Update News for August 2023

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

• • Mid-August Invoices For October – New Prices

  • Changes for Term4Sale Listings

  • New Local Zip Code Rules

  • Additional Zip Code Price Increase

  • New “Bonus” Zip Code

  • You Need To Switch NOW!

  • NOTHING Happens Until YOU Take Action

  • The Zip Code Warranty Remains “As Is”

  • Our Current Programming Plans for 2023

These topics will be dealt with in more detail throughout this bulletin.

Mid-August Invoices For October – New PricesFor the past couple of months we have been alerting you to the price increases that will take affect at the beginning of September. You can read about that in our previous bulletins which you will find here:

We have also been telling you how you can still purchase at the old prices, and how you can lock in the old prices for up to 3 years. Once the new prices are published on our websites, at the beginning of September, the opportunity to take advantage of the old prices will be gone.

Changes for Term4Sale ListingsDuring July an issue was reported to us by a new subscriber who had read this on our website:

On that page we were still talking about free local zip codes which we have not offered for a number of years. As I was making corrections to that web page I realized that we have NOT changed Term4Sale listing prices for a number of years. That solidified in my mind the price change we are introducing for 2024.

GOOD NEWS:   There is NO price change for local zip codes. They will remain $12 each per year.

MORE GOOD NEWS:   We are increasing the number of local zip codes that each subscriber to Compulife can purchase.

READ CAREFULLY – you do not get the additional local zip code(s) unless YOU SPECIFICALLY REQUEST them.

New Local Zip Code RulesTo purchase zip codes you must be a subscriber to the PC software. We require that those participating at Term4Sale have access to the most powerful quoting tool that Compulife offers – the PC software. A “Mobile” edition of Compulife does not have the features and capabilities of the PC software. The Mobile version is less expensive because it does less. Once again, we want our Term4Sale listed subscribers to have the use of the best software that we provide.

There are two PC variations of our software. Both offer the same features, but one is for an individual agent at a price discount (Personal Use Edition) and the other is for an agency (Standard License).

If you are a Personal Use subscriber, then you can may purchase up to 4 local zip codes for $12 each. Previously you were limited to 3.

If you are a Standard License subscriber, then you can purchase up to 8 local zip codes for $12 each. Previously you were limited to 6.

KEEP READING:   You must act in order to take advantage of this new offer. If you do nothing, then you will have what you had before.

Local zip codes are invoiced with your subscription to Compulife. The local zip code renews at the same time as your subscription to the software, for as long as you renew the subscription. You are allowed to pay for a local zip code for multiple years, which allows you take advantage of the 2 and 3 year discounts (currently 10 and 20 percent respectively). This is permitted because you can NEVER lose your right to own a local zip code providing that it is within 20 miles of where you are located.

IMPORTANT:   NO ONE can bump you from a local zip code that you own, which is within 20 miles of where you are located.

NOTE:   For rural areas we will extend the 20 mile radius, but we do so ONLY on careful examination of the area using the:

Additional “Paid” Zip Code Price IncreaseAdditional “paid” zip codes are zip codes that are purchased over and above your local zip codes. The price for those additional “paid” zip codes will be increasing from $18 per year to $21 per year. The new price will be effective with the mid-November invoices for 2024.

This represents a 17% increase in price, but given that we have NOT increased our prices for a number of years, we think that increase is reasonable.

The ability to have MORE local zip codes will help offset the cost of this for subscribers that do NOT have large numbers of additional “paid” zip code lists.

Personal Use subscribers are limited to only buying 75 additional zip codes. With the ability to buy 4 local zip codes, this give the personal use subscriber a maximum of 79 zip codes.

Standard License subscribers have the same limit of 75 additional zip codes, but with the ability to buy 8 local zip codes, they have a maximum of 83 zip codes. If they want more than those 83, they have two options.

First, they can continue to buy zip codes (up to 300) at a surcharge. The surcharge price, if you elect to go over 75 additional zip codes, will be unchanged from the current $24.

