“Small-business owners have told us they want to research a product or service before meeting with an independent agent, so they can ask the right questions,” said Jim Ruel, senior vice president of small business insurance for The Hartford. “Our Web site provides the tools and information they need to make educated decisions regarding their insurance and risk management needs.”

The Hartford said it worked closely with small-business owners and insurance agents throughout the development of the Web site to tailor the content and navigation to best meet the needs of the small-business insurance shopper.

“Recent studies have found that many small businesses owners under-insure their business because theyre unaware of the various exposures facing their companies,” said Mr. Ruel. “We hope business owners will take advantage of the tools and resources on this Web site to better understand what they can do to protect their businesses.”

Key features of The Hartfords small business Web site include:

Coverage Analyzer: By asking a series of questions involving real-world scenarios, the coverage analyzer provides a customized checklist of insurance coverage business owners should consider based on the type of business.

Test Your Risk IQ: By taking a brief quiz, visitors can test their knowledge of common risks. A customized report provides both a score and an explanation of the correct answers to each question, as well as links to additional information on relevant topics.

Disaster Recovery Planning to help smaller firms, who tend not to be prepared for disaster, jumpstart the process of preparing a disaster recovery plan. This section provides an interactive risk assessment tool, planning worksheet, disaster planning tips, and other resources from The Hartfords loss control experts.

Insurance Jargon Translator: For anyone who has ever struggled to figure out what various insurance terms actually mean, this feature provides legal definitions and plain English translations.

This feature, explained Christine Castonguay, Internet marketing consultant for the Hartford, was developed through two years of extensive research that found there was a lot of insurance information on the Web, but that it was written in terms not easily understood by the layman.

The jargon translator allows the user to scroll through the list or go directly to letters in the alphabet to find out what an insurance term means. The list, Ms. Castonguay said, is updated regularly.

Protection Match Reports: Small-business owners can review a list of coverages by key category or receive a customized report of coverages based on their specific needs. There is also a checklist of factors for clients to consider when shopping for insurance.

Find an Agent: Once business owners are ready to talk to an agent about specific coverage needs, they can access a list of independent insurance agents in their area via an agent locator.

Reproduced from National Underwriter Property & Casualty/Risk & Benefits Management Edition, September 23, 2002. Copyright 2002 by The National Underwriter Company in the serial publication. All rights reserved.Copyright in this article as an independent work may be held by the author.