for us. By the way, if your agent does want the bigger, better Compulife, that's more good news for you. Compulife typically charges an agent $199 per year for our entire program, but if you purchase the program for an agent you can get it for half price providing that you are buying QuickerQuoter. Call for more details.
The point is this: if Compulife determines that the QuickerQuoter program for agencies is having a net negative impact on our gross revenue, Compulife will discontinue the QuickerQuoter program without notice.
But that's where our Special Guarantee kicks in, and it's exactly why you need to act NOW. Compulife guarantees that if we discontinue QuickerQuoter to new buyers, we will continue to offer QuickerQuoter to existing buyers for a total of 36 more months. Whether we continue to offer the software or not, YOU WILL HAVE IT - GUARANTEED!
Therefore, buying QuickerQuoter for your brokers now, is your guarantee to be able to buy it for 36 more months even if we no longer offer it to new buyers.
At the end of 36 months we have a further guarantee to buy the agent version of Compulife at a deeper than normal special discount. Call Bob Barney at (888) 798-3488 for details. The special discount will only be available to you IF we discontinue the QuickerQuoter program providing that you were a customer of QuickerQuoter at that time.
No matter how you look at it, getting on board with QuickerQuoter for your agents means you are getting a guarantee for software products, software services and software prices that you can't get if you don't buy QuickerQuoter.
We are not kidding, this offer could vanish at any time without any notice.
To repeat - you snooze you lose. And there is no sympathy for those who say, "But I didn't see it in the bulletin". If that's true, you weren't snoozing you were sleeping.
We have shifted gears on our decision to add Form Categories. Our original proposal was to have a series of generic form categories which would apply to all companies. After further consideration we have decided that form categories will be established on a company by company basis. While we will attempt to make those categories as generic as possible, we will be able to be more company/product specific as the need exists.
If you have any thoughts or suggestions on this matter, please give Bob Barney a call at 888-798-3488 or drop Bob an e-mail at barneyrl@compulife.com.
The following was published in our U.S. bulletin for March. Compulife still has not had any Canadian companies willing to provide us with their forms.
Compulife has been advised that Saving Bank Life Insurance will be providing us with their forms in March. That will bring the total number of company forms in Compulife to 10.
To date the following companies are now available:
Banner Life Insurance
Jefferson Pilot Life
Jefferson Pilot Life (NY)
Pruco Life Insurance
Pruco Life Insurance of New Jersey
North American Company for L & H
Reliastar Life Insurance Company
Reliastar Life Insurance Company of NY
William Penn Life Insurance
If you help us convince a life company to provide us with their forms, we'll give you a Palm Zire 31 PDA as our way of saying thanks.
Compulife incorporated in Canada in October 1982. That means we are now in our 25th year in business.
We note this to first and foremost express our thanks to our loyal subscribers (thousands of subscribers) many of whom have been with us for a majority of that time. It goes without saying that we could not have done it without you. Many, many thanks.
THIS MONTH'S HIDDEN SPECIAL: In conjunction with our 25th year celebrations we are offering another special to subscribers. Refer a new subscriber to Compulife and get double the normal credit provided for referrals. In order to do this, you must use this special referral link:
Normally a referral credit memo of $10 is given if you refer another agent for a 30 day FREE trial, providing that the agent completes the Dare to Compare Challenge. If they complete the challenge, they get another 3 months of software FREE, for a total of 4 free months. So not only do they get 4 months of FREE software, you also get $10 for the referral. But for the month of March, you can get double the credit providing you use the above "special link" to make the referral.
We are using these specials to help underline our longstanding commitment to this marketplace and our subscribers - a commitment that has never changed and a commitment that is as great today as it has ever been.
Two things are true about companies that have been around this long - they are either resting on their laurels or they are continuing to push forward aggressively. I think it is clear that the latter applies to Compulife.
Here are just three recent examples:
We have recently rolled out a Forms Library which introduces an innovative web library / local library system for automatically storing forms on your own computer - making retrieval fast and easy - regardless of web connection problems.
We have introduced QuickerQuoter for agencies, giving agencies our comparison technology (including PDA technology) which they can turn around and provide to their agents for FREE.
We draw this to your attention to underline that Compulife appreciates your business and we will continue to EARN your business, by improving and expanding our product offerings.