The two transaction fees are now double what they were one year ago. Insurers offering price quotes through Ebix.mall either directly or through agents include The Hartford, Principal Financial Group, CNA, Electric Insurance, Golden Rule Insurance, SBLI Mutual Life of New York, Midland Life, Western Southern Life, Amica Life, and others. As of July 2000, it claimed to have negotiated 65 alliances during the preceding three months alone. After one year in operation, Ebix.mall is still not generating a high volume of insurance applicants. Because users of the mall can see the number of applicants for insurance at any particular time, it is easy to determine traffic levels.
Most applicants appear to have received only one or two bids.
Although traffic on the site is clearly increasing, particularly in the case of auto insurance, it is far from enough to generate significant revenue. Thus, it did not have the grace period that many Internet start-ups have had, during which they could spend IPO money freely and not worry about whether they could meet payrolls. Warrants are, in effect, long-term options that allow investors to buy the company s common stock for a specific price for a specific length of time. Warrants can be traded, with their price reflecting the price of the underlying stock. If the stock price drops below the prices specified in the warrants, the warrants lose their value.