Update News for April 2006

Here is a quick run-down on what you will find in this bulletin:

• • Win a FREE used Palm PDA and One Year Subscription to Compulife

     

     

  • Compulife will Pay up to Half Your MDRT registration

     

     

  • Better Than An Exhibition Booth

     

     

  • Are There Any Other Meetings Out There?

     

     

  • Broker World Magazine Article

     

     

  • Compulife Now Offers The Low Cost Palm Zire 31

     

     

  • Newest Version of Palm Software

     

     

  • Try a Used Palm FREE for 30 Days

     

     

  • What’s Next for Compulife

     

     

  • QuickerQuoter Will Then Follow

     

     

  • Internet Forms Library

     

     

  • PDA Sale Story Contest

     

     

  • Next Monthly Update

     

     

These topics will be dealt with in more detail throughout this bulletin. We would encourage you to read on.

Win a FREE used Palm PDA and One Year Subscription to CompulifeDuring the month of April there will be a contest at:

www.americaninsurancebroker.comEach person who becomes a new member of the message board during April (membership is FREE) , and who makes a first posting to the board (on any subject), will automatically be entered into the contest draw. At the end of April the winner will receive a used Palm Zire 31 PDA from Compulife and a FREE 12 month subscription. If you are already a Compulife subscriber, the 12 months will be added to the end of your current subscription.

If you are already a member of the board, and you use Compulife’s PDA software, there is another upcoming contest where you too can win a FREE one year subscription to Compulife. That contest will award prizes for the best stories related to the use of Compulife on PDA’s with consumers. You can look for that announcement on the message board:

www.americaninsurancebroker.comCompulife will Pay up to Half Your MDRT registrationIf you have a PDA and are using Compulife’s PDA software, and if you are planning to attend this year’s MDRT, Compulife is willing to pay up to one half of your $750 registration fee.

NOTE: This offer will be limited to 20 subscribers.

Here is how it works:

Compulife will ask you to wear a button at the MDRT which says:

Ask me for aFREE     PDA     FREE

Insurance Quote

Compulife will give you 20 – SD memory cards loaded with our PDA software. You will be able to give the cards to other MDRT members for FREE. Compulife will pay you $17.50 for each card that you give away. Here are the conditions in order to be able to give out the card:

1. The MDRT member that you give the card to must have their PDA with them. No PDA, no card!

2. The MDRT member must not already have Compulife.

3. When you give the SD card you need to make sure that they can make Compulife work on the PDA. Show them how it works.

4. Record the name and e-mail address of the person that you give the SD card to.

NOTE: Each person you give a card to will then be sent a 30 day trial of Compulife with the ability to extend that to a 4 month FREE subscription.

IMPORTANT: If you cannot give an MDRT member a card, for any of the above reasons, feel free to take their business card and request a 30 day trial on their behalf. If you ask for the trial, and if the trial user completes the Dare to Compare challenge, Compulife will give you a $10 credit toward your next purchase of Compulife. There is NO limit on the number of $10 referral credits that you can earn.

NOTE: SD card compensation is paid as cash.

Once again, each card that you give away entitles you to $17.50 cash from Compulife. To claim the compensation you must return the unused cards together with a list of e-mail addresses and names of those that you gave the SD cards to.

For example, if you gave away 10 cards, then you will send Compulife the remaining 10 cards and the 10 names and e-mail addresses for those you gave cards to. Compulife will send you a check for $175.

Better Than An Exhibition BoothA booth at MDRT costs about $5,000. That does not include the cost of travel, cost of accommodation or the time spent. Altogether we think our total cost to have a booth at MDRT is between 8 and 10 thousand dollars. We would rather pay our subscribers to promote our services. Under this proposal, if we can get 20 members to give away 20 cards, the total cost is $7,500 plus the cost of the 400 SD cards.

We would rather give our subscribers the cash providing that those subscribers are willing to help us. What do you think?

If you are planning to attend MDRT, and are willing to help us with this, please call Bob Barney at 888-798-3488.

