iA Financial Group has acquired Global Warranty, a group of independent warranty providers and administrators for the Canadian used-vehicle market, iA announced.

London, Ontario-based Global Warranty provides vehicle warranties and vehicle protection products for more than 1,500 dealerships and 400 authorized repair centers nationwide. The company has been accredited by the Better Business Bureau since March 1997 and has an A-plus BBB rating.

“It is a well-run organization with a strong reputation and we are pleased to welcome this highly professional team into iA Financial Group,” said Gwen Gareau, senior vice-president of iA Dealer Services and iA Auto Finance. “This will increase our presence in the used-vehicle warranty market, with longstanding operations in London, where our subsidiary Lubrico Warranty is also based.”

iA Financial Group executive vice-president and chief growth officer for Canadian operations Pierre Miron said the addition of Global Warranty “fits perfectly with iA Dealer Services’ growth strategy. We have been in the vehicle warranty business for more than 60 years and we believe strongly that the used-car market is an important segment for growth. Future growth and synergies with Global Warranty look very promising.”

Global Warranty president and CEO Roy Neufert said that long history in the warranty business is why his company agreed to sell to iA.

“iA Financial Group has been doing this for more than 60 years across North America and has relationships with more than 10,000 new and used car dealerships,” he said. “We believe their expertise, experience and vision for the future will serve all Global employees and iA Financial Group well.”

iA Financial said the acquisition will be slightly accretive from the first year, on a core and reported basis. The impact on iA Financial Group’s solvency ratio is a one percentage point decrease.