An Interview With Senior VP Jon Anderson of American Guardian

This subscriber favorite channel has yet another great read from one of the industry's leading F&I product and services supplier. Senior Vice President Jon Anderson has candidly answered questions both professional and personal with regard to American Guardian and his experience in the industry.

Tell us about your company and the products that you offer.

American Guardian group of companies offers administration and insurance of vehicle service contracts, warranties, F&I products, appearance protection products, and technology solutions for auto, RV, truck and powersport dealerships. We do business across the United States and Canada, and are proud of our a-rated customer service, and A-rated insurance backing of our programs.

Simply put, we offer great value, great service, and great profitability to our customers.

Our products help our dealerships make more money, provide great coverage and service to their customers, and focus on keeping the customer coming back to the dealership, and buying another vehicle because of the service that they have received.

Who are your target markets and what messages would you like to give them?

We have two primary markets. Dealerships interested in long-term mutually profitable relationships, and product and service providers to dealerships that need service and innovation for their dealerships.

We have business partners that have been with us from our inception. We continually look for new opportunities and partners looking to build long-term profitability and value. We’re in the business for the long-term because we love the challenges, the opportunity, and the fact that it is ever changing. Our target markets are that same way. We do business with quite a few second and third generation dealers and service providers that love this industry.

Tell us about yourself and how you became Senior VP of American Guardian Warranty Services, Inc.

I have been in the dealership, insurance and service contract business since the early 1990’s. I have previously held my same level position with another highly successful company, have ownership in several, and have been involved in successfully building business in a number of industries.

I’ve been involved with American Guardian since its founding in 1998, and part of the business development team since 2005.

In 2011, I became Senior Vice President as part of an ownership transition that I helped to arrange. I’ve been active growing business, programs and services at American Guardian for over 10 years, now as Senior Vice President; I can take a greater role in guiding the next 10 years of service and growth for our companies as well as our partners.

Looking back over the past five years, how has the industry changed and how do you see it changing in the future?

Technology has taken a significantly greater role in the industry during prosperous and challenging economic times in allowing our company (as well as many others) to accomplish more with smaller cost structures. We can be more productive with less overhead, and give greater focus to our customers, programs, products, and the challenges of the business that are most important.

We have also seen a great deal of downsizing in our competitors, the number of dealerships, and a reduction in the number of vehicles sold.

To us it means that we have to be more efficient at the products and services that we offer, and be more attentive to our customer and what their needs are. Well founded companies with solid fundamentals have done well, and we believe will continue to do well. It was no surprise to us that 2011 was our best year ever. We expect 2012 and the future to continue that success.

I believe that there will continue to be an emphasis on simplicity of products. Not just offering more products, but offering products that innovate by combining benefits, are simpler and easier for the customer to use, for the dealership to sell, and the customer to buy.

We offer products that were once stand-alone products that now combine benefits of protecting the vehicle appearance, providing repair protection, and providing roadside assistance and other benefits to the customer. I believe that these will continue to grow, as well as our other custom design products that provide protection in the event of mechanical failure. Simplicity will continue to be key as value, service and profitability are always fundamentals of any successful business.

What technology or services do you believe will drive your future success?

Our technology advancements that provide faster service, better access to information and greater profitability will continue to help us grow our relationships, and help our partners to improve profitability and service. Our electronic policy rating system provides exceptional speed, accuracy and simplicity when selling one of our products. Our policy administration system allows the dealership to access their customer and coverage information more quickly and determine coverage and options and better provide service to their customer.

Tell us a little more about yourself. What do like to do to relax and what outside interests and hobbies do you have?

I would love to say that skydiving or exotic car racing is my passion, but my work and family keep me extremely busy. My wife and I have four kids, I coach sports teams and am an avid fan of baseball, soccer and football. I play golf occasionally, I love movies, I love to read, I write books, and work. I truly enjoy the people I work with, and the places I go so I don’t need to get away from it all that much. Regardless of where I am or what time of the day I am usually thinking about how to create something, do something better, or how to solve a problem. Creating solutions is a big part of what I do, and what I do for American Guardian.