How Allianz can support your dealership

When the Royal Commission into the banking, superannuation and financial services sector released its recommendations in 2019, car dealers found themselves in the midst of an entirely new operating environment.

While reforms introduced as a result of the Royal Commission’s report have only strengthened customer protection and experience, they have also created additional requirements for dealerships when it comes to discussing insurance with their customers.

Plotting a path through this minefield is one of many ways Allianz seeks to help its dealer partners, according to Glenn Best, Allianz Senior Account Manager for South Australia and Northern Territory.

“We train and monitor business managers who are presenting the Allianz product to make sure they’re compliant in their dealings with customers,” Best explains. “That means ensuring they’re not pressure selling, that they meet the anti-hawking requirements stipulated by the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) and that they hand over the right documentation to the customer when they’re required to. That includes the PDS (Product Disclosure Statement) and the FSG (Financial Services Guide).”

Best manages Allianz’s Eagers Automotive account in South Australia and conducts visits to other dealership partners with Allianz’s team of account managers. The role puts him on the front line when it comes to compliance matters.

“Having proper compliance procedures in place protects the dealers, it protects us, and it gives the customer a reliable process for purchasing insurance for their vehicle.”

Training of sales staff can significantly assist them when it comes time to present the features and benefits of Allianz’s Premier insurance product to dealership customers.

“Making sure business managers have strong product knowledge really helps them in their discussions because they can be confident that whatever question comes up, they can answer it,” Best says. “When you’re at the coalface, product knowledge is king. That’s why we invest time in presenting the value of the product to the business managers we meet with.”

Best says he works closely with dealers to help build sustainable customer portfolios. He believes dealerships need to talk to every one of their customers consistently and confidently about any insurance policy.

When Best and the rest of his team visit dealerships, it’s also to discuss the income stream available to them. “We give our full attention to presenting the features and benefits of a top-end product,” Best says.

Dealerships may also benefit from the genuine parts and replacement vehicle guarantee1. Best says that many Allianz claims are for vehicle repairs, which means dealerships are in a good position to take advantage of parts sales if a vehicle is getting fixed locally. Dealerships are first in line to provide a replacement vehicle if a vehicle is written off.

A successful training session is one in which dealer staff come away confident and motivated to discuss the features of Allianz’s insurance product.

“We aim to have a face-to-face with our dealer partners at least twice a month and follow up on how they’re doing,” he says.

For Best, arranging regular meetings is part and parcel of building constructive relationships within his industry network. “Conducting training and making sure dealerships have that steady income stream are important,” he says. “But, at the end of the day, it really comes down to building a strong relationship with the people you work with.”