Second, as you approach 150 zip codes, you are better to buy an “additional” standard license which sells for $279 per year. With a second license you get 8 local zip codes at $12 each, and up to 75 more zip codes at $21 each (not the $24 surcharge price). Having another license also gives you 5 additional seats for your office (or 5 seats for a second office) and also gives you additional users for your Mobile version of the software.

Note:  If a Standard License subscriber wanted to buy 20 zip codes over their current maximum of 83, they are better off just paying the $24 per zip code price.

The price change will be incorporated into the renewal invoicing in mid-November. As happens each year, you will have until early January to pay those renewals before you lose the zip codes that you do not renew.

As a result of the price increase we fully expect a number of subscribers to reduce the number of paid zip codes that they have and we think that’s a smart move. You should carefully examine which of your zip codes have performed well over the past years, and which have not performed as well, and thin the herd.

We want you to thin the herd because we have a problem. Most of the good zip codes are unavailable to new customers, except for local zip codes where than can bump out those subscribers listed with “additional zip codes”. As always, once you purchase an additional zip code for the year, that zip code is unavailable to anyone else during that year. New subscribers can bump you from your additional zip code, but they can only do that at the end of the year, for the following year, and they can ONLY do that if they are within 20 miles of that zip code.

For those wanting to keep buying all the zip codes that they can, we have another way you can get some price relief and still take advantage of the price discount ($12 instead of $21 or $24) that is provided for local zip codes.

New “Bonus” Zip CodeAs a result of increasing the number of local zip codes, we have decided to great a third category of zip code called “bonus”.

A bonus zip code is the SAME price as a local zip code but it is for those subscribers who want to use that zip code OUTSIDE their local area. This is a particular problem for those customers buying multiple licenses, in order to access multiple zip codes beyond our usual limits for a single license.

If you elect to buy an additional license (only standard license users can buy additional licenses) then that additional license will give you access to 8 more local zip codes and 75 more additional “paid” zip codes and lets you avoid the surcharge price of $24.

After discussing this we realized that if you have more local zip codes than you can effectively use (locally), you should still have the ability to get the first 8 zip codes at the discounted price. Further, we still want to give you some protection when you have a “bonus” zip code. While you can ONLY bump others from your local zip code using a local zip code, you also CANNOT be bumped from a local zip code in which you are listed with a local zip code.

A “bonus” zip code will NOT let you bump, but if you have a “bonus” zip code, then we will give you the protection of a local zip code over and above those in that zip code who are purchasing that zip code as an additional “paid” zip code.

Example:   If there are three paid listings in one zip code currently, and your are one of those “paid” listings, then you can switch your paid listing to one of your “bonus” listings. That does two things for you. First, it means you pay $12 per year, not $21 per year. Second, we will protect your bonus listing and it can ONLY be bumped after the two other additional “paid” listings are bumped before you.

Local zip codes are still better than bonus zip codes. If three people in a zip code all have bonus zip codes, then a local zip code can then bump a bonus zip code. If you lose the bonus zip code because of a bump, you can switch it and replace another of your paid listings with that bonus zip code status.

You Need To Switch NOW!If you currently have additional paid zip codes, you need to switch them to “local” or “bonus” zip codes NOW. This is on a first come, first served basis.

You especially need to do this BEFORE the November bumping occurs, to provide maximum protection to your most important zip codes.

If you do NOT have your maximum number of local (or basis) zip codes, you change that SAP.

Bumping occurs in the first week of November, the week beginning with the first Monday in November. This year bump week will begin November th. During bump week you can use a local zip code to force your way into a local zip code that is currently “full”. A zip code is full where it has 3 subscribers listed in it.

IMPORTANT:   If a zip code has 3 subscribers, and each of those subscribers is listed as “local” in that zip code, the zip code is permanently locked out unless and until one of those subscribers no longer renews that zip code. It is important to stay vigilant and review your lists from time to time because subscribers do let zip codes go because they die, retire or stop subscribing.

This year, if you are paying attention, you have access to one or two more additional local (or bonus) zip codes and so EVERYONE should be bumping. We recommend that you mark bump Monday on your calendar – first come first served.

