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Partners

If you are one of our valued partners, it’s all right here! Quick links to places, information and tools you often use, FAQs, and many other things we think you should know.

Not a partner? Discover all of the advantages iA American offers you and your business!

Partner Advantages

We Do It All

  • checkProduct Development
  • check"A" Rated Insurance Company
  • checkSales and F&I Training Support
  • checkReinsurance Formation & Management
  • checkLead Generation
  • checkDirect-to-Consumer
  • checkData Analytics & Risk Management
  • checkPolicy Administration System
  • checkLoans
  • checkTax Expertise
  • checkCompliance
  • checkAdministration

What Our Partners Say

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I love the personal, individualized service, and the ability to move bundles around to fit our market specifically.

Bob Hurley

Tulsa, Oklahoma Dealer

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The team at iA American designed a custom-tailored plan to meet the needs of our business here at Bill Penney Toyota. Their fresh approach to reinsurance has been incredibly lucrative. With the use of their FIP program we were able to self-fund the building of an additional location without the need of outside capital. 

Zack Penney

Bill Penney Toyota

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I am grateful for the professionalism, enthusiasm, and the unquestionable feeling that my future success matters and is important. Learning the training materials was effortless due to the in-class presentations.

Tyler E

Recent Smart Dealer University Attendee

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iA American has consistently been responsive, professional, and competent in the formation and management of reinsurance companies for producers. They have the experience and versatility to provide a variety of solutions that are adapted to each unique circumstance.

Patrick Donahue

President & CEO at David Gavin & Associates LLC

Solutions

Unmatched In-House Products, Services and Capabilities.

iA American’s top-to-bottom vertical integration gives us the unique ability to offer innovative products and services that others simply can’t match, all at blazing speed and with total flexibility.

We Own the Insurance Company

Dealers Assurance Company (DAC), our in-house Property & Casualty insurance company, has a fully staffed Compliance Department, is licensed in all 50 states, and has an A.M. Best Rating of “A.” Discover how DAC gives iA American a definite advantage.

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A Complete Suite of Products

We believe no other company can offer franchise and independent dealers a stronger variety of automotive, motorcycle, powersports, and RV protection plans than iA American. We have what you’re looking for.

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Profit Participation

Once you partner with iA American, you’ll benefit from our decades-long track record of creating strong, safe, and stable profit participation programs. What does that mean in five words? More money in your pocket.

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Retail Technology

Boost your F&I performance and simplify your processes with SmartMenuPro, SmartEye, SmartP.R.U., and SmartPad. Benefit from our time-saving technological improvements and creative tools for the F&I pitch.

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Partner-Focused Training

The iA American Training programs offer in-person and online sales and F&I training opportunities to fit your schedule. Our hands-on approach equips your teams with the tools and techniques dealerships need to increase production and profitability. You’ve got to learn more to earn more.

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Income Development

Our F&I management teams are your F&I management teams. Learn more about our proven strategies for compensation plans, recruitment, and performance management.

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Performance Marketing

We are the only company in the industry to offer Dealer Wizard and their sophisticated, proprietary equity mining software. Find out how our unique scoring algorithms can increase repeat vehicle sales and service drive opportunities.

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iA American Wins Eight 2023 Dealers' Choice Awards!

For the second year in a row, and with many new and updated categories this year, iA American received more awards than anyone else in the industry. It marks the first time iA American has received three awards for training, and the first time the Dealer Wizard team has been awarded three wins. Clearly, we’re doing a lot of things right for our dealer clients!

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We Have an “A” Rating From A.M. Best

Dealers Assurance Company (DAC), the insurance arm of iA American Warranty Group, has a Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent) from A.M. Best. Founded in 1899, the A.M. Best Company is the world’s oldest and most authoritative insurance rating and information source. To view DAC’s current rating, go to ambest.com. Visit DAC’s website to learn more.
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We’re Affiliated with Top Industry Groups

iA American Warranty Group is a proud member of the Motor Vehicle Protection Products Association, Guaranteed Asset Protection Alliance, Service Contract Industry Council, and the Florida Service Agreement Association. Our DTC division is a certified member of the Gold Vehicle Protection Association, and has a 5-star Trustpilot rating. And of course, we have a top rating from the Better Business Bureau. 

FAQs

Why iA American

Although we definitely offer an impressive number of F&I products and services, we’re not just your average F&I administrator. For one thing, we’re part of iA Financial Group, one of the largest insurance companies and F&I providers in Canada, with $196.2 billion (Canadian) in assets as of January 202w. (That’s billion, with a “B.”)