Are There Any Other Meetings Out There?Compulife would be happy to talk to any subscriber who is planning on attending or organizing meetings where there will be other agents.

We are prepared to provide PDA door prizes, SD cards with Compulife and/or incentive/discounts for those who attend the meeting. If you have such a meeting coming up, and you would like to work with us, please give Compulife a call. We’d like to discuss what we might be able to do for you.

Once again, call Bob Barney at 888-798-3488.

Broker World Magazine ArticleThe March 2006 edition of Broker World magazine contained an article by Bob Barney of Compulife Software Inc. (that’s me). The article is titled “PDA Technology for Joe Average” and explains how a PDA can be an important and useful tool for agents. If you get Broker World, the article is on page 56.

If you do not get the magazine, a one year subscription is ONLY $6 per year. To start your subscription go to:

www.brokerworldmag.comIf you are one of the first 50 new subscribers you can contact Kathy Fritz or Kimberly Curran at 800-762-3387. Tell them you have just subscribed to Broker World and that you are also a Compulife subscriber. Ask for a complimentary copy of the March 2006 edition.

Compulife has advertised in Broker World for almost 15 years. We like the magazine and the information it gives to brokers. With subscription costing only $6, I don’t know why everyone isn’t subscribing.

Compulife Now Offers The Low Cost Palm Zire 31Compulife has scored a special buy on a large lot of used Palm Zire 31 PDAs. We got the used Palms so cheap that we are able to offer them to you for ONLY $74 each.

The Zire 31 screen is backlit and color. The processor is faster than the Tungsten E although the screen is a little smaller and not quite as bright. We have sold a number of the Zire 31’s already and their new owners like them. These are a great deal.

Combined with our low pricing for an SD card, SD adapter and shipping, you can be running Compulife on a PDA for ONLY $99.

If you don’t have a PDA, WHY NOT?

Remember, the PDA software is FREE with your subscription to Compulife. If you’re not using it you’re missing out.

You can test drive any used Palm you buy from Compulife for 30 days. If you decide you don’t want it you can return it for a full credit. You don’t pay for 30 days – providing that you are a PAID Compulife subscriber. Trial users have to pay for the Palm in advance in order to receive it.

Newest Version of Palm SoftwareLate in March we released the newest version of our Palm comparison software. The new version has a lot of changes but the biggest change is the ability to use the software without a stylus.

The changes we have made were a result of points made by a subscriber on the message board:

www.americaninsurancebroker.comFrom that and further discussions with PDA users, we realized that a lot of PDA users prefer to use the 5 way rocker button to run software (as opposed to using the stylus). This is particularly true for those who have Palm phones.

Smart phones, which use the Windows version of phone software, are something that we are also considering offering software for. Since those do not use a stylus at all, this new interface will pave the way to us offering the software on those devices.

To accommodate the rocker button method of use, we have made a number of changes to the program. Here they are:

a) The 5 way rocker button, with up, down, right, left and center choices, now works with the client entry screen.

b) The up and own button advances from field to field one step at a time.

c) The center button is used as an enter key. The center button lets you select the highlighted item in order to change it.

d) The right and left buttons are used in two ways. On the client entry screen, or on the comparison results screen, the right and left buttons act as page down or page up keys. Here’s some examples of how it works.

A right button anywhere on the client entry screen will begin a comparison.

On the comparison screen, a right button will page down to the next page of comparison results.

On the comparison screen the left button will page to the top of the comparison results and highlight the first product. If the first product is highlighted at the top of the page, the left button will then page back to the client entry screen.

e) The birth date and face amount fields have been highly modified. On the client screen, when you are on either of those fields, the center button selects a completely new screen for birth date or face amount. The same thing now happens if you touch that field with a stylus.

f) Once you are in the face amount and birth date entry screens, there are 3 options for entry.

• • First, the right and left rocker buttons will allow you to move the cursor to the specific number that you want to change. The up and down arrow will roll the number up or down in that field.

