Category: FullCover

Cooper Solutions’ partnership boosts customer satisfaction and brings financial gain

VW Trust Group’s partnership with Cooper Solutions is benefitting from utilising the FullCover fleet management system, helping it improve the management of, and insuring, its courtesy car fleet. Thanks to the collaboration, VW Trust’s courtesy car service is also now a profit earning opportunity for the business, delivering real added value to customers.

Operating in the West Midlands, VW Trust Group has a fleet of over 40 courtesy cars across the Group’s 6 dealership locations and FullCover from Cooper Solutions streamlines the entire short-term insurance administration process for the fleet. Complementing the Group’s existing CDK dealer platform, the automated system also validates the driver’s licence details, making bookings much quicker for both dealer and customer, whilst bringing greater peace of mind for VW Trust Group that it is financially protected in the event of an accident. The capability to extract customer data from the CDK dealer platform, eliminates duplication and ensures accurate reporting. FullCover includes a day rate insurance option for customers as standard, enabling the VW Group to benefit from a lower insurance premium for its own motor trade policy.

The Cooper Solutions team provided coaching and training sessions from the outset of the collaboration, ensuring the VW Trust’s customer service team knows how to maximise the benefits of FullCover. Not only does the system’s suite of accountable reports put users in control of their courtesy car fleet, it expedites the claims process, providing a seamless conclusion for the benefit of all concerned. Furthermore, meeting GDPR requirements, FullCover removes the need for the Group to store physical loan forms and copies of driving licences.

“By working closely with Cooper Solutions, we were able to put the spotlight on an area of our business that was not yielding results for us or our customers, crucially, we’ve been able to turn a loss making administration process into a profit earning, added-value customer service,” explains Andrew Hockedy, Managing Director for VW Trust Group.

“FullCover keeps track of our courtesy cars, speeds up bookings and reduces our overheads – not least of which because it protects our claims history and reduces our own insurance premium. These benefits have all been key to us in improving performance across our Group. FullCover has made a tangible difference, backed by ongoing expert support from the Cooper Solutions team.”

Dean Pipitone, director of Cooper Solutions, adds, “We will continue to work closely with VW Trust Group to help them deliver an enhanced customer experience that protects their business. FullCover is designed to put dealers in control of their fleet, offering detailed reports and a streamlined process that generates revenue and boosts customer retention.”

Cooper Solutions survey reveals that 89% of people would buy a car if their friends and family gave it the thumbs up

The latest survey from Cooper Solutions puts the spotlight on the importance of extended and unaccompanied test drives in securing sales and enhancing attitudes towards dealers. With the average test drive lasting just 20 minutes*, 49% of 200 used car buyers said they would feel more positively about a dealer if they were offered an extended or unaccompanied test drive and would welcome the opportunity to make a more informed purchase decision.

Whilst 43% said they would use the opportunity to show the car to friends and family to gauge their opinion, the vast majority (89%) admitted that a positive response would likely swing a sale. A further 15% would take it to show off to colleagues at work, for that all important second opinion, with more men (18%) than women (13%) saying they would do this. Nearly a third (32%) said an extended test drive would increase the chances of them ‘falling in love’ with the car they were test driving and 20% said it would increase the probability of them buying that make and model of vehicle.

Women (25%) are more likely to do day-to-day errands in an unaccompanied test drive car, compared to 23% of men. However, it’s clear that both genders like to test a car to make sure it fits their lifestyle, whether it’s doing the supermarket shop, packing for a trip or fitting in the golf clubs and yoga mat.

When it comes to testing the driving of the vehicle itself, overall performance was rated the most important factor, closely followed by visibility and ease of parking. Whilst 42% of men tested a car for motorway driving, women were more likely (38%) to make sure there’s enough space in the boot.

“The test drive process is a vital element of the customer purchase journey and substantially increases the chance of securing a sale. This is significantly heightened when a customer has the opportunity to bring to life the benefits of the vehicle, particularly when considering an upgrade.
“Being able to drive on familiar roads allows time for the customer to test out comfort, equipment, and the way the vehicle handles and performs, as well as being able to trial the car without the pressure of a salesperson accompanying them.” explains Dean Pipitone, a Director of Cooper Solutions.

“However, our survey findings do suggest that dealers need to keep a watchful eye and more importantly, be adequately covered in the event of an accident or incident. Motorists test-driving can be tempted to push the vehicle’s speed, particularly when driving on the motorway; Dealers need to consider both quality short term insurance cover, in the event of an incident, as well as the tracking of traffic offences or charges. Dealers have a duty of care in validating their customers’ driving licences, enabling them to offer unaccompanied test drives with confidence. Crucially, this means dealers can enhance the customer experience and boost their bottom line, by making the most of new sales opportunities.”

FullCover, from Cooper Solutions offers insurance on test drive vehicles, starting from £2.83+IPTper day with a £250 excess, ring fencing the risk to a dealer’s motor trade policy. Claims are handled quickly and efficiently and traffic offences or charges monitored, putting dealers firmly in control.

