be because validating a claim takes some doing. You'll get up to $500 if your cell phone dies for 48 hours straight - if you can prove it with a note from your telco. Collect up to $20,000 for bad lotto tickets, but only if you blow five out of six numbers for 52 weeks straight. And that meeting with martians? Better back it up with testimony from an internist, air traffic controllers and the local police. Of course, since most policies are purchased as gag gifts, the fine print isn't really the point.
Last year, SirHuckleberry sold fewer than 20,000 policies, mostly to Dutch and German customers, says founder Knut Eicke. But the entrepreneur, whose once-red hair and schoolboy high jinks inspired the site's name, has big plans. He's targeting corporate clients who can afford to buy in bulk - car dealers, for instance, who might want to reward their customers with gift policies that would pay out if gas prices hit a particular price. By 2004, Eicke aims to sell 1 million policies, and this year he intends to take the company public. Sounds risky - good thing SirHuckleberry insures against stock market crashes, too. / Jen Muehlbauer
LUCKY BREAK
Windfall for Webcasters
A new law meant to protect small-time investors is bringing big business to firms that specialize in online investor relations.
The Securities and Exchange Commission created the fair-disclosure regulation - which went into effect in October - to ensure that the Joe Ameritrades of the Web get the same access to corporate info as heavyweight analysts and investors. Eager to show their compliance with the new regulation, corporations are rushing to stream their conference calls and earnings announcements over the Web. That's brought a parade of new customers to the companies that host Webcasts, including Investors Broadcast Network, Corporate Communications Broadcast Network and BestCalls.com.
Business is booming at CCBN, which counts Cisco, Intel and General Motors among its clients. The company had 2,500 Webcast clients in the third quarter of 2000 - up from 250 for the same period in the previous year. "[The SEC] has absolutely increased our business," says CCBN VP Lynn Little. "There is a lot of pressure on companies to get as much information out there as possible." One-fourth of clients who signed up between late August 2000 and October 2000 cited the fair-disclosure regulation as their reason for hiring CCBN.
CCBN and its competitors tout Webcasting as an affordable alternative to conference calls. While phone companies charge per listener, Webcasters charge flat fees ranging from $750 to $1,000 for the quarterly online events. That turns out to be a bargain for large companies like Cisco, which, Little says, has attracted as many as 15,000 online listeners.
In the last part of 2000, Webcasting was at its cheapest. Both CCBN and Investors Broadcast Network waived their fees, hoping to pull in new clients and then steer them toward buying extra services, like managing Web sites and hotlines and targeting e-mail and faxes. So far, the plan is working. "[New customers] start out saying they want just the Webcast," says Little. "But in the end, we have moved many onto our gold or diamond package." With the full packages priced between $2,200 and $2,500 a month, online IR companies should collect revenues well worth announcing. / Blair Clarkson
INSULT TO INJURY
Schlock Market
It's hard to imagine that many Net investors survived 2000 flush with cash and hungry for fresh adventures in humiliation. But just in case, financial sites like Nasdaq.com are peddling a flea market's worth of tchotchkes that can only be described as high-risk investments. A sampling of the more dubious items:
1) Bull and bear plush toys, Nasdaq.com, $18.99
2) Jester hat, Fool.com, $35
3) 9-INCH statue "The Trader," IPO.com, $39
REAL ESTATE
On Sale Now: www.Ripoff.com
Web watchers scoffed when incubator eCompanies paid
