Testimonials In my multiple incarnations in the insurance industry from head office VP, to MGA owner, Executive VP and Chief Marketing Officer of a large national MGA, and now Partner of CBS Inc., I have known and dealt with Tim Fitzpatrick and Jeff Dick of VirtGroup for 17 of my 22 years in the business. I have not met anyone in the technology game who understands what a broker / MGA actually needs better than VirtGroup. Since 2002, VirtGate has been one of the most effective marketing weapons in my bag. Understanding the power of this tool and then presenting the power to producers has been slam dunk magic in growing my business. Not to mention the incredible internal efficiencies and management information the system also generated. All I want are two simple things -- technology that works and happy brokers. VirtGate and VirtGroup clearly deliver on both counts. Chris DiSalle, Managing Partner and Chief Marketing Officer, Complete Brokerage Services Inc. I was VP Operations at a large national MGA and one of my projects was the conversion from our current systems to VirtGate. We made record time with you guys getting us online and live. It was very rewarding and I can't tell you how much of a positive difference VirtGate had in unifying this geographically diverse organization. Since leaving that MGA, as a consultant I have had temporary project assignments at many other VirtGate clients. I emphasize change in the organization in conjunction with the tools and power of VirtGate to get more out of both. I have seen fantastic results. The leverage of the VirtGate is making them money, and saving them a lot of time. Karen Noseworthy, Independent Project Manager and Business Analyst We have been in production with VirtGate for over two months now and I'm loving it. I have barely scratched the surface, however, just thinking about things we can do gets me excited. Jennifer Kingsley, Life & IP New Business Administrator, Merit & Associates. VirtGate is just great to work with! Sylvie Blais, Directrice Générale, Groupe Cloutier Laval All the best systems I see in the world are created and matured into valuable additions to our insurance world by the smaller firms --- the entrepreneurial spirit reigns. The best systems in my opinion most often reflect a real problem being solved. They represent what a user needs not what a designer thought was needed. The need is found by listening, a skill so practical it is often forgotten in the giant system company. There is no question that VirtGroup listens and fulfills a real need in the insurance world. Ross A. Morton Reassurer Advisor Mentor VirtGroup shares our vision for an online financial services system that aggregates, processes, analyzes, and reports real time for all users on thousands of daily transactions. VirtGate is the most advanced and complete platform to meet the specific needs of the Canadian life insurance industry, yet it's easy to use. Financial services knowledge is vital and so it is very helpful that the principals of VirtGroup have spent many years in the life insurance and investment industry. Partnering with VirtGroup will allow us to clearly demonstrate the power of seamlessly integrated Internet tools for Associate relationship management, eliminating countless hours of rote labour. Going forward, VirtGroup's deployment of new features is rapid and flexible to meet our specific needs. VirtGate gives us the opportunity to both expand our solutions and to continue to focus on our primary mission. Daniel Dessureault, General Manager, Equinox Financial Insight and knowledge are the weapons VirtGroup uses to proactively lead the market and delight their customers. Our insurance professionals deserve the best tools to keep them at the top of their game, and VirtGate was mentioned more than once when we surveyed the solutions in the marketplace. Our goal is to provide widespread Internet connectivity allowing advisors the freedom to work wherever they desire. VirtGate makes it easy to move prospects through each phase of the sales process and provide top-notch client service while sharing key customer data between staff across our branches and their advisors. John Hamilton, President, Financial Horizons VirtGate focuses on centralizing the channels for information flow which gives us the opportunity to build advisor relationships and enhance current relationships. Once we start bringing information to our advisors and employees through VirtGate, productivity will increase because they will have more information at their fingertips, and spend less time searching for files. Bharat Anand, President, Canada Financial Group We can promote the advisor relationships through VirtGate. VirtGate is a centralized online system in which we track advisors and their clients across our branches and share access to this data with each advisor, including sharing documents. VirtGate allows us to focus on centralization of information, cut out redundancy, improve accuracy, and reduce the cost of information storage and at the same time increase productivity. David Prince, President, Edge Benefits With input from our member Marketing Centres, we first reviewed all agency management systems on the market and created a short list of five vendors who each presented to a committee comprised of the leaders of Marketing Centres. VirtGroup's VirtGate received 45 out of a total of 50 possible votes from this group. Tim Traill, Director, eBusiness, Equinox Financial Everyone in the life industry has a web site, but most of these sites are not fulfilling the needs, let alone the dreams, of advisors. We chose VirtGroup due to their insurance and financial services expertise and found VirtGate to be the best system. VirtGroup has delivered as promised. VirtGroup