Argonaut to Partner with New Online Insurance Provider

N/A says it has signed five-year contracts with Esurance and General Re to provide personal auto insurance nationally on the Internet through Esurance, a new insurance consumer Web site.

Under the agreement, Esurance will be a managing general agent for Argonaut, initially selling automobile insurance in California, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, and Wisconsin; and moving quickly into additional states as regulators approve filings.

According to Charles Rinsch, president and CEO of Argonaut Group and Argonaut Insurance Company, ``Argonaut is a national specialty provider focused on high-quality customer service for specific niches of property-casualty insurance. We see our association with Esurance as a means to expand our service model into personal lines of insurance.

"We are excited about the internet as means to provide better service, as evidenced by our Argo On-Line program for providing claims data to our workers compensation clients,'' he added.