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Business Tools | Friday November 9 driversshield.com Projects Over $50 Million in Revenue for 2002 With Contracts Already SecuredPLAINVIEW, N.Y. -- driversshield.com Corp. has announced that the three long-term exclusive contracts with auto insurance companies that it has secured within the past 90 days should yield anticipated annualized revenue well in excess of $50 million when fully implemented. "These contracts, in the aggregate, represent more than 150,000 auto physical damage claims per year, the majority of which will be processed by our Web-based CRM System claims hub," said Barry Siegel, Chairman and CEO. "Our experience shows that at least 25,000 of those drivers will choose to have their cars repaired at shops in our nationwide network of top-quality repair centers, yielding the bulk of our revenue; however, the company receives fees for all its claims services." The company currently has additional insurance company prospects for its CRM (Customer Relationship Management) business that it expects to secure before year-end and anticipates it will secure other new contracts in 2002, which would further enhance the overall outlook for the Company. The projection does not include any revenue from the company's fleet business, which, as previously announced on October 30, 2001 the company agreed to sell for $6.3 million to PHH Arval, a Cendant Corporation subsidiary that provides leasing and fleet management services to other companies. Because the sale is not expected to close until the end of February 2002, the company will receive fleet unit revenue and profits until that time. PHH will also make an equity investment of $1 million in convertible preferred shares, convertible into common stock shares of the company at $2 per share. This brings a total of $7.3 million in new liquidity to driversshield. The two companies also plan to enter a strategic alliance taking advantage of each other's strengths, including their large, nationwide networks of high-quality repair shops. When the sale and investment transaction is complete, the company will have approximately $8.5 million, or $.75 per share, in cash after taxes. This transaction will allow the company to deploy capital into expansion and promotion of CRM and ADS, which have significant potential for rapid growth with very attractive margins. The company's Internet-based CRM business, which provides collision repair claims management services to auto insurance companies, was launched earlier this year and has in recent weeks signed exclusive multi-year agreements with The St. Paul Companies, a Fortune 500 company and a very large national insurer, with Employers Insurance of Wausau (part of the Liberty Mutual Group) and Farmers Alliance Mutual Insurance. Revenues from these contracts are expected to ramp-up significantly early in 2002, as these companies phase in the CRM program. The company's other current business, ADS (Automotive Discounts and Services) provides industry-leading auto club programs to members of affinity groups, primarily through financial institutions and insurance companies such as Assurant Group (part of the Fortis Group), Aon, Protective Life and others. ADS is also expected to make substantial gains in 2002, adding to its already strong track record. "We have existed on an extremely tight budget in building our CRM business to date and this infusion of cash will allow us to reach our full potential much more quickly," Siegel said. "We now have the hard evidence we've been waiting for, that the insurance industry wants to take advantage of our value proposition. And PHH's investment in our business is a vote of confidence in our prospects. We feel that our decision to convert the value of our fleet business into the growth of our CRM business is definitely the right thing to do." The closing cannot be completed before driversshield.com Corp.'s annual shareholders meeting, tentatively targeted for the end of the year or January 2002. ©2000 Collision Repair Industry INSIGHT | FEATURED INSIGHT Supports the NABC! |