genuinely understood and met our requirements time and again. Utilizing this technology, our functions and tasks are now streamlined to improve our service and support for both the advisor and his/her client. The incomparable features are more useful, accessible and will assist the advisor develop his/her business as well as our own. Today, Internet access to information is as essential as light and power and we have taken the initiative to make our business faster and available anytime, anywhere. The days of paper reports that are out of date the moment they are printed is over, and connectivity and freedom of information is in. Our staff, advisors and partners are more productive as a result of our switch to VirtGate. We have had zero problems and fantastic support from VirtGroup, and by being on the same system in-house we can soon merge our databases. By being on the same system as the majority of MGAs in Canada, we can all lower costs. Tracey Cambridge, Vice President, Global Pacific Financial Services Ltd. VirtGate is the perfect solution for our company. VirtGate is an Internet-based agency management solution that will allow all of us to track our new business effectively from anywhere that you can access the Internet. Our partner firms love the functionality and ease of access. Corporately, VirtGate provides a tool for us to manage our enterprise on a national level, which in turn will enable us to maximize value to our partners. I particularly like the fact that VirtGate is recognized by every major life company in the independent distribution business in Canada. Paul Brown, President, Barrington Wealth Partners Inc. We went shopping for a new management system and contacted VirtGroup amongst others. After the online demo, we could not wait to switch. VirtGate focuses on centralizing the channels for information flow, which gives us the opportunity to build advisor relationships and enhance current relationships. Once we start bringing information to our advisors and employees through VirtGate, productivity will increase because they will have more information at their fingertips, and spend less time searching for files. Kathy Magi, Vice-President, Operations & Finance, BOTICA Financial Group Inc. Our advisors have been urging us to offer online agency management for some time. VirtGate was clearly the best solution out there for advisors and the early reactions from the market confirm our instincts. Advisors who adopt VirtGate as their first source of information in their dealings with us will have a more accurate pulse on their cases and can leverage the data to win even more business from their client base. As far as efficiency goes, it's a quantum leap from the chaotic, old-fashioned practices they see at many other brokerages. Neil E. McPherson, President, McPherson Financial Group Inc. We are streamlining our systems so that information travels faster and with less risk of error. Once we decided to change from another system, we wanted a fast conversion and did the usual shopping around. VirtGate is exactly what we wanted and more and we quickly found that VirtGroup shares our vision for an online financial services system that aggregates, processes, analyzes, and reports in real time for all users. VirtGate is truly the most advanced and complete platform to meet the specific needs of the Canadian life insurance industry and we find it very helpful that the principals of VirtGroup have spent many years in the life insurance and investment industry -- financial services knowledge is key. Team playing is what the business is all about, and for this we thank VirtGroup for their support. Fred Stroud, President, Stroud Agencies Ltd. Having experience with both the VirtGate back office system and a previous LAN based system from another vendor, and it is my opinion that VirtGate is, by far, a superior system. VirtGate offers ease of administration, flexibility and the ability to offer instant, anywhere, anytime access to important information. I highly recommend that you carefully consider VirtGate as your back office system and would be happy to talk to you if you would like more information. Dyanne Enns, Vice-President, Operations, Daystar Financial Services Inc. At Worldsource Insurance Network we are committed to delivering service quality and excellence to independent advisors. Our advisors are looking for information, interaction, transaction, convenience, integration and collaboration. They want the right information at the right time, delivered through the right channels, 24-hours a day. They also want the information to be personalized and want to be able to reach us if they have a question or need additional help. VirtGate's technology allows us to improve our personal connection with advisors and forms the launching pad for expansion. The thoughtful use of technology and outsourcing plays a key role in driving costs out of back-room processing and the adoption of VirtGate is a key platform of our business strategy to increase efficiency and focus on core functions. Robert E.L. Trowbridge, President and Chief Operating Officer of Worldsource Insurance Network We converted from another LAN based software package on the market after comparing features and found those in VirtGate numerous and easy-to-use. VirtGate provides an innovative, yet affordable, support platform that has become the standard for the brokerage and advisor connectivity needs of today and tomorrow. VirtGate makes it possible for users at different locations to access and work with the same information at the same time. Supported by VirtGate, case managers will be able to handle more than twice the volume of new applications. For management, despite multiple locations, there is one