The 11th Hour

From the Desk of Recovery Specialist Insurance Group

Manassas, VA – April 22, 2016 -Recovery Specialist Insurance Group has always been known as the cream of the crop when it comes to insuring repossessors. But some lately begin to talk that perhaps we’re not as selective as we once were. We disagree. We still deny membership to a majority of people who reach out to us because they cannot meet our underwriting requirements. Each member of RSIG goes through a stringent underwriting process and through this process we see the good, the bad and the ugly.

RSIG is an insurance entity. Our strength comes from our underwriting expertise and our ability to find and maintain insurance for an industry plagued with politics, egos and at times unscrupulous behaviors on both sides of the desk… the insurance client (you, the repossessor) and on the other side the insurance agent.

One of the things that has always made RSIG different from any other insurance entity is that we put our money where our mouth is. We have skin in the game and aren’t just looking at an application in order to get that first or renewal commission. We are not misleading insurance carriers by withholding loss runs (saying we can get people written by not providing loss runs to the carrier), lying about garaging locations of vehicles in order to manipulate the rate or lying about the nature of our member’s business. (Flo has great commercials and an iconic look that everyone may recognize from her commercials on TV; but she does not like repossession businesses and issues cancellations when she finds out more than 26% of your business is repo….something to think about!)

Another thing that has always made RSIG different is that we are a group policy. Carriers look at our program as a total of the sum of its parts. So if one member has a bad year of claims, they can be supported by the strength of the other members; and the cycle continues…. Members lifting and supporting other members, keeping our program strong, viable for you and the industry and profitable for our carriers.

That is why so many of you now are turning to RSIG – as you find yourselves uninsurable because of the artificially low rates you’ve gotten from other agents for the past several years and as you’re being non-renewed and then strung along until the 11^th hour while your agent searches for yet another carrier.

One new member to the group recently told us that in 40 years they had never gone up to the wire like they have with their 15-16 renewal. They were faced with being put out of business because the agent they had been with for the past 10 years had run out markets and couldn’t help, but didn’t tell them that until the last minute. As an individual policy holder, the account wasn’t profitable to anyone because of the artificially low rates, but as part of a group they have a chance; and with RSIG they will receive information to help reduce losses and understand the importance and value of being with a group and an insurance solution that truly understands their needs and value their business.

We know we cost more than individual policies – especially those in the current market place that seem too good to pass up, but eventually leave you non-renewed or with a huge unexpected increase at renewal (and little time to shop your policy); but with RSIG you get more! And when considering insurance think of the old adage, “You get what you pay for!” With RSIG you get stable insurance, access to the highest level of industry education and training, access to our qualified staff when you need it, even after hours… as one member just recently found out…

An email was sent to our office at 7:02pm, 2 hours after RSIG had closed for the day. The email read “I need a call as soon as possible please. I need to speak to Michael Howk.” Not knowing if Mike would be available to return the call immediately, another member of our staff called this member who was in a bit of situation where they did not know what to do in the field when they were told by their client to pick up a vehicle at a specific address and after doing so, found out their debtor was actually deceased and the vehicle had just been sold the day before to a 3^rd party who held a clear title. The new owner of the vehicle called the police who were calling the member on the other line. The member’s client, a national forwarder, told the member they couldn’t do anything about returning the vehicle to the new owner until the next business day, which wasn’t sitting well with the owner who did not have a lien on the vehicle.

Within minutes, this member received a call from one of our staff and also one from Mike Howk who advised them of what needed to be done. We followed up the following day to see if everything was OK. This was their response:

Yes we took the unit back, the man was fine. The client was ok after I told them what had happened. I had everything typed out, names, numbers police info…keeping us totally covered thanks to your classes!

I really appreciate you all calling us so quickly, I did not expect a call until the following morning. ~ Denise, All American Recovery, Indiana

Of course the other piece to this is with insurance being such a significant cost to your business, your clients should be paying you better. Insurance protection is as much about them and their needs as it is about your own. If they expect top quality protection and service it is time they go back to paying for it.

RSIG – Remove the Liability Before Removing the Vehicle