OASIS MEMBER NEWS: InsureZone.com First to Use Advanced XML-Based Insurance E-Commerce Standard

["Carol Geyer" <geyer@icubed.com>]

InsureZone.com First to Use Advanced XML-Based Insurance E-Commerce Standard

Lexica will make technology available to others, simplifying exchange of
data between carriers, vendors and customers

SAN FRANCISCO -- October 25, 1999 - Lexica announced today that its
InsureZone.com Internet insurance Web site will be the first to use its
advanced Extensible Markup Language (XML) standards specifically designed
for comparing and buying auto insurance on the Web.

Lexica also announced that it plans to publish its XML standards with the
Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards (OASIS)
for other vendors to adopt and use. The move could accelerate the growth of
auto insurance e-commerce as XML becomes the markup language of choice for
the Web.

"Lexica joins industry leaders around the world that are making significant
contributions to advancing XML interoperability," said Laura Walker,
executive director of OASIS. "OASIS welcomes Lexica's support as an advocate
of interoperable, standards-based computing solutions."

XML is the next generation of markup language and provides a structured,
dynamic way to represent the collection, delivery, storage, and processing
of information and insurance transactions. By using XML as a tool, companies
are able to adapt quickly to changes in the insurance business supply chain.
In data representation, XML offers maximum interoperability with
participants in the supply chain.  XML also provides a single point of
integration that is implementation independent.
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"The XML schemas will make it dramatically easier and more cost-effective
for insurance carriers and other participants in the business process to
conduct e-commerce," said Peter Henry, Lexica's President and Chief
Technology Officer.

Henry said carriers will see several immediate benefits from the new
standards, including the ability to easily exchange data with vendors,
customers and other e-commerce partners; the ability to introduce new
products online faster; and the ability to reduce their overall systems
maintenance costs.

"By using standardized XML schemas to represent and transact core business
information, companies can take advantage of the expanding community effort
to rationalize business-to-business interactions.  Lexica is extending that
opportunity into the insurance vertical market with detailed,
well-considered, and open XML schemas," Henry said.

Lexica will begin publishing its XML schema standards in November in the
OASIS XML.org community. Henry said the company will continue to publish and
refine the standards in the months ahead with actual real world examples
from InsureZone.com and its software platform, Lexica Online™.

Lexica will coordinate its efforts with those of the various standards
bodies.  As part of that effort, Lexica also announced that it has joined
OASIS and the World-Wide Web Consortium (W3C).  Henry said Lexica intends to
take a very active role in these organizations.

"The XML issue is critical for the future of e-commerce in the insurance
industry," Henry said. "Our intention is to lead the discussion and effort
necessary to bring these standards to fruition as the next generation of
information interchange specifications within the insurance industry."

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Page 3 - InsureZone.com announces XML standard

The potential for e-commerce in insurance is enormous. The industry's nearly
$800
billion a year in premiums dwarfs other emerging e-commerce industries such
as travel,
book sales, music and video combined. Forrester Research Inc. predicts that
$4.1 billion in insurance policies will be sold online by 2003, with auto
insurance leading the way.

Buena Venture Associates, the venture capital firm led by Texas financier
Sid R. Bass, is
providing the funding for Lexica. BVA's principals, who have years of
experience in financing successful ventures, are convinced that online
insurance will be the next big wave of e-commerce.

Besides developing InsureZone.com, Lexica also markets Lexica Online™, its
advanced XML-based software platform, directly to carriers, banks,
brokerages, affinity groups and other companies that want create
private-label e-commerce sites. The technology automates the acquisition,
sales, fulfillment and service processes that make up the insurance business
supply chain. As owners of a nationally licensed agency, Lexica also offers
a complete outsourcing service to electronically handle carriers'
front-office and back-office operations.

About Lexica LLC
Headquartered in San Francisco, Lexica LLC is developing the first
integrated platform for the end-to-end automation of the insurance selling
and processing supply chain.  In addition, Lexica sells insurance directly
to consumers from its InsureZone.com Web site. InsureZone.com offers two
important benefits to insurance buyers: Instant comparison shopping, and the
ability to buy a policy - not just get a quote - online, within a single
visit taking about 15 minutes. Lexica markets its technology platform as
Lexica Online™ software, which enables carriers and other companies to
operate their own branded Web site using InsureZone.com's technologically
advanced components, and a complete outsourcing service to electronically
handle front-office and back-office operations. Learn more about Lexica and
InsureZone.com by visiting www.lexica.net or www.insurezone.com, or by
calling 415-477-3600.
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