Why It Matters to Have Just One F&I Provider

Does your dealership work with multiple F&I providers? One for ancillaries, another for VSP and another for GAP? 

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Ever consider working with just one provider instead? 

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No, it’s not crazy. It’s becoming more commonplace than you may think.

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Change is Here…

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Dealerships have been navigating some of the most turbulent times ever over the last 3 years. It created an openness to changing the way they sell cars and how they look at individual profit centers. 

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Digital retailing is one example of a fundamental change ushering in a faster, and at the time, a safer way to deliver a car. Many old-school dealers who had resisted this shift found they had no choice and it wasn’t as awful as they thought it would be.

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One change that has been moving through the industry is consolidating all F&I products under one provider. For decades, dealers have had many providers to choose from, each with their own speciality. And where one may have been lacking in specific products, another was there to fill that space.

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That strategy may have worked in the past but there is something to be said for a streamlined approach to managing F&I product offerings through just one source.

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Benefits of Working with One F&I Provider

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There are several ways that your store would benefit from switching to a one provider model in today’s dealership environment…

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• Less Fear of Provider Instability - The last few years have seen more mergers and acquisitions in the F&I space than we’ve seen in decades. What used to be a robust list of providers is shrinking across the board. PE firms are driving this change and if your dealership has multiple providers, you have to always have one eye on potential changes.

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And if those changes happen, your F&I staff will feel the impact (and not always in a good way). Having to shift to another provider from one suddenly can negatively affect  claims and other everyday functions for your staff and your customers. Work with one provider that is never up for sale and none of this ever has to cross your mind.

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• Easier to Navigate Proposed FTC Requirements - The proposed changes in how F&I products are presented and sold to buyers is made much easier by working with one F&I provider. One set of products, one claims portal, one marketing approach and training that is executed by YOUR staff instead of the provider…all of this makes it easier to craft a compliant and uniform approach to F&I sales that doesn’t get your dealership into any trouble. 

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• Better Claims Experience - Selling F&I products through different providers also means your customer having to navigate different claims portals to get repairs authorized. What are the chances that things go bad? Pretty high as a customer can get frustrated with one claim going smoothly from filing to payment and then have a terrible experience with another for a different claim.

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One portal with one claims department process makes it easier for your staff when guiding your customer and easier for your customer to know who is handling the claims and how long it will take to get approval for the repair. 

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• Administrative Tasks Become Easier - If your customer has to cancel coverage, having just one provider to handle that for them provides a better, more seamless experience. Cancellations are never ideal but if your customer finds that the process is easier with just one provider instead of three, it reflects well for your dealership overall. If they become a repeat buyer, they are less likely to resist buying F&I products during their next purchase. They will know who they are dealing with should an issue arise again. 

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See the recurring theme here? One F&I provider makes for a better customer experience, period. F&I administrative headaches are also reduced when you have just one company to provide everything you need and one claims portal to work within. 

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It really comes down to doing things the old way because it’s all you’ve ever done or looking to the future of your F&I profit center with not only a healthier bottom line but processes that are easier for you and your customer to navigate by using one F&I provider.

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Let truWarranty be that one-stop-shop. Several Top 50 dealers groups have consolidated their F&I products with us as their only provider for all the reasons above. Let’s take a look at your process, plug in the numbers, and let us show you a simpler and more profitable way to move into the future.