database and reports can therefore be run real time in one second from any location. Dan Powell, President of Audis Canada VirtGate is a unique, user-friendly Internet browser based system that enables brokerage staff to spend more time on mission critical tasks and less time on non-productive paper pushing and phone calls. VirtGate is a standout technology success story in this small market. Larry Kinlin, President of TermSure.com VirtGate appealed to our need for flexible and powerful reporting in a web based environment to allow our brokers to service our clients to the best of their ability. Jim Kibble, Partner at Erb and Erb VirtGate's technology can help us get closer to our credit union representatives, improve speed-to-market, streamline interactions, reduce errors, and achieve operating efficiencies. We will use VirtGate in a multitude of initiatives -- in marketing, through expanded distribution systems, improved market research function and product enhancement. In sales, through improved advisor communications, document management and prospect generation. Bob Hickman, Vice President Technology, Credential Insurance Services Inc. Our mission is to help our brokers deal with the ever constant changes in the financial services industry and provide them with the most up to date tools so they may in turn provide the very best advice and service to their clients. VirtGate becomes our foundation for a successful partnership with our distributors. Gary Mandel, President, Independent Financial Concept Group We felt VirtGroup was by far the best equipped to meet our needs with regards to feeds from carriers. We will be looking at dozens of feeds to upload and process, and we see yet another advantage of our data and processing being located in a professional data center ­ why would any MGA even want to fool around with all of the combinations of hardware and software, when they could be selling insurance. You really just want everything to 'happen' and that is exactly what VirtGroup delivers. Simon Jackson, Principal, Simon L. Jackson Insurance Broker Ltd. When LCC was disbanded we felt that one or two entrepreneurial software vendors would step up to the plate and create an industry standard. Getting the insurance companies on side for data feeds will make MGAs and Advisor's lives much easier but they don't want to integrate with multiple systems. VirtGroup was somewhat unique as the key principals have been in the business and therefore 'get' the issues. They were clearly one of the ones to watch in setting the future standards for not only the Canadian market but potentially the U.S. as well. VirtGate's ongoing client installation success is proving this to be true. Byren Innes, Senior Vice-President and Director of NewLink Group Inc. Our staff says the VirtGate Internet based service is much more user friendly than other software packages, and much more targeted for our needs as a MGA. Rene Pereux, President, Daystar Financial Services Inc. VirtGate's technology can help us get closer to our credit union representatives, improve speed-to-market, streamline interactions, reduce errors, and achieve operating efficiencies. We will use VirtGate in a multitude of initiatives -- in marketing, through expanded distribution systems, improved market research function and product enhancement. In sales, through improved advisor communications, document management and prospect generation. Bob Hickman, Vice President Technology at Credential Insurance Services Inc. We have four branches in Southern Ontario and, for the first time, all our data will be on one system. Almost immediately through reduced service calls and a faster cycle to settlement, we will save much more in staff productivity than our fees to VirtGroup. On top of that, we expect an increase in advisor and branch productivity and an escalation in the recruiting of new brokers. We can also now expand our business model with more branches in more provinces leveraging Simon L. Jackson's core expertise. Stephen Tung, Principal, Simon L. Jackson Insurance Broker Ltd. We are technology aggressive and very innovative. Before VirtGate, the information our advisors needed to be more productive was stored in our LAN based system -- now with VirtGate they have direct real time access. We needed to make the move to VirtGate in order to provide our advisors with more information at their fingertips. VirtGate will be our 24-hour sales and service channel, a communal meeting place and a great employee tool. We are just beginning to realize the benefits we can derive from VirtGate, both in terms of reducing our costs and in generating revenue. David Slabodkin, President, Canada Protection Plan, Inc. Most interactions with our advisors across Canada are simple in nature, and we can move these to VirtGate, reserving the more expensive high touch channels for more appropriate service issues. Having direct access to his or her data will make the advisor feel more in power and make the supply chain more efficient. Karen Ashcroft, Senior Administrator, Canada Protection Plan, Inc. Our new MGA operation quickly reached critical mass in terms of sales, and we went looking for an administration system. VirtGate is more than just an administration system, but rather a total turnkey solution for a MGA installed fully complete and ready to operate. VirtGate allows us to be immediately up and running which in turn permits us to concentrate on our core expertise of personal sales support to our brokers. I was immediately impressed with VirtGroup's knowledge of the needs of MGA's. I know the broker's time is valuable, and we listened to brokers who said managing general agencies need online systems more now than ever before so they do not have to pick up the