Insure.com, Inc. Reports Year-End and Fourth Quarter 2008 Financial Results
(Nasdaq: NSUR), the only place on earth where you can get auto, life, health,
home and business insurance quotes from over 100 leading companies and have
the freedom to buy from the company of your choice, today announced financial
results for the year and fourth quarter ended
Financial Results
Insure.com reported revenues of
2008, a decrease of 22 percent from revenues of
quarter of 2007. The net loss for the quarter was
share, compared to a profit of
quarter of 2007. For the full year of 2008, revenues totaled
down 13 percent from revenues of
was
share in 2007.
“Our fourth quarter and full year 2008 financial performance was impacted
by our previous decision to stop selling life insurance leads, which reduced
2008 revenue by almost
by our in-house agent sales force. In 2008 we also experienced increased new
agent expenses, which are front-loaded and precede commission revenue, and an
unexpected drop in paid policies during the fourth quarter,” said
Bland
costs as our agents became more efficient with lead follow-ups. As new agents
mature and become more productive, we expect them to generate commission
revenue streams that will exceed the revenue that could have been generated
from selling leads. Submitted life insurance applications were 8,589 in the
fourth quarter vs. 6,057 in the fourth quarter of 2007.”
hurt by an increase in first-year lapses on policies where we have not yet
received the full first-year annual commission, perhaps due to the national
economic climate. We record first-year commission revenues on the full annual
premium when a life policy goes in force. So if a customer stops paying and
lapses during the first year, we will not realize all of the revenue we had
anticipated. While we set up a reserve at the time revenue is recognized, our
lapses exceeded the reserve, resulting in a
the fourth quarter due to an increase in the reserve. We cannot say with
certainty at this time whether the lapse of first-year policies is a trend or
a one-time event.”
Insure.com has a strong balance sheet with no debt. Cash and investments
in marketable securities totaled
total 2008 cash flow from operations was a positive
Stockholders’ equity amounted to
compared to
decrease coming from the repurchase of 510,000 shares of Company stock during
the year. The Company is currently authorized by its board to repurchase up
to 487,000 additional shares in the open market or in negotiated transactions.
About Insure.com
Insure.com owns and operates a comprehensive consumer information service
and companion insurance brokerage service that caters to the needs of self-
directed insurance shoppers. Visitors to the Company’s flagship Web site,
http://www.insure.com, are able to obtain free, instant car insurance quotes,
instant life insurance quotes, home, business and health insurance quotes from
leading insurers and have the freedom to buy online or by phone from any
company shown. Insure.com also plays home to over 2,000 originally authored
articles on various insurance topics and also provides free insurance
decision-making tools that are not available from any other single source.
Insure.com generates revenues from receipt of industry-standard commissions,
including back-end bonus commissions and volume-based contingent bonus
commissions that are paid by participating insurance companies. We also
generate advertising revenues from the sale of Web site traffic and leads to
various third parties. Shares of the Company’s common stock trade on the
Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol NSUR.
Cautions about Forward-Looking Statements
This announcement may contain forward-looking statements that involve
risks, assumptions and uncertainties pursuant to the safe-harbor provisions of
the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. This announcement also
contains forward-looking statements about events and circumstances that have
not yet occurred and may not occur. These forward-looking statements are
inherently difficult to predict. Expressions of future goals and similar
expressions including, without limitation, “intend,” “may,” “plans,” “will,”
“believe,” “should,” “could,” “hope,” “expects,” “expected,” “does not
currently expect,” “anticipates,” “predicts,” “potential” and “forecast,”
reflecting something other than historical fact, are intended to identify
forward-looking statements, but are not the exclusive means of identifying
such statements. Investors should be aware that actual results may differ
materially from the results predicted and reported results should not be
considered an indication of future performance. Reported Web site activity
and/or quotes are not necessarily indicative of any present or future revenue.
The Company will not necessarily update the information in this press release
if any forward-looking statement later turns out to be inaccurate. Potential
risks and uncertainties include, among others, concentration of common stock
holdings, general price declines within the life insurance industry,
unpredictability of future revenues, potential fluctuations in quarterly
operating results, competition, the evolving nature of its business model,
possible write down of intangible assets and goodwill, risks associated with
capacity constraints, management of growth and potential legal liability
arising out of misuse, breach of confidentiality or error in the handling of
confidential customer information. More information about potential factors
that could affect the Company’s financial results are included in the
Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended
which is on file with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.
INSURE.COM, INC.
STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS
(In thousands, except per share data)
(Unaudited)
Quarter Ended Year Ended
December 31, December 31,
2008 2007 2008 2007
Revenues 3,506 4,523 15,667 18,020
Expenses:
Selling and marketing 715 1,247 3,942 5,687
Operations 2,432 2,020 8,875 8,860
General and
administrative 904 708 3,432 3,306
Depreciation and
amortization 187 205 786 784
Total expenses 4,238 4,180 17,035 18,637
Operating income (loss) (732) 343 (1,368) (617)
Investment income (net) 77 119 369 442
Net income (loss) $(655) $462 $(999) $(175)
Net income (loss) per
common share, basic
and diluted $(0.10) $0.06 $(0.14) $(0.02)
Diluted average common
shares and equivalents
outstanding: 6,777 7,355 7,012 7,294
SELECTED BALANCE SHEET DATA
(In thousands)
December 31, December 31,
2008 2007
Cash and equivalents $4,373 $2,072
Investments 4,608 8,941
Commissions receivable 2,902 3,263
Intangibles and goodwill 4,681 5,148
Other assets 1,755 1,515
Total assets $18,319 $20,939
Total current liabilities $1,957 $1,695
Total stockholders' equity 16,362 19,244
Total liabilities & stockholders' equity $18,319 $20,939
SOURCE Insure.com, Inc.