ALEXANDRIA, Va., Feb. 14, 2013 –InVEST, the insurance industry’s premier classroom to career education program, is pleased to announce that EZLynx has provided its online rating tool free of charge to the hundreds of InVEST teachers, agent liaisons and students across the country.
EZLynx enables students to enter information once into a single interface and receive simulated rates directly from participating carriers for automobile and homeowner policies.
“InVEST is grateful to EZLynx for the generous contribution of this incredibly helpful resource to help InVEST students understand the various rating factors in automobile and homeowner risks,” says Heather Minkler, chair of the National InVEST board of directors and CEO of Clark-Mortenson Agency, an independent insurance agency in Keene, N.H. “In-kind contributors, such as EZLynx, are critical to InVEST’s ability to simulate working in the insurance industry.”
EZLynx was established in 2003 with the primary goal of addressing some of the challenges facing the independent agents in the property-casualty industry at that time. EZLynx's flagship product, EZLynx Rating Engine, enables insurance agents to generate accurate real-time rate quotes from multiple insurance companies' sites with a single data entry point. EZLynx processes more than three million auto, home and package transactions every month covering more than 150 insurance companies in 48 states.
“We are excited to be involved in the effort to further the cause of independent agents,” says Jaideep Jayaram, EZLynx vice president of sales and marketing. “Our goal aligns with that of InVEST, which is to ensure that the next generation of insurance professionals are exposed to the latest technologies and are prepared to join an increasingly competitive industry. EZLynx Rating Engine will provide InVEST students exposure to the foundation of our management system and digital marketing ecosystem.”
Today, InVEST works with almost 400 educators in 44 states. More than 13,000 students will participate in InVEST programs this school year, 2012-2013, learning basics of insurance and exploring careers within the industry. The program continues to grow in popularity among teachers and school systems. In the last year alone, InVEST has grown by 47% and now includes 380 high schools and colleges across the country.
As a 501(c)(3) educational trust, InVEST benefits from the support of numerous insurance organizations, hundreds of agencies, brokers and volunteers. The program provides the insurance industry with motivated, talented and intelligent professionals through a support structure of state associations, board members, national staff, teachers and the many industry professionals who work in the field as classroom liaisons.
Founded in 1970 and based in Alexandria, Va., InVEST promotes insurance education in order to attract individuals to pursue a career in the insurance industry. Each year, the program prepares thousands of students for insurance-related careers with a hands-on curriculum taught in high schools, adult education centers and colleges. The high school curriculum is a business-education program that utilizes a hands-on approach which simulates an insurance agency and company operations to prepare students for various business careers and create more knowledgeable insurance consumers. At the college level, InVEST is an information-intensive curriculum of risk management and financial services. These courses provide students with a working knowledge of the basics needed to pursue careers in the insurance industry. For more information, go to www.investprogram.org.
Founded in 1896, the Big “I” is the nation’s oldest and largest national association of independent insurance agents and brokers, representing a network of approximately a quarter of a million agents, brokers and their employees nationally. Its members are businesses that offer customers a choice of policies from a variety of insurance companies. Independent agents and brokers offer all lines of insurance—property, casualty, life, health, employee benefit plans and retirement products. Web address: www.independentagent.com.
###