Survey was based on 200 responses from consumers aged 18-55+ conducted by Gorkana, August 2017
*Source: Parkers 2016 Survey

Daily rate insurance offering for vehicle loans enhances customer experience and unlocks revenue opportunities

TrustFord, wholly owned by Ford Motor company, is entering a new partnership with Cooper Solutions. Under the new agreement TrustFord’s aftersales force will benefit from access to FullCover, the fleet management system that delivers automated daily rate insurance on courtesy and test drive vehicles.

FullCover delivers centralised data on over 300 courtesy cars across the groups 40 dealerships, giving users access to detailed reporting and maximising revenue opportunities through loan car cost recovery. “FullCover offers us a streamlined process that automatically validates driver’s licence details, allowing the courtesy car loan administration process to be faster, more efficient and following best practice. We can reserve, start and finish a loan in less than 30 seconds,” explains Stuart Creswell, Service Director at TrustFord.

“Crucially, FullCover allows us to maximise revenue opportunities by recovering costs across the Group. Customers can opt to reduce the loan car insurance excess by purchasing excess cover with us, driving efficiencies and providing customers with greater peace of mind that they are financially protected in the event of an accident.”

Marking the partnership as one to drive technology advancements, TrustFord is the first to benefit from Cooper Solutions’ FullCustomer, a new solution that removes the need to duplicate customer information entry into the FullCover system. The pilot of FullCustomer with TrustFord has seen a reduction in wasted administration time and significant improvement in data accuracy.

Dean Pipitone, director of Cooper Solutions adds, “We are excited to be working closely with TrustFord to bring them the latest in fleet management solutions. FullCover is designed to put dealers in control of their business and deliver an enhanced customer experience, and for TrustFord it’s proving to do just that, acting as a framework for the entire group. Crucially, not only does it deliver a fleet management offering and effective short-term insurance for customer loan cars, it helps businesses like TrustFord maximise profit opportunities.”

The countdown to increased VED rates from 1st April adds to new and used car demand

Following the latest figures from the SMMT, which report a 8.4% increase in new car registrations in March – the biggest month ever, Coopers Solutions announces a record month of over 275,000 insured demonstrator and loan car days.

Dean Pipitone, Director at Cooper Solutions comments: “Industry predictions for March car sales were always bullish, as buyers were expected to take advantage of the new ’17-plate. Our FullCover figures already confirm a very positive picture.

“March saw a 26% increase year-on-year, with courtesy car insured days up to 210,574 and demonstrator days up to 64,732, a very healthy month across the industry.”

FullCover provides immediate, affordable loan car insurance for dealer customers and improves their overall courtesy car and demonstration experience. For dealers, it not only removes an unnecessary administration burden for service and sales teams, it gives dealer’s peace of mind that they are meeting their duty of care, as dealers, customers and the general public are fully covered in the event of an accident.

Dean Pipitone of Cooper Solutions, adds, “At a time when sales and service teams are pushed to the maximum, it’s vital that customer service is not compromised. This is when FullCover really comes in to its own, as it makes life easier for our partners by streamlining the management of their fleet, whilst enhancing the customer’s journey. By harnessing technology to support sales activity dealers not only remain focused on their duty of care obligations, but ultimately benefit from increased revenue.”

April 2017

Cooper Solutions reports a 25% year-on-year increase in vehicle loan days as retailers benefit from vehicle sales and growing aftersales services

Cooper Solutions has revealed a 25% year-on-year increase in the number of days retailers took advantage of its FullCover daily rate insurance for customer loans. A buoyant new and used car sales market in 2016, and growing service and repair business for retailers, helped to fuel this growth, alongside an expanding portfolio of franchised and independent retailer clients.

Dean Pipitone, Director at Cooper Solutions explains: “In the main, retailers continued to see strong sales in 2016 which boosted demonstrator loan car activity. However, where we saw the most notable increase in loan car activity was in the aftersales departments, with retailers investing in larger courtesy car fleets for the benefit of service and repair customers.”

A key driver behind the success of FullCover, is Cooper Solutions partnership with one of the UK’s leading Chartered Insurance Brokers, Cooke & Mason, an expert in obtaining optimum cover at a highly competitive price, whilst utilising the best software and service for every customer. What’s more, the propensity for a successful claim via a broker adds to a retailer’s customer satisfaction levels; according to figures released by the British Insurance Brokers Association (BIBA), 94% of brokers overturn a claim rejection occasionally or often, and 87% of brokers often negotiate 11%-20% uplift on claims.

Concludes Dean Pipitone: “Our partnership with Cooke & Mason, without doubt, strengthens our FullCover proposition and gives us an edge over other providers who don’t have the support of a broker. By placing an emphasis on providing the best cover at the best price, we ultimately enhance the experience our retailer clients offer their customers, whether the customer is looking to buy, or returning for aftersales support.

“Whilst longer term new and used sales for 2017 are tricky to predict, take up of our daily rate insurance is already showing a very promising start to the New Year.”

January 2017