.INSURANCE Domains – Soon Available For Everyone

On May 31st, 2012 ftLD Registry Services LLC applied for the .insurance and .bank TLDs. According to their head of operations, Craig Schwartz , this partnership aimed to
“provide the highest security for the millions of customers conducting banking and insurance activities online and to ensure the safety and soundness of the industry”.
Now, the .insurance domains are up for the taking with general availability starting with June 15th 2016.
What the .insurance gTLDs will offer, will be a trusted brand and protection to the users. Also, the insurance providers will have the opportunity to enlarge their marketplace with this new internet presence specially designed for them. The .insurance domains come with heighten security systems that outrun the current .com solutions.
But not everyone will be eligible to own and administrate .insurance domains. ftLD Registry Services LLC announced very strict eligibility criteria and also a fixed timeline for applications. In order to benefit of .insurance domains, you must be a verified member of the global insurance community. More specifically, only companies, organizations and individuals which are part of the industry as detailed by them:
1. Insurance companies established by a government authority (e.g., licensed, certified);
2. Brokers/brokerages, licensed insurance agents/agencies or other counterparts (e.g., intermediaries) established by a government authority;
3. Associations with members mostly composed of entities or individuals presented above in 1 or 2;
4. Groups of associations with members mostly composed of associations presented above in 3;
5. Service providers mainly owned by or mostly backing established entities presented above in 1 or 2 ( only authorized by the Registry Operator Board of Directors); and
6. Agents/agencies, government regulators of insurance companies, brokers/brokerages or other counterparts (e.g., intermediaries) or organizations composed of government regulators (only authorized by the Registry Operator Board of Directors).
Over 50 founding members and endorsers of the fTLD Registry, who own authenticated trademarks, had the opportunity to register .insurance domains in the Pre-Launch period, between the 3rd – 9th of May. To name a few, we’re talking about Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America, State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association Inc., Property Casualty Insurers Association of America, Insurance Europe, National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies, Reinsurance Association of America and many others.
After the Pre-Launch, follows the Sunrise period (9th May – 8th June 2016) and the Founders’ Period ( 9th June – 14th June 2016), concluding in the opening for General Availability on the 15th June 2016.
It is at utmost importance that eligible entities that wish to register for .insurance domains, fill in and submit their applications as soon as possible! Considering that the timeline of the applications will be a deciding factor in granting .insurance domains (first-come, first-served service policy for all periods), time must not be spared in order to secure the domain name you desire. Factoring also that the domain will be available internationally, and that only in the USA there are over 38000 insurance providers, competition for the domain names will be fairly high.
The new domain will hopefully inspire the same kind of trust and confidence the .bank domains have gained since it’s debut in May 2015. Having higher technical standards, strict verification and eligibility criteria for the domain names owners will help boost the insurance business in the online world and give it a competitive edge with this new online space.