11:48 am, July 15, 2013
GOING down the high-quality route has paid dividends for Warrantywise.
The family-run business, set up in 1999, has had its most successful year ever, proving the market for quality warranties is as hot as ever.
‘2012 was our best year ever for policies and for our revenue,’ Warrantywise’s CEO Lawrence Whittaker tells us. ‘This has given us the momentum to start this year where we left off.’
The firm expanded its dealer team in January and 2013 is a year during which the Lancashire-based business will be working harder and marketing more heavily than it ever has before.
The business was created to offer a different kind of warranty – one that had no compromises and offered the very best service for both dealers and customers.
But in a market that is jam-packed with far cheaper products, why should dealers and customers consider paying more for a Warrantywise warranty?
‘Cheap warranties are poor quality,’ says Whittaker matter of factly. ‘We often find the dealers who work with us are totally focussed on giving the very best service.
‘We work with high-end dealers – such as Amari, Tom Hartley, Graypaul and Sytner – and dealers who love being in the industry and are passionate about it.
‘A quality product equals a quality warranty. As time progresses, more dealers are interested in quality. More dealers are becoming savvy, and dealers are finding they are having to be conscientious.
‘The days of the shady dealer are going – customers won’t stand for it.’
Warrantywise’s offering is comparable to a manufacturer’s. ‘It offers cover for all mechanical and electrical parts, the full retail value of the vehicle. There’s no excess; no betterment; no consequential damage and there are no limits in terms of mileage.
‘No-one offers anything remotely near the quality of our warranties,’ says Whittaker.
‘We are very hard-working. We want to provide the best warranties on the market. In fact, we want to be the very best.’
Another reason for Warrantywise’s success over the past few years has been because of a certain motoring journalist. Consumer champion and former Top Gear and Fifth Gear presenter, Quentin Willson, has had a large involvement in Warrantywise’s products – and it has been worth it.
‘Quentin has been working with us for the last five years,’ explains Whittaker.
‘He’s been excellent for us – he’s trustworthy and more importantly consumers trust him. He regularly deals with issues himself – he is hands-on.’
And one new Warrantywise customer and admirer is former Dragon Theo Paphitis.
‘Theo’s warranty had run out on his chrome Maybach and a rival warranty firm wouldn’t give him a new one,’ explains Whittaker.
‘Quentin heard about it and said he’d offer him one. It’s very telling Theo has one of our warranties – he wants value for money and peace of mind.’
It’s clear to see Warrantywise know about the importance of good marketing.
This year they will be pushing hard their quality message to dealers – and if 2012’s TV advertising is anything to go by, it is sure to be a hit.
So what does Whittaker put Warrantywise’s success down to?
‘Our drive,’ he says confidently. ‘We have worked unstintingly for the last 14 years. We’re a family business and we’re passionate about our company and our products.
‘We are also very hard-working – we want to provide the best warranties on the market. In fact, we want to be the very best.’
To learn more about how Warrantywise can help you, call 0800 001 4453 or log onto wisedealer.co.uk