For another, a major component of our organization is Dealers Assurance Company (DAC), an insurance company with a storied history that dates back to the 1930s. (That’s where the “Group” in iA American Warranty Group comes in.) To sum it all up, we have the resources and capabilities to help you achieve your goals and get you where you want to go.

Because iA American’s Performance Marketing services can help you reach the remaining 50% of customers who chose to walk out of your dealership without purchasing an F&I product! We’re differentiated from the competition in two major ways. First, Dealer Wizard is an automated software application that analyzes and monitors the dealer DMS daily to identify owners who have the highest probability of repurchasing another GM product. Second, iA American offers an in-house direct-to-consumer marketing platform for post-sale F&I product sales. We can specifically target customers and market to them with dealership-branded marketing materials when the customer purchased a vehicle without a VSC, entered the service drive without a VSC, or has an expiring VSC. It’s proven, and it works.

Reinsurance

Reinsurance is a type of financial transaction in which an insurance company (called a “ceding company”) transfers all or a part of its insurance risks to another insurance company (called a “reinsurer”). To compensate the reinsurer for assuming the ceding company’s risks, the ceding company pays the reinsurer a reinsurance premium. While there are many reasons why an insurance company may enter into a reinsurance agreement, a principal reason is to enable the reinsurer to participate in the underwriting profits on the ceding company’s business. If the premiums paid by the ceding company exceed the losses on the business, the reinsurer will experience an underwriting gain. The reinsurer will also profit from the investment income associated with its investment of the premium assets.

Reinsurance has become the preferred method within the service contract industry to return underwriting gains and investment income to participating dealers. Reinsurance is typically preferred to other compensation plans, such as retrospective commissions or profit sharing, for the simple reason that reinsurance enables the dealer to generate income utilizing the very favorable income tax treatment enjoyed by insurance companies. Insurance companies are one of the few types of businesses that are entitled to defer the recognition of income over the multiple years that a service contract may be in effect. Most other businesses are required to recognize sales income in the year the sales proceeds are received. For example, on a five-year service contract, a reinsurer recognizes the premium income pro rata (or other earnings formula) over the entire five-year period.

With the iA American Flexible Investment Program (FIP), you'll take advantage of your profits much more quickly by gaining 100% ownership of your own reinsurance company. Most insurance companies only allow reinsurance funds to be allocated to conservative investments with limited investment opportunities. Our FIP carrier (DAC) agrees the conservative investments need to be held in trust in an amount equal to the present value of future claims, plus a small buffer. The rest of the funds are FIP releases and can be invested with complete flexibility. In other words, you can get your money faster with FIP.

The primary benefit of a sound reinsurance program is that it provides you with the opportunity to realize the underwriting profit and investment income from Finance & Insurance (F&I) products sold to your customers. This additional income source also provides many other benefits, including:

  • Opportunities for additional compensation for key employees
  • Estate planning
  • Long-term wealth accumulation
  • Taxation efficiency

For one, we provide efficient, all-inclusive administrative solutions, including:

  • Reinsurance company formation and corporate management
  • Financial statement and tax return preparation
  • Regulatory reporting
  • Policy administration
  • Claims adjudication
  • Program development

Secondly, with our ceding method, premiums are ceded on a written basis, which allows your reinsurance company to realize immediate investment income from its business.

Thirdly, you have buyout control. Our reinsurance company owners may let their company “run off," accept our bid for the company’s assets, or accept a competitive bid from an external party.

Lastly, there are no termination provisions. Our reinsurance company owners retain control of unearned reserves and investment income on their business, even when they stop writing.

While participating in reinsurance by itself is beneficial given the deferral of income, many reinsurance companies owned by dealers fall into a category that creates additional benefits. Section 831(b) of the Internal Revenue Code allows a reinsurance company with not more than $2.45 million of annual net written premium to elect to be taxed only on its investment income. The underwriting gains experienced by an 831(b) electing company are not subject to tax at the corporate level. This enables the dealer to defer the payment of any taxes on underwriting gains indefinitely until the funds are distributed as a dividend (currently considered “qualifying dividends” taxed at 20%) or as a liquidating distribution (taxed at capital gains rate). Until the reinsurance company assets are distributed to its shareholders, the company may invest its surplus funds in any investment or make loans to shareholders.

