The Travelers Company Inc. management said it will beginaggressively marketing its online direct personal lines business inan effort to capture a niche market the company is missing.

Joseph P. Lacher Jr., executive vice president for the St. Paul,Minn.-based insurer, said the company plans in late Spring andearly Fall to begin rolling out TV and radio advertising toutingits online direct market.

He said the initial roll-out will be modest in a few geographiclocations as the company learns the impact of its ads. Plans callfor an increase in advertising ramping up to national coverageduring the summer.

Mr. Lacher said while the company is planning to push the directmarketing to consumers over the Internet, Travelers still stronglybacks its independent agents. He said the company is making thismove because it feels it needs to address a growing niche market ofbuyers who want to buy direct online.

"The independent agent system has remained strong and vibrantand offers terrific value to consumers, and we remain bigsupporters," Mr. Lacher said.

However, there has been a precipitous increase in the number ofconsumers who want to buy direct over the Internet over the past 15to 20 years, and Travelers feels it needs to be a player in thatmarketplace.

Direct sales, he said, are an area of great growth opportunityfor the company, and it is an area that is not in competition withindependent agents because it is a demographic that has nointentions of buying from an independent agent. In fact, thebusiness loss comes from captive agents, he noted.

Having an online direct business is nothing new for Travelers.It has had the capability for more than 10 years, Mr. Lachernoted.

The news should not come as a surprise to Traveler's independentagents. The company has communicated its plans to agents and held aconference call with them, Mr. Lacher explained.

The initial reaction was very negative, he said, but after goingthrough the reasons for the move and its commitment to continuedsupport for independent agents, many agents understood he said.

"It should work out for all of us," he explained, noting thatthe aim is not to replace agents but expand the business. Theprospect is that as a buyer's needs expand, the need for a trustedadvisor will grow, and the online business will eventuallygravitate to Traveler's independent agents.

He said direct market customers will pay the same price forinsurance as they would if they had gone to an agent. He also saidany customer who goes to the site will be taken care of, but thecompany will do nothing to interfere with the independent agentrelationship.

While it markets its direct business, Mr. Lacher said thecompany also plans to continue investing in its independent agentnetwork.

"We are going to drive down that unique position," he said.

Reacting to the news, Dave Evans, senior vice president for theIndependent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America, said manycompanies are experimenting with new avenues to grow their businessand Travelers is offering a level playing field for agents and thedirect business. "We are okay with that," he said.

"Travelers has said it is still passionate about its independentagents," said Mr. Evans. "They just want to be able to serve thatmarket niche that wants to go direct and it should not be seen as asignal that they are losing confidence in the independent agentchannel at all. They are just trying to capture another niche."

In an e-mail response, Diane Fowler, executive director forProfessional Insurance Agents of Connecticut, New Hampshire, NewJersey and New York Inc., said: "In challenging times, everybusiness seeks to increase its exposure to customers. We understandTravelers' effort to gain greater market share by experimentingwith alternative distribution systems."