Austin, Texas – IAS' Trade Assurance Plus (TAP) will be ready for dealership implementation on November 1, 2012. The company recently concluded a multi-city national tour to train its general agent base on the benefits of the program. Trade Assurance Plus protects consumers against negative equity when they trade in their vehicle. The program offers up to $5,000 of negative equity protection on most vehicles up to $50,000 MSRP. Other restrictions may apply, depending on the contract, including loan term.

“The one constant in the car business is change. This makes Trade Assurance Plus an absolute home run for our agents and dealers since it shortens the trade cycle, reduces or eliminates negative equity at time of trade and encourages the consumer to return to the original selling dealers or dealer group,” said Bob Corbin, president and CEO of IAS. “Plus, the program enables IAS agents to penetrate dealership doors that they otherwise may not have been able to open and provide those dealerships a solid finance product to either add to the menu or give away at time of sale.”

Other benefits of the program include a solid retention program for dealerships. TAP customers receive their negative equity protection only when purchasing another vehicle at the issuing dealer. The consumer enjoys the flexibility of choosing any make and model, new or used, as long as it is from the issuing dealership. An additional key element to the effectiveness of the program is the customized Retention Contact Campaign that allows dealers to target customers with customized communications every six months throughout the lifecycle of the TAP program via email or text. This high level engagement is a built-in component of the Trade Assurance Plus program and available to dealers at no additional charge.