(EMAILWIRE.COM, February 27, 2001 ) NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. --!hey inc. (www.heyinc.com), a leading provider of customer engagement solutions, today announced that the New York
State Insurance Department, (www.ins.state.ny), is using its icontact( chat technology to proactively offer consumers immediate assistance in their search for information on the New York State Insurance Department's Web site. The Department is the first governmental agency in the country to utilize !hey's customer service application, that will enable the Department to enhance its consumer service function with cutting edge technology.

!hey's icontact technology enables New York State Insurance to greet and assist its Web site visitors via a proactive chat session.
Visitors who accept the offer are guided through the Web site and directed to the information they need. Department NetReps(, online customer service representatives, also have the ability to guide site visitors to specific pages on their site that contains relevant information. If the consumer can't find the desired information on the Web site, the NetRep sends a message directing them to the Department's toll-free Consumer Service telephone number. Department NetReps are available on weekdays from 9:00am
- 5:00pm.

"New York State Insurance is committed to making the Internet a more
user-friendly way to communicate with New York State consumers," said Duncan Mackay, president and CEO of !hey inc. "Implementing !hey's unique proactive chat technology has allowed New York State Insurance to extend its service reach to the Web and has given them the opportunity to offer constituents a helping hand as they are accessing the consumer services on the Department's Web site."

!hey's icontact technology lets businesses observe surfers on their Web
sites, access real-time personalized information about their previous
visits, prioritize sales potential, and proactively initiate conversations with their customers. icontact lets companies recognize and target high-value customers on their Web sites, personalize the online experience with high-touch assistance, facilitate opportunities to close sales, up-sell and cross-sell, and increase customer retention.

About !hey inc.

!hey inc. (www.heyinc.com), a privately held company headquartered in North Andover, MA, provides businesses with multi-channel customer interaction solutions that leverage expertise in call center operations and Web engagement technologies. In September 2000, !hey software inc, and icontact.com, inc. merged to form !hey inc. The company offers applications for Web engagement, live chat, traditional call center and speech-enabled voice, automated Q&A, and e-mail management. Through the acquisition of Really Easy Internet, Inc. (www.reallyeasy.com) in December 2000, the company offers VoIP collaboration and patent-pending firewall compensation technologies. !hey's clients range from Fortune 500 companies, such as Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard, to smaller Internet companies, such as Bizfon and America's Choice Healthplans.


About New York State Insurance

In 2000, the New York State Insurance Department Web site,
www.ins.state.ny, was awarded an 'A' by the Consumer Federation of America (CFA) in its ranking of State Insurance Department Web sites.

Features of the Departments' Web site include: quick access to consumer
guides, Department contacts and consumer hotlines, and current Department news; Access via e-mail for inquiries and general insurance related questions; Access to the Departments Consumer page with just one click; List of all the toll-free hotlines available on the site; Links to licensed insurers, rating service AM Best, news site Insure.com, other state and federal agencies, and resources such as the National Flood Insurance Program; "Resource" centers for health, auto, life, frauds and homeowners insurance; Small Business Corner with various resources on types of insurance commonly purchased by small business owners and links to web sites to assist business owners in making decisions about various insurance issues; Electronic access to Department of Motor Vehicle codes, which allows consumers to immediately obtain the name, address and phone number of the
insurer that corresponds to the code; and Access to all disciplinary actions taken by the Department against agents and brokers and companies giving consumers necessary information to help them choose an agent, broker, or insurance company.

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!hey is a trademark of !hey inc. !heycenter is a service mark of !hey inc. icontact and NetReps are trademarks of icontact.com. All other products and services are the trademarks of their respective owners.

Contact Information:
!hey inc.
Joseph Nchor
Tel:
Email us


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