Norvax and Blue Cross of California Hold Broker Seminar on Achieving Success in Selling Individual Health Insurance Online

Business Wire, Nov 15, 2007

Brokers Must Adopt Online Sales Strategies as Millions of Consumers Turn to the Internet for Health Insurance, Norvax Says

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Recognizing that the Internet is playing a growing role in health insurance sales today, Blue Cross of California and Norvax, a leading developer of online insurance quoting software and marketing tools, presented a broker seminar on "The New Online Landscape of Selling Health Insurance." The seminar was held in the Sacramento area on Tuesday, November 13, from 10 a.m. to noon.

"Fewer people are going to the yellow pages or asking their friends for agent referrals when seeking health insurance today," said Susan Reed, regional sales manager, of Blue Cross of California. "Instead, a growing number are going online and typing in keywords like 'health insurance quotes' to compare rates and coverage's, and to buy. Brokers who are able to adapt to this new market and assist consumers in this very complex online transaction can look forward to rapidly expanding opportunities in this market."

"The Internet already impacts nearly 60 percent of health insurance sales today," said Clint Jones, chief executive officer, Norvax. "By 2011, that number is expected to grow to over 90 percent as more employees lose employer-sponsored health coverage due to skyrocketing group premiums."

The uninsured aren't the only ones shopping for health plans: 71 percent

of insured people who have been with their carrier for less than 3 years continue to search for other health insurance online. In addition, 25 percent of seniors are surfing the web today, with approximately 47 percent of them active daily.

The broker seminar featured a discussion of:

* online trends in health insurance shopping and purchasing

* the role of brokers in an Internet world

* marketing tools that drive online sales and

* case studies detailing the step-by-step processes for sales success.

ABOUT NORVAX

Norvax, LLC, is a leading developer of Web-based sales and customer communication tools that connect and help consumers, insurance brokers, agents and carriers transact health insurance transact business more efficiently. From tools for building Web sites to health insurance quoting engines and e-mail autoresponders that can automatically include updated health insurance quotes, Norvax's product suite lets insurance agents increase sales, cut administrative time and reduce expenses by initiating customer contact faster and automatically maintaining around-the-clock communications with prospects. In 2005 Norvax launched Gohealthinsurance.com, the fastest growing online consumer health insurance quoting web site. Founded in 2001, Norvax was named among the top ten fastest-growing software companies in the U.S. in 2007 by Inc Magazine. Norvax is privately held and headquartered in Chicago.

ABOUT BLUE CROSS OF CALIFORNIA

Blue Cross of California is a subsidiary of WellPoint, Inc. (NYSE:WLP), whose mission is to improve the lives of the people it serves and the health of its communities. It is the largest publicly traded commercial health benefits company in terms of membership in the United States, and an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and serves its members as the Blue Cross licensee for California; the Blue Cross and Blue Shield licensee for Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Missouri (excluding 30 counties in the Kansas City area), Nevada, New Hampshire, New York (as Blue Cross Blue Shield in 10 New York City metropolitan counties and as Blue Cross or Blue Cross Blue Shield in selected upstate counties only), Ohio, Virginia (excluding the Northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C.), Wisconsin; and through UniCare. www.bluecrossca.com