Insure.com in record domain name sale

The domain name Insure.com has been sold for $16 million (£10.1 million) – a record sum.

Vertical marketing agency has purchased the name and its associated assets, causing Insure.com to change its name to Life Quotes.

The firm originally bought the domain for $1.6 million in December 2001, meaning it has generated a sizeable profit.

Robert Bland, chairman and chief executive of the company, said: "We have sold our Insure.com name and specified website content in a significant cash transaction that we think is in the best long-term interest of our shareholders."

He added that there will be additional benefits for shareholders and employees in that the firm will now be able to focus on its brokerage operation and insurance marketing businesses.

"As a result of this transaction, we are projecting reduced revenues of approximately ten to 15 per cent with increased marketing expenses for the next two to six quarters as we rebuild under a new brand name and move from a content-based website to a transaction-based website," Mr Bland said.

In other domain name consultancy news, Lead Generation recently reported that older web addresses are better than their younger counterparts in terms of search engine ranking.

Written by Debra Hastings-Henry