User:Monklandltm/Squaremouth Inc

Squaremouth
Squaremouth is a travel insurance agent for 23 travel insurance companies. Travelers can compare, create quotes for and buy policies online or by phone. A private company based in St Pete Beach, FL, and Fort Wayne, IN, with additional operations in Brighton, England, Squaremouth owns and operates two websites, squaremouth.com and squaremouth.co.uk. The company also runs a network of partner websites worldwide through its co-branded travel insurance search engine.

History
Squaremouth was founded in January 2001 by insurance systems industry veteran Chris Harvey. The company was formed to provide a feature-rich travel insurance comparison website, which would be the insurance equivalent to popular airfare and hotel comparison sites such as expedia.com or hotels.com. At the time, few comparison websites existed for travel insurance. After an 18 month development period, Squaremouth launched its first website on March 17th, 2003 using the URL quotetravelinsurance.com. The site offered a selection of trip cancellation, trip interruption and medical insurance packages from AM-Best-rated carriers. The goal was to standardize travel insurance policies to allow easy comparison shopping in order to simplify the insurance purchase.

Growth and Expansion
The company introduced a travel partner program: a co-branded travel insurance comparison search engine for travel agents, tour operators and other relevant business, in late 2003. A development office was opened in Fort Wayne, IN, in 2004.

The main URL was changed from quotetravelinsurance.com to squaremouth.com, in late 2005. The company expanded into the United Kingdom with squaremouth.co.uk, in 2006. Squaremouth is preparing to launch a new version of its flagship website during the final quarter of 2010.

Products and Services
Squaremouth currently represents around 250 travel insurance plans from 23 travel insurance and international medical carriers.

Travel insurance plans are designed for vacationers that require medical and medical evacuation cover while away from home, whether domestic or international travel. These plans also protect the financial investment of the trip against cancellation or interruption along with a package of benefits such as trip delay, life insurance and baggage cover. International medical insurance plans also include medical and medical evacuation cover, however, the trip must be outside the traveler’s home country. These products are designed for long-term trips and usually do not include trip cancellation.

Travelers are able to compare quotes side by side from multiple companies. The policy language is summarized to facilitate comparison. The certificate of insurance is also available, before and after purchase. Quotes can be emailed.

Plans can be sorted by price, company, AM Best Rating or coverage. Licensed customer service representatives are available by phone at 800-240-0369 and email at info@squaremouth.com. Policies can be purchased over the phone or online. Once purchased there is on screen confirmation as well as an email confirmation from Squaremouth and the insurance carrier.

Squaremouth Travel Partners
The Squaremouth Travel Partner program, introduced in 2003, provides a white-labeled version of Squaremouth.com for travel agents, tour operators, travel booking websites, insurance agents, work visa or immigration sites and others. Squaremouth is also available on TRAMS Live Connect.

The Travel Partner Program is free of charge and partners earn up to 20-percent commission on sales. Squaremouth processes the transaction, issues an email confirmation, handles technical support and product upgrades. Reports are available on sales, visits, conversation ratios and ad tracking. All information can be exported. Partners can white-label the system by removing mention of Squaremouth and choose which products they wish to appear on the search engine.

Zero Complaint Guarantee
Squaremouth introduced the Zero Complaint Guarantee in 2003 to help travelers who are displeased with the service from an insurance carrier. The guarantee provides mediation if a customer has a complaint about an insurance carrier. If the complaint isn’t resolved to Squaremouth’s satisfaction, the carrier is removed from squaremouth.com.

AM Best Ratings
Travelers are provided with the immediate and long-term financial health of a travel insurance carrier’s underwriter as determined by their AM Best Rating, the ratings authority for the insurance industry. The rating is available with every quote and more detailed explanations of the ratings for each underwriter are provided on a page dedicated to AM Best Ratings.

Squaremouth also posts regular blog entries and press releases when there is breaking news affecting the travel and travel insurance industries.

Customer Support
The Squaremouth staff is licensed in all 50 states. Licensed customer service representatives are available by phone at 800-240-0369 and by email at info@squaremouth.com from 9:00am - 9:00pm ET.

Media Coverage
Squaremouth has garnered national and international coverage from major newspapers, television and online media in the US. In a September 2009 review of travel insurance comparison websites, The New York Times’s Practical Traveler columnist Michelle Higgins judged Squaremouth to have the industry’s “most comprehensive list” of insurance plans, along with “knowledgeable representatives” available by phone for customer support. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/06/travel/06prachurricane.html?_r=1

Squaremouth was also described and reviewed in the 2009 book Ask Arthur Frommer: And Travel Better, Cheaper, Smarter, in a chapter dedicated to travel insurance. Squaremouth’s CEO Chris Harvey is also a regular commentator on travel insurance issues quoted in print and television news reports by The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, CNN and others (See references).

Senior Management
Chris Harvey, CEO Chris Harvey had 25 years’ experience in marketing and systems design for the insurance industry when he moved to the US from England in 1998. Harvey became a partner in New Hampshire-based Maxim Insurance Software, before leaving to found Squaremouth in January 2001. Apart from his role as CEO, Chris is responsible for overall design of the company websites. Harvey manages the Squaremouth sales and marketing office in St. Pete Beach, FL.

Matt Outten, CIO In 2004, computer engineer Matt Outten became Squaremouth’s CIO. A computer engineer graduate of the University of South Florida, Tampa, Outten ran his own consulting firm, Outten Design and Consulting before joining Squaremouth. Outten is responsible for upgrading, maintaining and securing the company websites and operating systems. He also manages the Squaremouth development office in Ft. Wayne, IN.

Operating Territory
Squaremouth is headquartered in St Pete Beach, FL, with offices in Fort Wayne, IN, and further operations in London, England. Squaremouth.co.uk is the United Kingdom division of Squaremouth.com.