Another warranty and service contract provider now is in the market to serve franchised and independent dealerships.
This week, Titan Warranty Administration publicly launched its all-digital platform, specializing in manufacturing and administering customized service contracts and limited warranty programs.
Titan Warranty’s products include vehicle service contracts, certified pre-owned wraps, certified pre-owned limited warranties, guaranteed auto protection, customized multi-protection, maintenance plans, lease wear and use, and more.
The company also provides a variety of customized participating programs including producer-owned warranty companies, reinsurance, contingent compensation and private label programs.
“With flexible service contract and limited warranty programs, elite experience and fully web-based delivery, our goal is to uplift our clients to achieve a higher standard and become an industry titan,” Titan Warranty Administration CEO Rex Lyon said in a news release. “There is an incredible opportunity for growth and innovation in this space, and we are thrilled to be on the cusp of a welcome industry revolution.”
Titan Warranty wants to eliminate common inefficiencies in the market by using state-of-the-art cloud-based infrastructure, paperless technologies, and a decentralized, scalable business model. Rather than boxing customers into a rigid framework of predetermined options, Titan Warranty said it can provide a uniquely tailored service founded on flexibility and efficiency.
“Our product suite is designed to support customer retention and satisfaction while protecting budgets,” Titan Warranty COO Greg Burl said. “We’ve already seen remarkable appetite for our industry-leading technology platform and the advantage afforded by our decentralized operations. We look forward to growing with the industry and meeting their needs with our novel use of technology and unique understanding of customers’ requirements.”
For more information, visit https://titanwarrantyadministration.com.
FrogData is looking to help dealerships meet the commitments made when selling warranties during the vehicle delivery process.
The company recently launched WarrantyMind, a data platform for warranty claims processing that designed to solve critical warranty administration problems at dealerships.
FrogData highlighted the WarrantyMind platform can integrate with the DMS, enabling warranty experts to file claims more accurately and much faster than the existing dealership process.
Because of its comprehensive integration with all DMS systems, FrogData explained WarrantyMind is able to optimize claims management, using data analytics to analyze each repair order to ensure accuracy and to improve the speed of filing. The dealership claims management team is then able to use the FrogData platform to track and file claims efficiently.
Key features of WarrantyMind include the following:
• Data-driven warranty claims management that analyzes every repair order and uses FrogData technology to ensure accuracy and speed of filing
• Instant communication through FrogData’s internal system with dealers for repair clarifications
• OEM-certified warranty experts with years of experience
• Real-time analytics on dealer warranty repair efficiency
• Integration with most DMS systems, so repair orders are already in the FrogData platform
“WarrantyMind solves a painful, and ongoing, issue for dealerships: the cumbersome, manual process of warranty administration, which can lead to significant delays in claims reimbursement and subsequent revenue losses,” FrogData vice president Chris Dulla said in a news release.
“In addition, today’s dealers face a critical shortage of good warranty claims administrators: WarrantyMind addresses, and resolves, this issue directly and efficiently,” Dulla continued.
Dulla noted that warranty administration is the single biggest driver of cash flow in a dealership and depends on good documentation by warranty administrators and technical repair staff, but that very often, claims pile up due to staffing issues.
In addition, FrogData pointed out that current and future industry trends make effective warranty administration even more important.
For example, increased consumer adoption of EVs and lease-based mobility models mean dealer’s warranty business will increase. Delay, or failure, to file these claims can cause significant revenue losses.
“As demand for warranty administration increases, WarrantyMind offers peace of mind to dealers because they can depend on its vast data analytics platform and AI to punch through the claims and process them automatically,” Dulla said. “And, with its direct one-to-one communication with the service manager, missing information will no longer delay claim submission.”
According to recent FrogData dealership reports, the WarrantyMind process is making a difference to the dealership bottom line.
For example, one dealer saw a 30% (4.2 days) improvement in the time it took to file a claim and reported a 10% lower rejection rate along with a five-day improvement in warranty collection efforts.
Additional dealers reported an overall lower cost for their stores, with many saving up to $25,000 in the first year of service alone.
“We designed WarrantyMind to be a total claims solution for dealers, one they can count on every day to open a critical revenue channel,” Dulla said. “So, it’s very rewarding to see that WarrantyMind is making a measurable difference in improving warranty cash flow and reducing overhead costs.”
Protective Asset Protection recently shared a new set of data analysis showing how much average claims have increased annually for GAP payouts and vehicle service contract (VSC) claims dating back to 2014.
The provider of F&I programs, services and dealer owned warranty company programs found the average GAP claim payout has risen 19.5% between 2014 and 2018 for new vehicles, and a 95% increase over the same time for used vehicles. The company indicated new vehicles have averaged a 4.7% increase each year during that time and 18.5% per year increase for used vehicles.
Protective Asset Protection pointed toward several factors that have led to this increase in GAP claims payouts over the last few years, including
— An increase in claims due to more accidents with more cars on the road
— Insurance companies are more likely to total vehicles due to rising replacement parts complexity and corresponding costs, in conjunction with falling residual values (particularly for cars over SUVs/crossovers and trucks).
— More impactful weather events driving up claims payouts in recent years.
Protective Asset Protection went on to share that average VSC claims have risen 21% between 2014 and 2018 for new vehicles and a 3.7% increase for used vehicles. New vehicles have averaged a 5% increase each year during that time, with a smaller 0.9% increase for used vehicles.
“Service contract claims had among their largest payout increases in 2018 for both new and used vehicles, which illustrates that the costs associated with repairs and parts replacements continues to rise due to the complexity of today’s vehicles,” Protective Asset Protection senior vice president of operations and information technology Christopher Bernish said.
“GAP claims are impacted by many of the same factors but also tend to be influenced by weather patterns, which is understandable, given recent devastating hurricanes and other weather events,” Bernish continued.
While many analysts continue to predict softening new-vehicle sales, Protective Asset Protection emphasized used-vehicle demand is expected to continue to increase throughout the year. In fact, Edmunds analysts expect 2019 used-vehicle sales to reach 41 million, their highest level since the recession.
These trends will certainly impact F&I product claims activity going forward, according to Protective Asset Protection.
“Dealers continue to focus on F&I programs to combat margin compression and improve ownership satisfaction,” Protective Asset Protection said. “Ownership groups have also looked to have greater transparency with their F&I programs such as leveraging dealer-owned warranty company structures, whereby dealers own, market, sell and support their own branded F&I program.
“Besides greater profit potential on F&I sales, the great benefit here lies in the fact that dealers offer their own F&I offerings ranging from service contracts to ancillary products,” the provider went on to say.
