NetQuote was founded in 1989 when the company's co-founders, Keith Lawton, an insurance agent, and Harvey Lawton, a software engineer, created the world's first interactive voice-response service to shop for insurance, named Telerate, Inc. The catalyst for the formation of Telerate was the recognition of a need for shopping and marketing solutions within the insurance industry and the knowledge that technology could fill that void.
In 1991, Chris Findlater, a marketing professional, recognized the same market opportunity and launched his live operator insurance marketing business, Auto Insurance Shopper Inc.
In 1993, these companies joined forces to operate as one company called Auto Insurance Shopper. Building upon a history of tremendous growth, the company launched its Internet platform and re-branded as NetQuote. This established NetQuote as the leading insurance shopping and lead generation solution on the web.
Recognized for its success and future potential, NetQuote was acquired by Spectrum Equity Investors and Stripes Group in 2005. Since then, the company has evolved to offer consumers an even more robust comparison shopping experience -- with hundreds of articles and information resources for consumers, all designed to continue to help visitors make the right choices in the insurance shopping marketplace.
As of 2007, Netquote is proud to have connected over 25 million visitors to the industry's largest agent network.
Historical Timeline
1989 -- Telerate founded
1991 -- Auto Insurance Shopper founded
1993 -- Telerate and Auto Insurance Shopper merge
1995 -- Company re-branded as NetQuote, Inc.
2005 -- Spectrum Equity Investors and Stripes Group purchase NetQuote
2007 – More than 25 million leads delivered to NetQuote’s
insurance network
