Another provider entered the F&I marketplace this year to connect with consumers who did not opt to secure a vehicle service contract (VSC) at the time of their new- or used-vehicle purchase.  

Vincent Odoardi, managing partner of Bedford Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram in Bedford Hills, N.Y., put it this way in a news release about Servicecontract.com, “Some customers don’t like to make an on-the-spot decision. There is definitely business there — in what we call the ‘after, after-sale.’”

Site officials explained their intuitive new website was designed for consumers, to help customers understand their options and empower them to select their own vehicle service contract coverage, putting them in control of the transaction.

In addition to offering simple, customizable coverage options, Servicecontract.com is integrated with an advanced rating engine that can deliver confidence that Servicecontract.com VSCs are fairly priced.

Furthermore, Servicecontract.com is rolling out what it called an “unprecedented stacks” program that can provide two reward plans to allow consumers to reclaim unused premium payments.

“Consumers want to select their own coverage, on their own time,” said Michael Wymard, co-founder of Servicecontract.com. “We know many consumers are tired of feeling as if they are forced to buy long-term or mileage-limited service contracts in order to ensure their vehicle repairs are covered."

On the other side of the transaction, dealers had no way to recapture the lost opportunities from customers leaving the dealership without purchasing F&I products. These are the reasons why we launched Servicecontract.com,” Wymard continued.

Odoardi is convinced this provider has its place in the competitive F&I space.

“It’s an untapped market,” Odoardi said. “There is definitely at least 10% more VSC business we are missing out on in a given month after the vehicle sale. We talk about following up with those customers, but F&I managers have too many demands on their time, and it just doesn’t get done.”

Unique benefits of Servicecontract.com VSCs include:

— No term or mileage restrictions

— Month-to-month subscription coverage

— The ability to cancel at any time directly within the consumer online portal.

Created to empower dealers by meeting the needs of consumers, Servicecontract.com also want to serve as an experienced post-sale VSC partner, by including dealership-branded websites and telemarketing support powered by data-mining technology with direct DMS integration. Dealers are provided with seamless branding at every consumer touchpoint, and can select between multiple participation models.

“Our goal was to revolutionize the F&I process,” Wymard said. “Servicecontract.com was created to improve the consumer experience by giving them control of their vehicle protection.

“Simultaneously, we help dealers provide added value to their customers in the post-sale arena, while providing seamless assistance to recapture some of that lost revenue,” he continued.

The vehicle service contract market as a whole represents a $35 billion opportunity that is still growing, according to Colonnade Advisors’ Vehicle Service Contract Industry Market Commentary. And although the post-sale channel is currently the smallest of the four primary VSC sales channels, it currently represents $2.4 billion in annual sales.

Wymard insisted this market segment continues to grow as it is continuously replenished when factory warranties expire.

“Today’s drivers are predominantly digital natives, and prefer to shop online,” Wymard said. “If dealers want to reach them after they drive off the lot, they have to make the F&I experience easy and accessible at all hours, wherever they are most comfortable.

Servicecontract.com was created to be that virtual VSC partner for dealers to reach their customers post-sale,” he went on to say.