phone. VirtGate is the number one choice because it is powerful, reliable, fast, user friendly, and yet surprisingly affordable. Keith Brown, Principal/Owner, Daystar Financial Services Inc. Our advisors realize that their inforce clients are perhaps the best source of new potential sales, and with VirtGate we can help our advisors unlock that potential and turn our web site and administration system into a sales pipeline. Carol Postigo, Business Development / Marketing Director, Simon L. Jackson Insurance Broker Ltd. Consolidating information will allow us to better manage the corporate brand. It will also give us more centralized information and more control -- it is all about information delivery. Carl Rosen, Director of Legal Services, Canada Protection Plan, Inc. VirtGate is huge leap forward - at any time our advisors can view all our records on their behalf - new business, all policy files, their contracts, licenses, E & O, commissions and more. This is real time as it is the actual system and data used by our staff to compile and manage policy and contract information on our advisor's behalf. And that is not all ­ VirtGate becomes our contact manager to provide our advisors and branches information about seminars, meetings and incentives, to keep them current on industry news and product changes, and to provide direct links to carrier forms and software. We are very excited! T. Alexander Crossgrove, President of Insurmax Inc. At Wise Riddell Financial Group we pride ourselves on providing our advisors with the tools necessary to grow and manage their practices. The new power of web-based support is a step in fulfilling that commitment. Our new VirtGate web based back office will allow our advisors to track their new business, review existing clients, commissions, find addresses and phone numbers for their clients, and much, much more as our advisors will have access to all the files we have accumulated on their behalf over the years. Our Barrie branch is very important to us and, after years of separation, we can finally remove geography as an impediment to doing business. VirtGroup has been able to deliver on that promise. But this is just the beginning - whether advisors need a quick quote or an application form, with our virtual office, these are now just a mouse click away. Upon speaking with existing VirtGate customers I was also impressed with the depth and quality of the reporting engine. Management reports are very important to me -- how can you run a successful business without them? To realize maximum value from the reporting process, you need to be able to take a look at your business from a variety of angles and quickly drill right down into the data in order to understand what is going on. Critical information that used to take me hours to collect and analyze is now available in seconds -- anytime, anywhere -- even at home. David Stewart, Director, Insurance and Financial Services, Wise Riddell Financial Group Our insurance brokerage operation made a commitment to move to an Internet based data management system two years ago. After ten years of working with local area network software that tracked submitted, pending and issued cases, it had become obvious to us that weekly status communication to our producers utilizing the Postal Service was ineffective way to expedite business. After reviewing the available commercial systems in the U.S. Market at the time, we were unable to find a system that provided the flexibility our brokerage firm needed. Instead of purchasing a system, we made a poor decision to work with a technology company in the development of a proprietary system. After both a considerable amount of time and investment, we terminated our relationship with the proprietary Internet firm. Again, we reviewed the market and were unable to find a system that would allow us the flexibility that we needed. We were then referred to Tim Fitzpatrick at VirtGroup. After discussing our specific situation, he informed me their VirtGate service could deliver everything we needed plus give us additional features we had not considered which would further enhance our ability to communicate to our producers. They informed me they could take our Cold Fusion data and convert into VirtGate, with little downtime to our operation. They delivered on their promise! VirtGate has made an absolute improvement in our ability to deliver product and communicate with our producers. We have gone from a communication vehicle that was heavily dependent on the U.S. Post Office, to a system that uses "real time" data. Because of VirtGate, we are able to turn cases in a matter of days. Once a case is submitted by one of our producers, they are able to get the requirements through VirtGate, take the appropriate action, and respond back to us the same day...without having to discuss the case over the phone. With the Journal feature, there is an online paper trail on all of our cases. It has separated us from our competition and has made difference in the steady growth of our company. Over 60% of our producers online today! The sophisticated producers of tomorrow demand technology today...and VirtGate delivers. Besides having the best system in the market, Tim Fitzpatrick and Jeff Dick are extremely competent, responsive and knowledgeable about the insurance industry. Robert R. Flack, President, Quantum Insurance Partners, Inc. VirtGroup's team shows a concerned effort to keep up with the latest innovations and tech uses for its clients - and although most of its clients will think that it's part of the services they pay for, it is wonderful to see first hand a proactive commitment to them. It's rare (at least from my point of view) that the people we work with, and who work for us, take