Property and Casualty agents soar around dealerships like buzzards picking up money you left laying on the ground.
I recently moved to a new state and asked a neighbor about where he takes his bike for service and where he gets insurance. He said, “Just take it over to my buddy Mike’s place. They do it all, and the girl in the office will fix you up with the insurance.”
I dropped my bike off for service and asked about insurance for my bike It seems that not only was Cindy the F&I manager, but she was also the onsite insurance rep.
Cindy works in a dealership that used to use a large volume call center agency that the customer would be on the phone with for a lengthy period of time, and that seemed to interrupt the customer flow. They then tried using a local person that brought in doughnuts and promised better service, but it still took longer than they would have liked, and forced them to give up control of the sales process for a period of time. Then, a question popped into the owner’s mind, ”Why can’t I just handle this myself?”
In many states, it is possible for a dealership to acquire the necessary licenses and insurance company appointments to offer property and casualty insurance to their own customers. There are usually required classes and exams, but many dealerships have found that the rewards far outweigh the efforts involved.
I followed up with Cindy’s boss Mike, and this is how the process worked in their store: The owner of the store obtained a license for himself and the dealership to be able to offer the products by going to a three-day prep class and taking a state exam.
He sent his F&I staff to a similar class where they also obtained proper licensing.
The dealership and individuals obtained the required errors and omissions insurance policies required to protect themselves against liability.
He contacted insurance carriers that his customers used and asked for the agent appointment office. He obtained appointments from a variety of very well-known carriers.
Once the appointments and licenses were obtained, all of the salespeople were trained to ask everyone who their insurance carrier was, and if they would be interested in a quote.
During the first F&I interview of the sales process, insurance info is obtained by the F&I manager so that a quote can be ready when the customer is delivered to F&I for the menu presentation.
The dealer raved about the results, not only in profits from the sale of the product, but also in the ability to offer insurance as a customer retention method. The benefits were many:
• It streamlined the sales process and kept the dealership in control.
• The salespeople always had something to open with if they could not come up with their own greet.
• Through policy updates (including premium bills) the dealership name was kept in front of the customer.
• If there was an unfortunate event like theft or an accident, the dealership was aware.
• The commissions — while not large, every drop in the bucket helps.
• The renewals are where the magic happens. The example dealer sold 600 to 700 units per year and in their seventh year of writing P&C insurance, they received renewal premiums in excess of $60,000.
Check with your state insurance department for the regulations and requirements for offering this type of product.
RPMOne is a leading provider of F&I products and dealer development services dedicated to serving the powersports market. Due to its comprehensive experience with dealerships, lenders and insurance companies, RPMOne has created top-tier F&I programs, web-based tools, training programs, and sales and marketing systems to meet the unique demands of the industry. RPMOne’s mission is to increase client profit to its fullest potential.
