Pets Best Expands Its Customer Service With “Click-to-Chat” Service

Boise, Idaho, March 21, 2006 — Pets Best, insurance for pets and a division of General Fire & Casualty Company, today announced that it has launched a “click-to-chat” service to provide Web site visitors with instant online access to its customer service representatives. By offering this type of service, Pets Best is looking to meet the needs of customers and potential customers who prefer getting their information via the Internet and, for various reasons, want to avoid telephone contact. The chat medium allows them to obtain assistance or have their questions answered quickly and efficiently in real-time, while maintaining control over the interaction. Based on technology from LivePerson, Inc., the leading provider of hosted solutions for managing online customer interactions, the service is easy for site visitors to use. After logging on to the Pets Best Web site, www.petsbest.com, visitors click on a clearly labeled icon that is displayed on various pages. This instantly sets up a real-time, direct connection with a knowledgeable Pets Best customer service representative for interactive text-messaging communications. Since Pets Best representatives can view the exact site-location of each visitor, they can provide immediate assistance, answering questions or helping navigate through pages to locate specific information. “Click-to-chat provides us with another avenue for helping customers, letting them choose the medium in which they feel most comfortable. We want our customers to know that we’re readily available if they have questions, and adding this to our Web site conveys that far better than merely displaying a phone number,” said Pets Best founder, Dr. Jack Stephens. “One of the service’s most useful features is that it lets us co-browse with customers, so we can help them fill out forms or review information together. It keeps us, literally, on the same page.” Live chat also gives Pets Best the ability to address its customers’ needs on a personalized basis, reducing frustration levels and increasing their overall satisfaction. Additionally, providing this contact option to customers should reduce site-abandonment issues and improve online sales conversions.