such a proactive approach to caring for their clients needs, wishes and concerns. Minor bugs that happen will happen, but your efforts should be applauded by all. Great work on a job well done - not only with this but with your commitment to us all with all the infinite wisdom you have granted us. It is truly a testament to the value you bring to the table for us. Sincerely, John Gialamas, Presentation Coordinator, Wise Riddell Financial Group We have used VirtGroup's VirtGate system since summer 2001. Investing in this service has proven to be an excellent business decision for PinnAcle. Our staff have found it easy to use, and when there were hurdles, VirtGroup's team were always there to offer guidance and advice. The brokers find the 24/7 accessibility to be an invaluable tool. Few independent brokers limit their operational hours to 9 - 5, and with VirtGate, the PinnAcle office is always open. Roneen Shaffer, President, PinnAcle Brokerage Group Inc. VirtGate is a tremendous boon for the advisors of our branch. The real-time access to information helps with service issues. For myself in management, before I had to ask Oakville for special reports or wait for the weekly production report by e-mail - now I have real time access to production reports. David Bumstead, Managing Partner, Wise Riddell Financial Group I am not a computer person, but I am amazed how much Tim and his team know about life insurance, and to me this was a major factor in selection of the VirtGate. Compared to having to explain needs to a computer technician, the progression was just so much easier and efficient, and I am feel very confident about the future momentum of VirtGate. Julian Wise, Partner, Wise Riddell Financial Group Two of my roles at Qualified Financial Services are to overlook all the computer issues in our office, and customer services. Whenever I have had any questions or when I needed resolution on particular issues about VirtGate, VirtGroup was impeccable in support response time. They always seem to provide the customer service that our society depends on. As for VirtGate, I just don't know how anyone would conduct business without it. It offers so much and can be addictive. You have everything at your fingertips and it seems to me that there is no other way of doing business. I had worked in the stock brokerage industry before, and now the insurance industry, and with no time at all I was able to grasp all VirtGate had to offer. It definitely helps you organize your business and for management it helps you keep track of business in just the touch of a keystroke. Here's to making all of our lives just a little bit more tolerable and easier to manage. Maria Herbert, Administrative Assistant, Qualified Financial Services I find VirtGate allows we to know what's happening 24/7. I love being able to send quotes via the net to my prospects and customers. Mitzy Harnick-Pollock, a Qualified Financial Services broker I am sitting here in my friend's family room in Bermuda viewing my pending cases on VirtGate. This is really cool. I updated 4 cases from here. Brian Gribben, a Qualified Financial Services broker I found VirtGate on my MGA site to be highly functional and intuitive to use. Lawrence Ian Geller, Broker, Campbellville I wanted to send you a note to tell you how pleased I am, and we are, with the introduction of VirtGate to our office. The conversion of data, reports, and other mechanisms of the program are all working well. I want to extend to you, my fullest appreciation of your efforts over the past several weeks. Your help in getting us up and running, and making changes for us, literally on the fly, was huge. Our staff were all impressed with their ability to use the service almost immediately, with little hands on training. Again, I thank you for your immense support of this new initiative. Kevin Cott, President, Qualified Financial Services Inc. VirtGate is the greatest system! It tracks my pending cases, provides detailed production reports, mailing labels, and much, much more. The folks at VirtGroup are always helpful. They are willing to take our input on enhancements and offer suggestions for ways to make the system work for us. It has definitely improved our overall productivity. Cathy Tate, Brokerage Consultant, Quantum Insurance Partners, Inc. VirtGate is a huge competitive advantage for today's busy broker. Being able to e-mail uploaded docs is great! It has eliminated one step from everything I do, no longer do I have to fax then scan. I simply scan and e-mail all from my office. Plus I know the person the document is intended for is the one who receives it. I am able to make sales to out of town customers without even leaving my office, all online!! Although I hate working evenings I like the fact I have access to my business around the clock if I need it. Paul Philip, Vice President, Qualified Financial Services Inc. As with any new system, we encountered a small learning curve when switching over to VirtGate. The support team at VirtGroup were always on call and helped us through the transition.. I have received prompt replies to e-mail queries sent on the weekend and even in the evening. That's the magic of the service - my productivity is not limited to business hours. My favorite features are the "What's New" page that I can use as a communication tool with brokers. The broadcast feature is another useful tool as well - and they are all so easy to use. Moniera Khan, Marketing, Events & Meetings Information, PinnAcle Brokerage Group Inc. I love that I can review and update my cases even when the office is closed. It is so convenient and saves so many phone calls, voice mails and automated answering services. Esther Davidson, a Qualified Financial Services broker