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Esurance

12,741 bytes added, 23:43, 20 October 2018
Marketing
{{distinguish|esure|insurance}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Esurance Insurance Services, Inc.
| logo = Esurance.svg
| type = Subsidiary
| hq_location = [[San Francisco, California]], United States
| key_people = Jonathan Adkisson, President
| founded = 1999
| num_associates =
| caption =
| industry = [[Insurance]]
| products = Insurance
| Items in Force =
| revenue = $1.028 Billion [[U.S. dollar|USD]] (2012)
| parent = Folksamerica Holding Co.<br><small>(2000–2011)</small><br>[[Allstate]] <small>(2011–present)</small>
| homepage = [http://www.esurance.com/ www.esurance.com]
| Distribution =
}}
'''Esurance Insurance Services, Inc.''' is an American [[insurance]] company. It sells auto, home, motorcycle, and renters insurance direct to consumers online and by phone. Its primary competitors are other direct personal insurance writers, mainly [[GEICO]] and [[Progressive Corporation|Progressive]]. Founded in 1999, the company was purchased by [[Allstate]] in 2011, and is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Allstate.

==History==
Esurance was founded in 1999 by Jean-Bernard Duler, Jeffrey L. Goodman, Huyen Bui, David Griffin, and Charles Wallace, and became one of the first insurance companies to sell policies directly to consumers over the internet, instead of using in-person meetings or phone calls.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url = http://priceonomics.com/how-esurance-lost-its-mascot-to-the-internet/|title = How Esurance Lost Its Mascot to the Internet|date = 18 December 2015|accessdate = 29 December 2015|website = Priceonomics|publisher = |last = Crockett|first = Zachary}}</ref> In 2000, Esurance was acquired by Folksamerica Holding Company, a subsidiary of [[White Mountains Insurance Group]]. Esurance, which is based out of [[San Francisco]], had by that time expanded to offering policies in 24 states, but had also just laid off staff and was actively soliciting a purchaser.<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://www.insurancejournal.com/magazines/features/2000/10/16/22543.htm|title = Esurance {{sic|nolink=y|Aquired}} by Folksamerica Holding Co.|date = 16 October 2000|accessdate = 29 December 2015|website = Insurance Journal|publisher = Wells Media Group|last = Tapia|first = Catherine}}</ref>

In 2004, Esurance began to offer multi-car discount packages to same-sex couples, by offering multi-car discounts to any group of people that lived together.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2004-07-04/business/0407030300_1_marriage-tax-penalty-non-traditional-insurance|title = Insurers pushed to consider non-traditional couples|work = [[Chicago Tribune]]|first = Janet|last = Stewart|date = 4 April 2004|accessdate = 23 December 2012}}</ref> The company claims to be one of the first insurers to have offered such packages to same-sex couples.<ref>{{Cite web|url = https://www.esurance.com/company/news/2011-esurance-supports-crisis-intervention-for-lgbt-youth|title = Esurance Launches Campaign to Support Crisis Intervention for LGBT Youth|date = 7 June 2011|accessdate = 29 December 2015|website = Esurance Press Releases|publisher = |last = |first = }}</ref>

