Students learn dealer reinsurance strategies around wealth creation, family trust planning and business expansion
EFG Companies, the innovator behind the award-winning Hyundai Assurance program, taught Northwood University’s inaugural reinsurance class at the university’s Michigan campus on Apr. 20 and 21. Northwood University is home to the only accredited retail automotive marketing and management program in the U.S.
The two-part curriculum took students from the most basic definitions of traditional insurance (e.g. premium, commission, reserve, etc); to an overview of reinsurable F&I products like service contracts. This included global reinsurance domiciles all the way through to a comparative analysis of Controlled Foreign Corporations (CFC) and Non-Controlled Foreign Corporations (NCFC), as well as tax implications and reporting. The course consisted of instructor-led lectures and discussions, with a final exam that is a component of the students’ final semester grade. The course instructor, EFG’s Karen Klees, who is a reinsurance and certified consumer credit compliance specialist, will act as an ongoing professional resource for Northwood’s faculty and students.
“The basis of our partnership with Northwood University is to drive innovation and cultivate the next generation of retail automotive industry entrepreneurs and leaders,” said John Pappanastos, President & CEO, EFG Companies. “What those future leaders will very quickly find is that reinsurance is a critical component of dealership profitability and long-term wealth creation for the dealer principal. It can impact everything from decisions around the overall customer experience, to strategies around key management retention and succession planning. Reinsurance allows dealers to capture up to 100 percent of the F&I product underwriting profits, which can impact overall dealership profitability by close to 50 percent. What is surprising is the lack of clarity and misconceptions about reinsurance among dealers, and the massive financial opportunity that many leave on the table.”
“This effort illustrates our ongoing commitment to ensure that Northwood students receive the benefit of the most relevant and thought-provoking retail automotive curriculum available,” said Keith Pretty, President and CEO of Northwood University. “We have a large alumni dealer base across the U.S., and they communicated to us the need to educate and prepare students in the realm of reinsurance as it plays a bigger and bigger role in their businesses, and in their personal wealth planning. Our partner, EFG, brings the ability to both instruct our students, as well as provide invaluable insight from their daily practical application on such a significant scale.”
Along with this reinsurance course, EFG and Northwood University will continue to host thought-leadership forums, develop specialized continuing education programs, conduct joint industry research and cross-publish content. In addition, EFG has partnered with Northwood University and the National Association of Minority Automobile Dealers to establish an annual, private donor scholarship to fund the four-year tuition of a minority student attending the Automotive Marketing and Management Program at the university. In July, EFG will be leading a reinsurance session for dealers attending the NAMAD annual national convention in Miami, Florida.