Ed Walder, President

In your opinion, what do most agents need to know about this type of payment plan in general that they don’t already?

It is a ZERO/NO interest payment plan to the consumer and increases dealer revenue.

Why should an agent add this to their product mix, if they don’t already offer it?

This product will increase their sales and income by allowing a customer, that wasn’t able to pay in full, an option to make payments over time for a product they benefit from in the future.

Do you see this as being exclusively an F&I product, or something that could be sold in the service department as well? Why?

This product can and should be offered in the service department. The key is selling a good vehicle service contract (i.e., good claim history and ease of use) matched with consumer friendly payment plans that properly compensate the dealership at all levels. A service department should be able to share in the sale as well as receive the long term benefit of performing service under the contract.

Can you walk me through how it works, from the time the agent places it as an option in a dealership, through the end-customer using it?

Customer signs our contract. Information is transmitted to Omnisure. Contract is booked immediately and notice of acceptance is sent to the customer and dealer. The notice of acceptance includes instructions to log in to our Web site, which allows the customer to access our 24/7, real-time system to check their account or make a payment. If the customer elects for monthly invoicing, they will be sent an invoice after booking. Other billing methods such as automatic ACH from their checking or credit card are available as well.

What are the biggest pros to the service payment plan product? What, if any, are the negatives? How can an agent overcome those?

Pros — It allows the customer economical means to obtain products they need while preventing major cash shortage in the event a repair is needed.

Cons — Unless a dealership rewards the Sales/F&I departments sufficiently, they will not take on the extra work of explaining the products available and the payment options to the customers so they are able to afford them.

What makes your product, specifically, unique from your competition?

Omnisure is flexible to fit each dealership’s needs. If a dealership has an idea of how they want our product to work in their company, we try our best to customize so they can be successful. Omnisure looks at the relationship between the dealership and our company as a partnership.

Do you see any changes to the product going forward? If so, what are they? If not, why not? What, if any, trends might affect it?

Changes to the product happen daily, monthly and yearly as needed. Omnisure strives to make the process as efficient as possible while at the same time maintaining flexibility in the programs to meet the various needs of our partner companies, be it the dealers, service departments, F&I management or administrators. While our society has become more interconnected, we see every participant, including ourselves, in the vehicle service contract and the payment plan demanding more and more information and more and more access. This is a trend that Omnisure is devoting resources to in order to meet these demands.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

We all have many products to offer but the true ability to partner with a company and work together through situations and changes that occur along the way is what we do best. We are looking for partners.