We decided not to allow comments on the site because the whole thing is actually homegrown (to make the core quoting and comparing functionality work better). Adding comments to what looks like a blog would have meant hours more programming and figuring out ways to block spam without the benefit of plugins.

In the end, we decided not “own” the conversation by pushing it onto other platforms. You can always make comments on a Stumble or Delicious submission or @ me on Twitter. If that won’t do, our company’s email isn’t hard to find and we read everything we get.

Comdex would have been great, but there are two problems. One is that it isn’t cheap. The other is they do not rate all the companies out there, as you point out. That would be problematic because some companies like SBLI have a strong presence in the life insurance brokerage community.

If an agent entered an AM Best “A+” on our system, it would show as a “9″ out of 10 to the shopper. They would still have the option of seeing the actual rating entered under a “details” tab. Our goal isn’t to pass judgement on insurance companies, we just want to make comparing easy, objective, and comprehensive.

Hope that helps,
Aaron

How does your algorithm or your oversight weigh a company such as SBLI? They don’t have a Comdex but yet are in the second best rating from AM Best. What scale would you give them? Is that a strong financial strength company or maybe just the next one to be owned by the state?

I definitely enjoy reading your blog but I can’t return the favor of comments. Why do you choose not to allow them? I’m interested into some of your recent claims.