Garage insurance programs adapt to cover new types of risks and perils dealers now face.
Dealers have enough to worry about today. Changing consumer expectations, managing relations with their OEMs, growing new and used vehicle sales and keeping their teams engaged and productive, just to name a few.
Ensuring they have comprehensive garage insurance in place, that protects them and their business from a wide range of risks, is something that can help ease their minds so they can focus on their businesses.
“It’s not easy being a car dealer,” said Tim Reuss, President and CEO of CADA. “That’s why when we provide programs for our dealer members, like CADA 360 Garage Insurance, we consult broadly with our dealers. The program is managed by a CADA dealership committee to ensure it’s aligned with what dealerships really need.”
For example, the dealer committee and the insurance program managers are currently exploring the impact of electric vehicles in terms of any liability and safety risks that might not yet be fully understood. What’s going to change in your insurance portfolio when you are selling EV products as opposed to ICE vehicles? What are the concerns regarding safety and fires and EV batteries? Is the program right now providing adequate coverage for any emerging risks related to EVs?
“When we meet with our dealer committee, it’s a collaborative effort where trends in the marketplace are discussed.” said Reuss. “We want to get in front of things so that we anticipate what the types of losses could be, and to make sure that the dealers are covered for it as opposed to realizing we have a problem after the unthinkable happens to a particular dealer. That’s the worst thing in the world. Our main concern is how do we protect our dealers from what’s coming down the pipe?”
Those regular meetings are also the place where dealers can bring forward any specific concerns regarding any claims or other issues. “When dealers bring forward an issue, we table it at that committee and then we all come back and talk about what happened, why it happened, and how to fix it,” said Laurie Maher, CADA 360 Program Manager.
It’s this collaborative approach with dealers that has helped make the CADA 360 Garage Insurance program Canada’s preferred garage insurance program, with more than 1,000 dealerships signed on — and an impressive retention rate last year of 94 per cent.
One of the hallmarks of the program is how extensive and flexible the insurance offerings are with flexible deductibles. “CADA 360 Garage Insurance covers everything from shop tools, facilities to business operations,” said Michael Psotka, CADA’s CFO and Director of Member Services.
“Whether you are a large dealership group or a single rooftop, it’s a comprehensive package that can be tailored to suit your needs.”
Derrick Osborn, Vice President, Dealers & Leasing Unit Leader at HUB International, said dealers’ primary concerns are similar, but they do vary depending on what’s happening in the industry. “The number one thing that’s plaguing dealers right now is auto theft,” said Osborn, the approved insurance broker of the CADA 360 Garage Insurance program, who works with Aviva Insurance Company of Canada, one of the country’s largest commercial P&C insurance companies to provide the coverage. “There are so many new threats from cybersecurity and physical security that dealers are increasingly combatting, and our program helps cover those risks,” said Osborn.
Psotka said that when dealers join the program, they receive risk-management tools to help them reduce the risks for the biggest sources of loss including fires, thefts, cyber assaults, vehicle demo accidents, and fraud. “This can lead to lower premiums and deductibles,” said Psotka.
As with all CADA 360 programs, like employee benefits or HR automation, the proceeds from the programs help fund CADA’s advocacy efforts on behalf of dealers across Canada. “You get industry-leading coverage and programs, and in turn help fund our legal and advocacy teams that are working every day to protect dealer interests,” said Psotka.