Once again, if you have a zip code in which your are listed as “local”, and it is within 20 miles of your location, then NO ONE can remove you from that zip code. If your local is outside the 20 mile radius, it would be the last to be moved from a zip code that has other “additional” zip code listings.

Over time bumping has become more rare because most subscribers have already maximized the benefit of their current 3 or 6 local zip codes. With the addition of 1 or 2 additional local zip codes, everyone buying zip codes will be able to bump again this year.

NOTHING Happens Until YOU Take ActionFirst, you MUST ACT to take advantage of this expanded local (or bonus) zip code opportunity.

If you have been purchasing “additional zip codes”, then the first thing you need to do is to identify which of your additional zip codes that you want to convert to local.

IMPORTANT:   We will NOT convert your additional zip code UNLESS you contact us and ask us to do so.

We recommend that you do this immediately. There is no upside to waiting. Send an email to:

Tell us you want your current list of zip codes. That list will identify all your zip codes, and will also identify which of your zip codes are local. Once you get that list, pick the VERY best additional zip code(s) that is local to you, and tell us to re-list that as local. That zip code must be 20 miles or less from you in order for it to be protected from bumping. If you want to use that zip code outside your local area, we will make it a “bonus” zip code.

In addition to the renewal of that zip code dropping in price to $12, we will consider that NEW local zip code “paid” to the end of your current subscription. If you have pre-paid your subscription for 2 or 3 years, we will consider that new local listing also paid for 2 or 3 years – no additional charge (that’s an additional benefit)

Second, you need to call us the week of November th to make sure that new local zip code(s) is in the best zip codes in your local area (20 mile radius). Now that you have a 4th (or 7th and 8th) local zip code, you will want to leverage those into the best zip codes that you can get, zip codes that may not be currently available because they are currently full.

The Zip Code Warranty Remains “As Is”Our zip code warranty remains 3 for 1. What we mean by that is that if you have 3 zip codes, we guarantee that you will have one email contact per year. If you have 30 zip codes, we warrant 10 email contacts. That warranty does not change.

If you do NOT achieve your warranty results, you will get a credit for the following year that is in proportion to your results. For example, if you have 30 zip codes, and get only 5 email contacts (we warrant 10) then you can keep all 30 zip codes for the following year, but only pay for 15. Credits are issued at the end of the year, after we do an audit of your results. The audit must be requested by the subscriber.

Note:   This warranty has just gotten better because of the new 4 and 8 local zip code change.

Because of the way we round this warranty calculation, if you ONLY have 3 local zip codes currently, and you do not purchase or have any additional zip codes, then you would be crazy to not add a fourth local zip code. Why? Because we always round the warranty in your favor.

if you increase from 3 to 4 local zip codes (which is one over the three), we will now warrant that you get two email contacts from those 4 (we round 4 up to 6 for the warranty calculation). If you only get 1 email contact, then 3 of your 4 zip codes would be free the following year (you would pay $12 instead of $48 for all 4).

In essence the combination of the new deal and the warranty, for those who ONLY buy local zip codes, just got a LOT better.

Of course it doesn’t get a lot better unless you add that 4th (or the 7th and 8th) local zip code(s).

And none of this happens unless you take action.

Our Current Programming Plans for 2023The following is the current order for new work that we will be doing in 2023:

• • Introduction of New PC Version: CQS.EXE

• • Overhaul Of Current Product Data Files

• Introduction of Compulife Mobile Plus (with Pick 12)

Anyone with questions about any of these upcoming projects can call Bob Barney to discuss:

Please don’t email me essay questions, just call. If I’m not in, email me your phone number, I’ll call you.

These planned objectives will easily consume our programming time during the balance of this year and throughout 2023. The good news is that once the product data files have been converted, and we have introduced the new CQS.EXE, and upgraded our internet engine to use the new data files, Compulife will be turning it’s full attention to our web based, Compulife Mobile software. The long term goal is to have a web based product that does everything our PC based software does.