NOTE: For the month, day or face amount, preceding zeros are ignored by the system and are simply place holders. In other words, if you want a $500,000 face amount, the correct entry will be:

00,500,000The program will ignore the zeroes that are in front of the 5.

Second, the numeric pad on a PDA which has a keyboard (such as the Palm Treo) will allow direct entry of the numbers. As you press the number, the number is entered on top of the number which the cursor appears on and then the cursor advances to the next number.

Third, and in the same way, you can use your stylus with the new integrated numeric pad now displayed on the bottom left of the screen. It works as though you were entering values with a number pad. Alternately you can use the stylus on the up and down buttons that appear under each number. Those will roll through the numeric options.

We believe the new numeric entry system will be much simpler particularly those who are first learning to use Compulife’s PDA software. If anyone struggled with any part of the earlier version of the program, they seemed to struggle with numeric entry.

g) The comparison results screen has been modified so that the highlight line (which appears on the selected product) is clear and consistent with the color selections that you have made for your PDA.

h) The up and down arrows move the highlight bar from product to product. The center button (enter key) will display the highlighted product and show more information for that product.

i) The program now complains if you try to use it “out-of-date”. For example, if you continue to run the March software in April, an out-of-date page will display (on or after April 9th). You are still able to run the March version in April, it’s just that the page will warn you that the information is out of date. The following month, beginning on May 9th, you will not be able to run the March edition.

The change ensures that you do not inadvertently try to use old information. The change also guards against continued use where agents obtained trial versions but did not purchase updates.

Compulife is now moving forward to make these same changes to our Windows Mobile version. Once that is completed, more single company/product display features will be added to the software.

Try a used Palm FREE for 30 DaysThe following offer is available to Compulife subscribers who are “paid” subscribers. This means that those who have obtained a FREE subscription through the “Dare to Compare” challenge may not take advantage of this special deal.

You can order a used Palm from Compulife and you do not have to pay for 30 days.

MORE IMPORTANT: If you wish to return the equipment at the end of 30 days, you will receive a full credit including the original shipping charge.

If you don’t believe us when we say that the Palm is a great prospecting tool, this is your chance to find out. Get the Palm and carry it with you for 30 days. If it is of no use to you just return it.

CONDITIONS:

1. You are responsible for the cost of returning the PDA and/or accessories.

2. The Palm LCD screen must not be “broken”. In other words, don’t drop the Palm and make sure you pack it carefully when you return it.

3. This offer is subject to availability of Palms. Currently we have about 150 units in stock and we continue to add as we are able. If there is a run on our current stock, this offer will be based upon first come, first served.

What’s Next for CompulifeWe are now working to advance the functions and features of the PDA software. The next version of the PDA software will have a single company/product look up function to the bottom of the screen. Instead of just a “compare now” button, there will be a second button called “quote product”. The left rocker button will choose that option.

When you click on “quote product” a list of companies will appear. When you locate and click on the company you want, a list of the products for that company will appear. When you click on the product, the single product display will appear. This will be the same screen that appears when you click on a product in the comparison results.

Once that is working we will enhance the single product display to give you more information about the individual product. You will be able to view all the modal premium options, the various health categories/premiums, etc.

QuickerQuoter Will Then FollowOnce the above mentioned functions are complete, Compulife will turn its attention to introducing a variation of our PDA software called QuickerQuoter. QuickerQuoter is a single company quote system that we will provide to life companies for FREE.

When we first rolled out the Windows version of QuickerQuoter there wasn’t a great deal of interest because most companies already have Windows quote software and most have already made substantial investments in that software.

By contrast, most companies do not have PDA quoting software. Compulife will provide that software to companies for FREE. We have already received preliminary interest in QuickerQuoter from a handful of life insurance companies.

There is a catch for life companies to get the software. Compulife will provide the new PDA QuickerQuoter programs to life companies who are helpful in providing assistance to Compulife. While this includes things like providing rate tables and information about products, we are now asking for one more area of assistance that a company must provide to Compulife in order to obtain the PDA software. The company must be willing to provide current copies of their PDF forms.

