Are you familiar with the new internet domain extension that is now available for insurance companies, licensed agents/agencies, insurance trade associations and certain other companies operating in the insurance industry? Instead of a web address ending in .com, .net or .org, how about one that ends in .insurance?
fTLD Registry Services, a coalition of banks, insurance companies and financial services trade associations worldwide, is coordinating registration of this new domain extension. Only licensed insurance companies/agents and certain insurance-related companies, verified by Internet security firm Symantec, may register their domain name through one of 15 registry companies. The new suffix — known as a ‘generic’ Top Level Domain or gTLD — follows the .bank domain that became available just over a year ago. Already, nearly half of all U.S. banks own a .bank domain name, whether or not they actively use it.
The new domain for the insurance industry is being awarded on a first-come first-served basis. To see if a domain you wish to register is available, go to this link. If it’s available, you can start the registration process. You’ll need your business name, your name and title, your address and your business phone number to begin. Experts say even if you aren’t ready to trade a .com domain suffix for one that ends in .insurance, you may still want to consider registering your web address with the new ending so that it’s under your control. For more information about this new website address option, go to this link.