Distribution: Edward Jones, Insphere

Insphere also has arranged to sell selected life insurance products written by Minnesota Life Insurance Company, a unit of Minnesota Mutual Companies Inc., St. Paul, Minn.

Insphere was formed in July and is targeting the small business and middle-income market. It says it has regulatory approvals to operate in 49 states and the District of Columbia, and it expects to have a force of 3,000 agents when it starts full operations in 2010. It is backed by a group of private equity investors, including affiliates of the Blackstone Group L.P., New York. Goldman Sachs Capital Partners, part of Goldman Sachs Group Inc., New York, and Credit Suisse Group, Zurich.

Phillip Hildebrand, Insphere’s president, said the company plans to continue recruiting insurance field managers and agents, in an effort to double the number of agents over the next few years.