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Ford and Hartford to Offer Ford-Branded Insurance

Sherwin-Williams Now Preferred Supplier for Canada's Fix Auto

Allstate Announces Online Claim Reporting Capabilities

October is NABC's Collision Repair Industry PRIDE Month

INDUSTRY UPDATE

Predicted in the pages of INSIGHT in July 1998, an OE vehicle manufacturer, in this case Ford, has taken the first serious step towards offering insurance to a broad portion of its customer base.

In September, Ford Credit announced it has joined with The Hartford to offer a Ford labeled and endorsed insurance program for the more than 17 million Ford and Lincoln Mercury owners across the U.S.

The Ford Motor Company Vehicle Insurance Program will launch in Florida, with a nationwide rollout expected to be complete in about 12 months.

"We are pleased to be joining with The Hartford for this special package of insurance products and services tailored to the needs of our customers," said Philippe Paillart, chairman and CEO at Ford Credit. "We feel The Hartford was a good fit because they too have a strong customer focus."

Specific benefits to Ford Motor Vehicle Insurance Program customers ultimately will include:

• Competitive pricing and multiple ways to obtain a quote (phone, mail and other channels);
• Program eligibility for all types of Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles;
• Speedy claims service available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week;
• $100 reduction in their collision deductible (where permitted by law) for returning to a participating Ford or Lincoln Mercury dealership or other certified direct repair provider for guaranteed repair work (for as long as the customer owns the vehicle);
• Full replacement cost on a new vehicle if a total loss, ultimately if it occurs within the first 15,000 miles or 12 months of vehicle ownership;
• OEM parts used in repairs for the duration of the manufacturer’s original warranty period, and the option of additional coverage and services, including vehicle pick-up and delivery, towing and rental vehicles.

"For The Hartford, this alliance with Ford reinforces our leadership position in affinity marketing," said Stephen J. Hasenmiller, president of The Hartford Personal Lines Company. The Hartford has expertise in affinity marketing dating back to 1984 and has affinity marketing programs with many of the nation’s top financial institutions and associations.

The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE: HIG) had 1998 revenues of $15 billion. As of June 1999, The Hartford had assets of $157.3 billion and shareholders’ equity of $6 billion.

Ford Credit is a subsidiary of Ford Motor Company and is the world’s largest automotive finance company. Ford Credit provides vehicle financing in 36 countries to nine million customers and more than 11,000 automotive dealers, including more than 5,500 Ford and Lincoln Mercury dealerships in the U.S.

Ford Credit, through its subsidiary The American Road Insurance Company, has been in the insurance business since its inception in 1959, beginning with insurance to protect dealers’ inventories. With 40 years of experience in offering or administering dealer and consumer insurance products, this program will be a natural extension and a new way to benefit customers.    o

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According to Gary Hubley, Director of Sales for Sherwin-Williams Automotive Canada, beginning in September 1999, Sherwin-Williams will be the preferred provider of automotive paint and associated products to the Fix Auto collision repair center chain.

"Our new partnership with Fix Auto directly ties into one of our main initiatives for 1999 to increase our presence in Quebec," said Hubley. "Our relationship with Fix Auto will enable Sherwin-Williams to be the number one supplier of automotive finishes in Quebec. In addition, Fix Auto will provide us with the necessary ammunition to expand beyond Quebec into other Canadian provinces, as well."

As of the end of August, more than 20 of the 73 Fix Auto locations had been converted to Sherwin-Williams. The conversion of the remaining shops is expected to be complete by the end of the second quarter of 2000.

Sherwin-Williams announced August 20 its first presence in Europe, by launching its Sunfire paint line at Saint Amand-Service France, a distributor located in France. Michael A. Galasso, President of Sherwin-Williams Automotive Finishes Corp.; and Richard Rodick, Vice President, Automotive-International, made the announcement at a press conference in Paris.

"We are extremely proud to announce our partnership with Saint Amand-Service France," said Rodick. "We have worked diligently to create a product that meets the needs of our European customers. Sunfire not only meets these needs, but exceeds them. It offers a low VOC product with excellent color match capabilities for European commercial vehicles, including RAL and British standard colors."

Rodick continued, "We expect our presence in Paris to be extremely successful, and plan on using it as a springboard in reaching additional European markets."

The Sunfire product line is a low VOC basecoat/clearcoat system targeted to commercial vehicle refinishers, body builders and OEM accounts.

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Allstate Insurance Company announced yesterday that property and casualty insurance customers can now report claims online at www.allstate.com.

In its first phase, the Customer Care Center enabled registered customers to view property and casualty insurance policy billing information and payment history. With online claim reporting, customers can now provide the details of their loss and designate a call back time prior to submitting the claim. Internet claims are then transmitted to Allstate, generating a claim number which is immediately returned to the customer as online verification of the transaction.

"We are very excited to bring internet claim reporting to our customers. We see it as taking another important step toward making it easy for our customers to do business with us. This product serves our customers, supports our agents and exceeds what most of our competition is offering in terms of online claim reporting capabilities," said Allstate Claims Assistant Vice President Cathy Lazaroff.

Future phases of the Customer Care Center website will allow Allstate customers to view policy information, make online payments and access life and commercial insurance policy information.    o

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Collision Industry Pride Month, the National Auto Body Council’s (NABC) promotion celebrating the positive side of the collision repair industry is in October. Pride Month provides a national event to mobilize all segments of the industry to highlight good news about the industry and its people, and to generate positive interaction between industry members and their customers.

The NABC has also announced an agreement with Ronald McDonald House Charities to seek collision repair centers to maintain the vehicles used by Ronald McDonald Houses throughout the country. The program has been piloted by Chuck Sulkala, owner of Boston area Acme Body & Paint, and Gene Hamilton, owner of Atlanta based Sports & Imports. Both organizations have been inspecting and maintaining RMH vehicles for some time.

Ronald McDonald Houses are facilities designed to support the families of children during health crises. Due to the excessive costs and frequent need for family travel when a child is stricken with a serious disease, these facilities open their doors to house the families at no charge. The program has grown across the country and now has nearly 200 homes located strategically near major hospitals. They are generally supported by donations from numerous sources, and participate in many charitable programs coordinated by RMH Charities which is located near Chicago.

Last year, the NABC Charities Committee began adapting its program for national implementation, working closely with RMH Charities National Headquarters. Recent approval of the NABC proposal by RMH Charities makes it possible to now open the program to all NABC members. The program guidelines specify that when a Ronald McDonald House asks to participate, the NABC Charities Committee will seek a volunteer repair center in the house’s area to begin maintenance of the house vehicle. This includes regular inspections and repairs as needed. Parts are supplied free of charge as well, and the NABC is planning ways for suppliers to participate through the donation of these parts. Part of the program includes appropriate recognition for participants through the media campaigns of both the NABC and RMH Charities.

Anyone interested in participation in the RMH program or Pride Month should contact the NABC at 888-66PRIDE (888-667-7433) or fax your request to 734-697-2093.    o

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