White Mountain Purchases of Significant Stake in Compare.com

Richmond, VA (PRWEB) January 10, 2014

Compare.com announced today that White Mountains Insurance Group, Ltd. (NYSE: WTM) has completed the purchase of a significant minority ownership stake in the car insurance comparison website. Effective December 18, 2013, White Mountains owns 21.1% of the outstanding shares of compare.com. The former owner of Esurance and Answer Financial, White Mountains is an experienced and respected investor in the insurance industry.

Compare.com was launched in March of 2013 to simplify auto insurance shopping for US consumers. The site is the first in the US to allow consumers to fill out a single online form – guiding them through the process the entire time – and then immediately return a side-by-side comparison of real, unbiased quotes from multiple licensed auto insurance companies.

The quotes are a true “apples to apples” comparison because the insurance companies available through compare.com consider the exact same driver and vehicle information in order to quote a price. Site users can review the provided quotes, and then one click will allow them to purchase that selected policy directly from their chosen insurer on the web, over the phone, or with a local agent.

White Mountains Managing Director Manning Rountree said, “US consumers use price comparison when shopping for many of their purchases, such as travel. Compare.com is positioned to take a leading position in car insurance price comparison. We are pleased to have invested significant capital in what we believe is a unique business with the potential to significantly impact the manner in which car insurance is sold. This is a win-win transaction, and we look forward to working with Andrew Rose and his team.”

Andrew Rose, Chief Executive Officer of compare.com, confirmed that the share purchase transaction with White Mountains was completed as of December 18, 2013. “We are excited to have an industry-leading investment group like White Mountains select us to be part of their portfolio. It’s a clear vote of confidence in our business plan and accomplishments to date. We look forward to benefitting from White Mountain’s industry experience and to exceeding their expectations as we grow in 2014 and beyond.”

ABOUT WHITE MOUNTAINS
White Mountains is a Bermuda-domiciled financial services holding company traded on the New York Stock Exchange and the Bermuda Stock Exchange under the symbol WTM. Additional financial information and other items of interest are available at the Company’s website located at http://www.whitemountains.com.

ABOUT COMPARE.COM
Compare.com is a limited liability corporation headquartered in Richmond, VA. Majority owned by the Admiral Group plc, the UK’s second largest auto insurer and a member of the FTSE 100, compare.com offers car insurance comparison services for US consumers.