In May 2011, [[Allstate]] announced that it was purchasing Esurance and rate-comparison site [[Answer Financial]] for approximately $1 billion. At the time, Esurance was selling policies in 30 states and was in the midst of a five-year growth period that saw them double the number of policies in force. Allstate, for its part, was losing policy holders to the three major online policy retailers; Esurance, [[Progressive Corporation|Progressive]], and [[GEICO]].<ref>{{Cite web|url = https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2011-05-18/allstate-to-buy-esurance-in-1-billion-deal-as-wilson-adds-online-sales|title = Allstate to Buy Esurance for $1 Billion to Add Online Sales|date = 18 May 2011|accessdate = 29 December 2015|website = Bloomberg|publisher = |last = Buhayar|first = Noah}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url = http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2011/05/18/199061.htm|title = Allstate Targets Online Insurance Sales; Buys Esurance, Answer Financial|date = 18 May 2011|accessdate = 29 December 2015|website = Insurance Journal|publisher = Wells Media Group|last = |first = }}</ref> Allstate's acquisition of Esurance was completed in October of that year. The combined company became the sixth-largest provider of auto insurance policies.<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-10-07/business/chi-allstate-closes-1-billion-esurance-deal-20111007_1_allstate-northbrook-based-home-and-auto-geico|title = Allstate closes $1 billion Esurance deal|date = 7 October 2011|accessdate = 29 December 2015|website = Chicago Tribune|publisher = |last = Yerak|first = Becky}}</ref> In September 2012, White Mountains filed a lawsuit against Allstate alleging that Allstate failed to meet a deadline to produce a [[financial audit]] that was part of the sale, and that Allstate deducted $5.2 million in legal expenses from the value of the sale that they were not allowed to deduct by the terms of the agreement.<ref>{{Cite web|url = https://finance.yahoo.com/news/allstate-sued-esurance-pricing-165928233.html|title = Allstate Sued for Esurance Pricing|date = 19 September 2012|accessdate = 29 December 2015|website = Yahoo! Finance|publisher = |last = Zacks Equity Research|first = }}</ref>

==Marketing==
Esurance's first television advertising campaign was launched five years after the company went live. The campaign was aimed at the 18 to 24-year-old male demographic, and had a budget of $60,000, a tiny fraction of the over $1 billion spent on advertisements within the insurance industry. The commercials featured an animated character named Erin Esurance, a pink-haired spy inspired by [[Sydney Bristow]] from the television show ''[[Alias (TV series)|Alias]].''<ref name=":0"/> The character and campaign were initially well received, leading to over 30 separate advertisements featuring Erin, and a dramatic increase in brand awareness. However, by 2009 industry polling on corporate mascots found Erin had become unpopular with viewers; 30% of viewers found the character annoying - double the industry average - and was below industry average in sincerity and believability.<ref name=":0"/> Polling found Erin was less popular than even Microsoft's notorious [[Office Assistant|Clippy]] character.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url = http://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-erin-esurance-autopsy-she-was-less-popular-than-microsofts-clippy/|title = The Erin Esurance Autopsy: She Was Less Popular Than Microsoft's "Clippy"|date = 16 June 2010|accessdate = 29 December 2015|website = [[CBS]] Moneywatch|publisher = CBS Interactive Inc.|last = Edwards|first = Jim}}</ref> Additionally, a large number of pornographic images featuring Erin were created, and in some cases sold, by fans of the character. The illustrations became so prevalent that when the character was searched for by name without mature content filters enabled, the vast majority of results were pornographic.<ref name=":0"/><ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url = http://www.cbsnews.com/news/esurance-axes-erin-after-the-secret-agent-took-on-an-x-rated-life-of-her-own/|title = Esurance Axes Erin After the Secret Agent Took on an X-Rated Life of Her Own|date = 15 June 2010|accessdate = 29 December 2015|website = CBS Moneywatch|publisher = CBS Interactive Inc.|last = Edwards|first = Jim}}</ref> The combination of decreasing popularity and the pornographic images led to the character being retired by 2010.<ref name=":0"/><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /> Erin Esurance is more well known as G2 in the ''[[American Dad]]'' take off girl group Girlz 12.

In 2010 Esurance launched a new advertising campaign designed by the firm [[Duncan/Channon]]. By this point the company had an advertising budget of $100 million. Set in a fictionalized version of the Esurance office, but featuring actual Esurance employees, the commercials emphasized both the company's high tech platform and the personal touches offered by speaking to employees. The campaign was a deliberate break from focusing the advertisements on the 18-24 male demographic.<ref>{{cite news|url = http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/06/07/esurance-still-has-character/|work = [[The New York Times]]|first = Stuart|last = Elliott|date = 7 June 2010|title = Esurance Still Has ‘Character'|access-date = 29 December 2015}}</ref>

The new campaign was short lived; In December 2011, Esurance announced another new advertising campaign. It emphasized efficiency and positioned the company as "Insurance for the Modern World"; the target demographic was families and professionals in the 25-49 age group. [[John Krasinski]] narrated the commercials, which were developed by ad agency [[Leo Burnett Worldwide]].<ref>{{cite news|url = https://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/22/business/media/esurance-campaign-equates-trust-with-efficiency.html|title = In New Campaign, Esurance Equates Trust With Efficiency|work = The New York Times|first = Tanzina|last = Vega|date = 21 December 2011|accessdate = 23 December 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url = http://www.dmnews.com/esurance-launches-integrated-campaign/article/220760/|title = Esurance launches integrated campaign|work = DM News|first = Dianna|last = Dilworth|date = 23 December 2011|accessdate = 23 December 2012}}</ref>

Esurance also markets itself heavily through sports teams and sporting events, where it casts itself as being more [[environmentally friendly]] than competitors. The company has sponsored a number of sporting events and teams, including the [[US Open (tennis)|US Open]] tennis tournament, the [[Golden State Warriors]], and the [[San Francisco Giants]].<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/157726/|title = Esurance, AmEx Serve Up U.S. Open Activities|work = Media Post|first = Tanya|last = Irwin|date = August 2011|accessdate = 23 December 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url = http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090422&content_id=4373940&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb|title = Clubs take green approach to Earth Day|work = MLB.com|date = 22 April 2009|accessdate = 15 August 2010|last = Schlegel|first = John|publisher = Major League Baseball}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.nba.com/warriors/news/warriors_green_week.html|title = WARRIORS: Golden State Warriors And Esurance Team Up For NBA Green Week|work = NBA|date = 9 April 2009|accessdate = 15 August 2010}}</ref>

In February 2015, Esurance released their [[Super Bowl XLIX]] commercial, featuring [[Bryan Cranston]] parodying his [[Walter White (Breaking Bad)|Walter White]] character from ''[[Breaking Bad]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://collider.com/best-super-bowl-commercials-2015/|title = Watch This Year's Best Super Bowl Commercials|last = Chitwood|first = Adam|publisher = Collider.com|date = 2 February 2015|accessdate = 5 February 2015}}</ref> In April 2015, Esurance and [[Major League Baseball]] announced a new multi-year sponsorship in which Esurance will be the exclusive auto insurance partner for Major League Baseball.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://m.mlb.com/news/article/121241612/esurance-teams-up-with-major-league-baseball-as-exclusive-auto-insurance-partner/|title = Esurance teams up with Major League Baseball as auto insurance partner|publisher = Major League Baseball|date = 29 April 2015|accessdate = 29 April 2015|website = MLB.com}}</ref>

Esurance introduced a new ad campaign featuring [[Dennis Quaid]] (in his first-ever appearance in a commercial, and the company's first use of a real-life spokesman) as a tongue-in-cheek "highly likeable" spokesperson in August 2018. The company introduced a new slogan, "surprisingly painless," as part of the rebrand.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://adage.com/article/cmo-strategy/esurance-taps-dennis-quaid-brand-refresh/314606/|title=ESURANCE TAPS DENNIS QUAID FOR A VERY SELF-AWARE BRAND REFRESH|work=AdAge.com|date=August 15, 2018|first=Adrianne|last=Pasquarelli|accessdate=September 8, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bizjournals.com/chicago/news/2018/08/16/esurance-introduces-firstever-spokesman-dennis.html|title=Esurance introduces first-ever spokesman — Dennis Quaid|work=American City Business Journals|first=Lewis|last=Lazare|date=August 16, 2018|accessdate=September 8, 2018}}</ref>

== References ==
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
* [http://www.esurance.com Esurance website]
{{Automotive industry in the United States}}

[[Category:Companies based in San Francisco]]
[[Category:Insurance companies of the United States]]
[[Category:Online insurance companies]]
[[Category:Financial services companies established in 1999]]
[[Category:Allstate]]
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