After much research, we found that the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI), British West Indies, provide significantly more flexibility than other locations. It is also less expensive to form and maintain an insurance company in the TCI than in the United States. Corporate capitalization requirements for U.S. insurance companies are at least $150,000, whereas in the TCI, the cost is less than $10,000.

This cost advantage gives an insurance producer the ability to turn incoming funds into lower-taxed insurance dollars for significantly less capital up front. Additional jurisdiction advantages in the TCI include a steady economic environment, modern insurance legislation and regulatory oversight, competitive fee structures, and tax exemption status for qualified companies.

Even though your reinsurance company is formed in the TCI, it is not considered an “offshore” insurance company. It will be treated as a U.S. corporation by the IRS for federal income tax reporting purposes, per a 953(d) election.

No. Premiums are held in a trust account in a U.S. financial institution.

A non-exclusive list of who may own a reinsurance company would include an individual or individuals, a legitimate corporate entity, a trust, or a partnership.

Basically anything that can be insured can be reinsured. In addition to automotive dealers, we manage reinsurance accounts for doctors, lawyers, contractors, and many others. In the case of automotive dealers, typical items that are reinsured include most Finance & Insurance (F&I) products, such as vehicle service contracts, aftermarket, GAP, and more. The list of what can be reinsured is extensive.

The service contract business shares many characteristics of the insurance business. The dealer sells a service contract to its customers offered by an independent service contract provider (the “provider”). Under the terms of the service contract, the provider agrees, in consideration for the customer’s payment of a premium, to repair or replace the covered vehicle components that fail due to an unexpected breakdown. The customer can be regarded as an insured, the service contract can be regarded as an insurance policy, and the provider can be regarded as an insurance company. We use a reinsurance transaction to redirect the underwriting gains and investment income that would otherwise benefit the provider to a dealer-owned reinsurance company instead.

We offer our own unique Flexible Investment Program (FIP), as well as Controlled Foreign Corporations (CFC), Non-Controlled Foreign Corporations (NCFC), and Dealer-Owned Warranty Companies (DOWCs). Regardless of which you choose, all of our programs are fully insured.

Benefits of a Flexible Investment Program (FIP):

  • Provides access to reserves right away
  • Stronger returns and lower tax rates
  • Fewer investment requirements

Benefits of a Controlled Foreign Corporation:

  • Provides the ability to reinsure life and casualty products
  • Minimal capital requirements
  • Reserves are ceded on a “written” basis

Benefits of a Non-Controlled Foreign Corporation:

  • Ideal for larger producing organizations
  • 100% of production and investment income is allocated to the shareholder position
  • Lower fee expense rate

Benefits of a Dealer-Owned Warranty Company:

  • Ideal for large dealer groups with more than $2.3 million in premium
  • 100% of production and investment income is allocated to the shareholder position
  • May shield income from tax for 7-10 years or more

  • When a dealer signs up with iA American, we will issue the service contracts through the selling dealer and administer the contracts.
  • The service contracts are fully insured under a contractual liability insurance policy (or “CLIP”) issued by our affiliated insurance company, Dealers Assurance Company (DAC), to the selling dealer.
  • For each sale, the dealer remits a dealer cost to iA American that includes our administration fee and the premium under the CLIP policy. Included in the CLIP premium is a premium fee to compensate DAC, and a reserve component to pay losses (the “reserve”).
  • DAC enters into a reinsurance agreement with a reinsurance company owned or formed by the dealer. Under the reinsurance agreement, DAC pays 100% of the reserve as reinsurance premium to the dealer’s reinsurance company. DAC continues to pay the reinsured losses, but is reimbursed by the reinsurance company for the losses under the reinsurance agreement.
  • The reinsurance funds are held in a trust account at a bank or trust company selected by the dealer. The funds are released periodically to the reinsurance company as the reserves become earned through the passage of time and declining service contract coverage periods.
  • Through our Reinsurance Formation Department and our Reinsurance Accounting Department, we organize the reinsurance company and provide customary captive management services. As part of its management function, we prepare periodic financial statements and prepare federal income tax returns for the reinsurance company. We also provide monthly reinsurance cession reports to the dealer through our sales department.

Dealers

We will pay you by your choice of check or credit card.

This depends upon how you have decided to be reimbursed. If you have chosen to be reimbursed by credit card, it can take up to two hours. If you have chosen to be reimbursed by check, it can take up to 10 days. If you are still waiting on reimbursement, please call the toll-free number at the bottom of the contract. Please have the customer's name and VIN number handy, along with your name, dealership name, dealership address, and phone number.