Internet Forms LibraryOne of the things Internet users of Compulife has been asking for is a forms library. One of Compulife’s authorized web providers has taken the time and trouble to set up a database in which to store those forms. The problem has been that many companies have been unwilling to provide us the forms and we’re not quite sure why. Regardless, we believe that the opportunity to obtain FREE PDA software will be a strong incentive for companies to help us.

The new forms library will be available to any Compulife subscriber who is obtaining the Compulife internet quote engine through the authorized web provider.

NOTE: Adding the Compulife quote engine to your web site is only $99 per year. The forms library will be no additional charge.

We have already e-mailed a number of the life companies with information about the new QuickerQuoter program and have advised them that the first to provide forms will be the first to receive the PDA software. Currently we have 4 companies who have expressed interest in the PDA software and one company has begun supplying forms.

If you want more information about the forms library or the Quickerquoter PDA software, give Bob Barney a call at (888) 798-3488.

PDA Sale Story ContestLater in April Compulife will be introducing a PDA Sale Story Contest on the discussion board:

www.americaninsurancebroker.comMembership on the board is FREE.

Compulife has been promoting this board for the last few months and we believe it will be an important way for our customers to dialogue on a number of timely and interesting issues. I have already had e-mails from subscribers who joined and who have found the discussions on the board interesting and informative.

To repeat, you need to join:

www.americaninsurancebroker.comCompulife has been asking subscribers using our PDA software to share their successful sales stories with us. We know there are a lot of agents who do not use PDA’s and who have doubts that they are a useful marketing tool. Those who have PDA’s know better and we are hoping they’ll be willing to say so.

As an incentive for our subscribers to take the time, sit down and put their story in an e-mail, Compulife will be announcing a contest for the best stories. Once again, the announcement will appear on:

www.americaninsurancebroker.comAgents can then post their stories to the message board and Compulife will select the top stories for prizes. Those stories will also be featured in the testimonial page on Compulife’s web site.

Stories that Compulife has already received to date, and which are posted as testimonials to our web site, will also be included in the contest. There will be at least 3 prizes with the first prize being a FREEyear of Compulife.

Dueling Web Sites

For those who update by Internet, Compulife has gone to great lengths to provide you with redundancy in our web sites. Our main web site is:

www.compulife.comHowever, we keep three other completely separate web sites, on three completely different servers, at:

www.compulife.us     or     www.compulife.cc     or     www.compulife.caWhatever we update to compulife.com, we are also updating to compulife.ca, compulife.us and compulife.cc. If one web site goes down, for whatever reason, either of the other three are ready to serve you.

For those doing monthly updates by Internet, we rely on three other web sites to supply monthly updates. These are automatically checked and used by our automatic Internet update software.

Next Monthly UpdateWe plan to post the May 2006 Internet monthly update to our six monthly update web sites on Friday, April 28, 2006.

The disk update will be processed Friday, April 28th and the disks will be shipped on that day. You should have the disk update by Monday, May 1st.

Returning Monthly Disk UpdatesIf you are receiving monthly updates by disk, make sure you return your previous months updates.

Also note, for those receiving updates by disks, that you must switch over to Internet updates by the end of December 2006. Disk service will not be offered for January 2007 and following.

But we would encourage you to not wait until December 2006 to make the change because not only will you eliminate the expense and hassle of returning disks, it costs much less to get updates by Internet.

To switch to Internet monthly updates, go to our web page www.compulife.com and select the second menu choice “Application/License Agreements” Under the section “Application / License Agreements” you will need to select and complete a new License Agreement for the type of license that you have. Indicate on the application form, under “payment option”, that this is a “CHANGE“. After you have printed the new application agreement, please read it, especially the part where you agree that you have successfully downloaded and processed our “mid-month updates”. If you haven’t done that before, call us and we’ll be happy to step you through the procedure. It’s easy.