DaimlerChrysler Corp. has chosen Digital Insurance to become its online resource for employee health benefits offered by DaimlerChrysler to its more than 4,500 dealers and small business suppliers nationwide.

The carmaker's independent dealers and suppliers with 500 or fewer employees will be able to research, price, compare, purchase, and administer a broad selection of health insurance products online, according to Jodi Tinson, a spokesperson for DaimlerChrysler. Insurers offering their products through Digital Insurance include Aetna, Blue Cross and Blue Shield, CIGNA, HealthNet, Provident, and WellPoint.

DaimlerChrysler will roll out the online health insurance option to its dealers and suppliers by the end of March.

"This is all about efficiency and connectivity," says Gary Dilts, DaimlerChrysler's senior vice president. "Because of the virtual marketplace, our dealers and smaller suppliers enjoy the benefits of aggregated buying power, delivered with the speed of the Internet."

The agreement, announced Feb. 8, 2001, will strengthen the carmaker's relationship with its dealers and suppliers, Tinson says. "We want to help them be profitable and stay in business," she says. "This will cut down on the confusion and frustration surrounding the selection and administration of health benefits."

Digital Insurance, headquartered in Atlanta, Ga., provides online health insurance options to small businesses, the self-employed, and individual customers.