Individual mobility, vehicles of all kinds, cars in particular, are closely linked to strong emotions. This is also an important strategic factor. Because what people care about is something they are willing to invest in. You have to keep reminding yourself that retailers are sitting in the front row at the moment when buyers are at their best. In the pole position, so to speak, which no one can easily dispute with him.
It’s trade’s turn: Anyone who deals with insurance in automobile sales quickly recognizes the potential advantages. And, to put it kindly, the untapped potential: Few customers currently experience car dealerships as the Competence center for insurance issues.
Customers want advice
Evidence number one: the customer side with a high need for advice. In December 2020, AutokauferPuls surveyed more than 1,000 car owners. 59% stated that they could basically imagine taking out car insurance (as an example) at a car dealership. But only 5% actually did this. There is still good news about this, sums up Puls boss Dr. Konrad Weßner: “Despite the high level of customer loyalty to the current insurer, car dealerships have a good chance of getting involved in this business, as one in four people change their insurance when purchasing a car.”
Poor placement performance
Evidence number two: the dealer side with poor brokerage performance. The results of an AUTOHAUS Pulsschlag from December 2021 speak volumes. The dealer survey comes to the conclusion that in only 23% of cases insurance contracts (of all kinds) are brokered in addition to the car sale. Striking: According to these dealers, 64% of vehicle customers explicitly want “clarification about risks and how they can be insured (e.g. car financed for total loss)”. This shows: The retail sector recognizes customer need for mobility security, but this is only insufficiently reflected in the final figures.
The basis of the Safe insurance family is the Purchase price insurance Santander Safe1), which can also be equipped with Pro services. First, the policy protects the value of the vehicle in the event of a total loss or loss. The difference between the replacement value and the original purchase price will be reimbursed. This not only protects the customer from financial risks, but also provides more financial flexibility when buying a new car. As Santander SafePro1) the protection is extended to further total losses and supplemented with 12 months of repair cost protection. You can read more about SafePro online in Fire, Santander’s dealer portal.
© Foto: stock.adobe.com – Sell Vector
You can find out more about SafePro in the Santander dealer portal.
Potential of the types of insurance
Let’s stick with the potential, here with a view to the types of insurance: Dealers see the biggest ones in the area of warranty and repair cost insurance. 58% see profit opportunities here, 70% think of customer loyalty. Motor vehicle insurance is strong in the area of customer loyalty (58%); at least at the end of 2021, 49% still considered hedging against financial risks in installments/financing and leasing to be particularly relevant to earnings. “Insurance related to the preservation of mobility” is not quite as common, but with 21% in terms of revenue and 31% in terms of customer loyalty, it is well within the field.
Advantage of customer loyalty
Many customers turn to their regular car dealership in the event of damage. This secures important workshop sales. But insuring mobility goes far beyond that. Insuring mobility means keeping the customer mobile at all times. Anyone who can offer this proves themselves to be a universal mobility service provider and creates a high level of customer satisfaction in a moment of need. And that is exactly what ultimately increases customer loyalty.
The Santander DrivePro insurance package2) with workshop cost insurance and mobility assistance protects customers comprehensively. Financial relief from workshop costs on the one hand and ensuring customer mobility on the other complement each other perfectly. The repair module includes an annual payment of 1,000 euros if the policyholder submits a workshop invoice for at least 2,500 euros. If the purchase price of the affected car is less than 15,000 euros, at least 500 euros per year will be refunded. The mobility assistant is a classic letter of protection that, among other things, covers towing costs or costs for onward travel. DrivePro is also completely tailored to retail: customer loyalty and workshop utilization are among the advantages, as are cross-selling potential. You can find out more about DrivePro online in the Santander dealer portal Fire.
© Photo: stock.adobe.com – Mykhailo
You can read more about DrivePro in Santander PartnerNet.
Profiling as a 360-degree mobility service provider
Individual mobility is not just a car, today it can also be an e-scooter, a Pedelec, a short-term car with a subscription or the workshop pick-up and delivery service. At least 37% of dealers announced in the April survey by AUTOHAUS that they generally see potential in the two-wheeler business or in “micromobility” for the car trade. Some dealers expand their business to include recreational vehicles and become classic and classic car specialists. All of this can contribute to a “car dealership” being perceived in a completely new way by a broad range of customers. The up-selling and cross-selling potential is growing, and the good old everything-from-a-stop-shop principle is unfolding its full beauty. Of course, underpinned by one broad range of financial services and mobility insurance (whereby, of course, interactive synergy effects can be achieved).
Earn commissions and bonuses, secure workshop sales
44% of the dealers surveyed by AUTOHAUS Pulsschlag operate the insurance business in the car dealership in order to earn money directly. This shows that this aspect (in third place) is not the focus of strategic considerations. The central goal is to secure workshop sales and to promote additional sales in all areas. Above all, repair cost insurance, purchase price insurance in the event of total loss or theft, installment protection insurance and coverage for mobility costs as a temporary solution are helpful.
Die Repair cost insurance Santander AutoCare3) protects the most important and cost-intensive car components. This includes the takeover the repair costs for insured damage events, e.g. B. on the engine, transmission and electrics. There is often no deductible for material costs; labor costs are covered in full. Santander Care offers this coverage with the variants BikeCare3) and CampCare3) also for motorcycles and recreational vehicles. In this way, the insurance protects customers from financial risks and at the same time benefits the trade: customers are taken to the company’s own workshop for repair work, which supports workshop utilization and retains customers. Santander Care can also be seamlessly combined with other insurance products.
© Photo: stock.adobe.com – MuhammadZulfan
Without knowledge everything is nothing
What is needed now? Above all, lots of it Expertise. In the survey just mentioned, only 17% of customers consider their sales advisor to be competent in insurance matters. On the company side, the figure is 40%, which is not great either. “In the future, I plan to specifically train salespeople on the topic of insurance,” said 51% of dealers in the 2021 AUTOHAUS survey. But: 41% are planning to expand their insurance business, 50% think that offering insurance in car dealerships will become increasingly important in the future.
1) For insurance details, please refer to the current insurance conditions of our insurance partner CNP Santander Insurance Europe DAC, 2nd Floor, Three Park Place, Hatch Street Upper, Dublin 2, Ireland. A total loss occurs if the proper repair costs of the vehicle exceed the local replacement value on the day of the loss. A total loss with a repair cost of at least 80% of the replacement value is insured (SafePro only). For an overview of all insured components, please refer to the general insurance conditions of our insurance partner CNP Santander Insurance Europe DAC, 2nd Floor, Three Park Place, Hatch Street Upper, Dublin 2, Ireland (SafePro only).
2) For insurance details, please refer to the current insurance conditions of our insurance partner CNP Santander Insurance Europe DAC, 2nd Floor, Three Park Place, Hatch Street Upper, Dublin 2, Ireland.
3) For insurance details, please refer to the general insurance conditions of our insurance partner CG Car-Garantie Versicherungs-AG, Gündlinger Str. 12, 79111 Freiburg. If there is also a manufacturer’s follow-up guarantee, use the “Different insurance start” form from CG Car-Garantie and send it to CG Car-Garantie.
4) For insurance details, please refer to the current insurance conditions of our insurance partner CNP Santander Insurance Life DAC, 2nd Floor, Three Park Place, Hatch Street Upper, Dublin 2, Ireland. For insurance details, please refer to the current insurance conditions of our insurance partner CNP Santander Insurance Europe DAC, 2nd Floor, Three Park Place, Hatch Street Upper, Dublin 2, Ireland. The serious illness component applies to civil servants, self-employed people and pensioners. Costs for senior tariffs may vary.
