The pandemic put the kibosh on any in-person festivities AUL Corp. had planned a year ago to celebrate its 30th anniversary.

But the full-service F&I provider certainly is pretty jovial since the company still had reasons to revel thanks to a record-setting year that has continued in 2021.

“This sales momentum has continued into 2021, as we just concluded our best March on record,” AUL president and chief executive officer Jimmy Atkinson said in a news release. “Notably, all of this was achieved with more than 90% of our workforce operating remotely, a testament to tightly orchestrated technology systems and excellent teamwork, or what we call modeling the ‘AUL Way.’”

Since its founding in 1990, AUL has grown from a single-product, vehicle service contract (VSC) provider to a full-service F&I provider that now has administered more than 2.5 million contracts and processed an excess of $900 million in claims.

AUL’s product lineup now includes limited warranties, VSCs, guaranteed asset protection (GAP) and a full suite of ancillary solutions. Responding last year to the rapid rise in automotive technologies and the growth in hybrid/EV vehicles, AUL introduced a technology-focused VSC called AUL-TECH, with options for unlimited mileage.

Together, these new products have helped the firm accelerate its growth trajectory.

At AUL’s current rate of growth, the firm is forecasting to sell its 3-millionth policy and process in excess of $1 billion in claims by the end of the year.

“When the pandemic first hit, there were no indications of what was to come. And like most in the industry, we focused on transitioning to a remote workforce as quickly and safely as possible and put our collective heads down and went to work,” Atkinson said.

“Yet today we are grateful to be able to celebrate our 31st year in business with record sales in a year in which all we could do was to be prepared for the unknown,” he went on to say.

AUL senior vice president, agency and dealer sales Paul McCarthy added these perspectives and a glimpse of what the company has planned for future celebrations.

“And we would be remiss if we didn’t acknowledge the cooperation, dedication and hard work of our growing network of agents, dealers and lenders, without whom these results would not have been possible,” McCarthy said.

“In anticipation of increased vaccinations and waning restrictions, we will once again be honoring our leading producers at our annual presidents club retreat, to be held this September at the Four Seasons in Los Cabos,” McCarthy went on to say.

AUL highlighted several other notable milestones during its 31 years of business, including:

— First day of business: April 1, 1990

— First agent signed: Gary Eggleson (still active)

— First dealer signed: Guy Strohmeier’s Auto Center (active)

— 1 million contracts sold: 2011

— Hired 100th employee: 2013

— Earthquake: 2014

— Wildfires: 2017

— 2 million contracts sold: 2018

— Introduced GAP and ancillary products: 2019

— Introduce AUL-TECH and EV products: 2020

— 2.5 million contracts sold: 2020