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Business Services Industry

Fair, Isaac's ClickPremium Accelerates Amica's Auto Insurance Underwriting Process

Business Wire,  June 20, 2001  

Business/Technology Editors

SAN RAFAEL, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 20, 2001

ClickPremium Delivers Instant Decision Support to Quote,

Write And Bind More Policies, More Profitably

In an effort to accelerate the speed, scope and profitability of its automobile insurance underwriting process, Amica Mutual Insurance Company said today that it has purchased and installed Fair, Isaac and Company's (NYSE:FIC) ClickPremium(TM) underwriting solution. ClickPremium will provide Amica, the nation's oldest mutual insurer of automobiles, with real-time decision-making power at the point of sale, including sales over the Internet.

Amica's decision to utilize ClickPremium is based, in part, on the company's customer-driven business philosophy and its objective to build its consumer franchise. Historically, Amica has operated exclusively on a referral basis, but with competition among insurers increasing rapidly -- particularly in the online price war for customers -- Amica's most recent move is expected to provide a strong competitive edge for the company. Industry analysts at TowerGroup expect the market for online automobile insurance to reach $10-$15 billion by the year 2006.

Richard McLaughlin, Vice President for Underwriting at Amica, explained his choice of Fair, Isaac's solution as "a key strategic decision we made to help us quickly identify and close the most potentially profitable customers in the auto insurance marketplace. Speed is important in the fast-paced market for insurance -- but fast decisions are quickly offset if they are not profitable," McLaughlin explained. "With ClickPremium, we gain greater confidence in the viability of the underwriting decisions we are making," he said.

This latest agreement builds on an ongoing relationship between the two companies that began in 1996 with the development of a suite of custom analytics by Fair, Isaac to help Amica improve its loss ratios.

Introduced last year, Fair, Isaac's ClickPremium gives insurers the ability to automatically quote, underwrite and bind policies using application information as well as external information needed to make a decision, from insurance bureau scores to motor vehicle reports to loss information. Companies can use ClickPremium to set and change underwriting rules, determine when to route policies for further review, establish tiers of risk and acceptance, and even generate guidelines for cross-selling. Because decisions are made at a single source, an insurer's offers are consistent across all delivery channels--agent, customer service representative or Web site. This centralized "e-decisioning" enables rapid response and follow-through, strengthening an insurer's service and improving customer relationship management.

"From the start, Amica has understood and embraced new technologies as a key part of their operation," said Mark Gorman, Vice President, Insurance Market, at Fair, Isaac. "The company is unique in its ability to quickly adopt and effectively implement solutions that clearly can have a positive impact on their efficiencies and profitability. ClickPremium will help Amica continue to provide efficient and reliable service to their customers and firmly solidify their leadership in consumer insurance markets," he said.

Fair, Isaac has offered the insurance market risk and marketing solutions for over a decade. Today, Fair, Isaac solutions are behind underwriting, policy renewal and marketing decisions for hundreds of insurers, including 80 percent of the top U.S. personal line insurers.

About Fair, Isaac

Fair, Isaac and Company (www.fairisaac.com) is a global provider of customer analytics and decision technology. Widely recognized for its pioneering work in credit scoring, Fair, Isaac revolutionized the way lending decisions are made. Today the company helps clients in multiple industries increase the value of customer relationships. Fair, Isaac has made the Forbes list of the top 200 U.S. small companies eight times in the last nine years. Headquartered in San Rafael, California, Fair, Isaac reported revenues of $298 million in fiscal 2000.

About Amica Mutual Insurance Company

Amica Mutual Insurance Company, the nation's oldest mutual insurer of automobiles, was founded in 1907. The company, with corporate headquarters in Lincoln, Rhode Island, is a national writer of automobile, homeowners, marine, and personal excess liability insurance. Life coverage is available through Amica Life Insurance Company, a wholly owned subsidiary. Amica employs almost 3,500 people in 42 offices across the country.

Except for historical information contained herein, the statements contained in this press release are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially, including the company's ability to recruit and maintain key technical and managerial personnel, the maintenance of its existing relationships with key alliance partners, its ability to continue to develop new and enhanced products and services, competition, regulatory changes applicable to the use of consumer credit and other data and other risks described from time to time in Fair, Isaac's SEC reports, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended September 30, 2000, and Form 10-Q for the period ended December 31, 2000. Fair, Isaac disclaims any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements.