RED BANK, NJ -- (MARKET WIRE) -- March 13, 2007 --High Point Auto Insurance, a leading provider of
personal automobile insurance in the State of New Jersey, and Prudential
Financial announced the extension of the existing distribution agreement
between High Point and Prudential Insurance Agency, Inc., an affiliate of
Prudential Financial that manages retail agency sales of High Point
individual personal lines property and casualty products by Prudential
Agents. The original agreement commenced on November 1, 2003 as part of
the Palisades Group's purchase of Prudential Financial's New Jersey
property and casualty insurance companies. Upon purchase, the Palisades
Group renamed the companies the High Point Companies.
Since the sale, High Point has sold its products through an extensive
network of over 300 Prudential Agents throughout the State of New Jersey.
The contract extension will provide Prudential Agents with continued access
to sell High Point products through March 2014.
"Securing continued access to the network of professional Prudential Agents
was a top priority of ours," stated Jim Tignanelli, President of High
Point. "We have enjoyed a terrific relationship with the Prudential Agents
and look forward to continuing to work with them to grow our business in
New Jersey."
"We're pleased to extend the distribution agreement that has led to a
positive working experience for our agents in New Jersey," noted John
Greene, President, Agency Distribution for Prudential. The parties agreed
to enter into renewal talks well before the expiration of the existing
agreement. The existing agreement was not set to expire until November 1,
2008.
"We wanted to provide the sales force with a sense of stability and grant
them assurances that they would continue to enjoy access to High Point
products," said Tignanelli.
Securing a long-term distribution relationship with Prudential Agents is
just part of High Point's overall strategy to grow its business in New
Jersey. Other parts of the growth strategy include:
-- Introduction of a new auto product later this spring which will lower
new business rates by 10%
-- New discounts and customer oriented features
-- Increased funding for agent co-op advertising programs
-- Investment in overall brand awareness advertising -- new TV and
outdoor branding campaign to launch this spring
-- Increase in sales training and new agent sales technologies
"Our objectives are clear -- to grow our business in New Jersey. Providing
long-term stability for our Prudential Agent sales force and supporting the
other facets of our growth strategy are evidence that High Point is
committed to this market and is ready to do what it takes to expand our
market share," concluded Jim Tignanelli.
High Point, a New Jersey-based auto insurer, is committed to providing
extraordinary customer service to New Jersey drivers. Insurance
underwritten by High Point Preferred Insurance Company, High Point Safety
and Insurance Company, and High Point Property and Casualty Insurance
Company.
www.highpointins.com
Prudential Financial, Inc. (
NYSE:
PRU), a financial services leader with
approximately $616 billion of assets under management as of December 31,
2006, has operations in the United States, Asia, Europe, and Latin America.
Leveraging its heritage of life insurance and asset management expertise,
Prudential is focused on helping individual and institutional customers
grow and protect their wealth. The company's well-known Rock symbol is an
icon of strength, stability, expertise and innovation that has stood the
test of time. Prudential's businesses offer a variety of products and
services, including life insurance, annuities, retirement-related services,
mutual funds, asset management, and real estate services. Personal Lines
products are underwritten and issued by the High Point Companies, 331
Newman Springs Road, Building 3, Red Bank, NJ 07701. The Prudential
Insurance Agency, LLC is an authorized distributor of these products and is
not an affiliate of the High Point Companies. For more information, please
visit
www.prudential.com.
Contact Information: Contact:
Shannon M. Greevy
Communications Specialist
High Point Auto Insurance
(732) 978-6030
sgreevy@highpointins.com
Janet Gillespie
Director, Communications
Prudential Financial
973-802-8012
janet.gillespie@prudential.com