AUL Corp
Is This Your Business?Author: Kaitlyn Short
Associates Underwriting Limited LLC, also known as AUL Corp, provides third party vehicle service contracts (VSCs) for new and used cars through dealerships and selling agents in all 50 states. Since its start in 1990, AUL has played a pioneering role in developing the used car warranty industry. Its trademarked Any Year and Any Mileage® vehicle service contract (VSC) was the first of its kind, created specifically for used car buyers, who the warranty industry previously neglected.
Additionally, this warranty veteran offers additional F&I (finance and insurance) products to car buyers, including the following vehicle protection contracts:
- GAP coverage
- Emergency roadside assistance
- Key replacement
- Tire and wheel protection
- Scratch repair
- Paintless dent repair
- Front windshield repair
- Theft protection
- Pre-paid maintenance
AUL focuses on being a warranty administrator, rather than directly selling its policies to consumers. Most people encounter AUL Corp warranties when buying a car at a participating dealership or through another AUL partner like lenders, insurance groups, and car clubs. It's also the parent company of Trustmark Warranty, specializing in long-term mechanical coverage for cars with factory warranties that have either expired or will soon.
Its wide variety of warranty plans cover unexpected repairs at any ASE-certified licensed repair facility in the United States or Canada.
Over the years, AUL has administered over 2.5 million contracts and paid out $850 million in claims. This review focuses on AUL Corp's warranty policies and the company's role as an administrator.
Keep reading for pros and cons of getting an AUL car warranty.
Top Ranked Companies
The Good
- Variety of Service Contracts Available
- Wear and Tear Coverage
- No Waiting Period
- Disappearing Deductible Benefit
- Transfer, Cancel, or Renew Your Warranty
- Customer Service and Ease of Claims
- Roadside Assistance Benefits
Variety of Service Contracts Available
AUL offers an extensive range of vehicle warranties, with the following range:
- New and used, including older vehicles
- Buy or lease
- Wrap coverage
However, you can't just go online, get a quote, and purchase the policy directly. Its warranties are only sold to consumers at the dealership. AUL Corp is a nationwide leader and offers its products in all 50 states. Dealership partners can customize which AUL warranty contracts it sells, based on their inventory. On top of that, plan eligibility depends on a vehicle's make, model, mileage, and age.
AUL Corp warranty plans range from Essential, Comprehensive, and Exclusionary, to special coverage plans for hybrid vehicles that even cover the battery (hard to find) and the new Tech plan that covers mechanical repairs for smart car features that are the new normal.
High Mileage VSCs
With AUL's Any Year coverage, you can have a vehicle covered for one year, no matter the age. The Any Year-Any Mileage coverage is available on essential and basic coverages with a $100 standard deductible.
No matter how old your car is, you can get a service contract, but vehicles over 20 years old or over 150,000 miles can only get a 12-month term.
Recently, AUL Corp has released some exciting, innovative service contracts for car components that are often hard to find protection policies for. Two examples are the company's AUL-Tech policy and its hybrid electric vehicle coverage.
AUL-Tech VSCs
A new addition to its lineup is the AUL-Tech vehicle service contract. With coverage up to an estimated $25,000, this policy is available for cars up to six years old with less than 60,000 miles. Policies are available for 24 to 84 months.
In comparison, Omega Auto Care extended warranties offer an additional Enhanced electronics package, which only covers a few components and up to $750 maximum benefit. AUL-Tech includes the following features, up to approximately $25,0000:
- Touch screens
- Adaptive lighting
- Blindspot detection system
- Bluetooth
- DVD player
- Backup, forward, and all-around camera systems
- Smart cruise control
- Navigation
- Parking assist
- Wifi data connection
- Video system
- Gaming system
Hybrid Electric Vehicle
It can be hard to find a warranty that will actually offer benefits for used hybrid and electric vehicles. AUL Corp's Reserve Care Plus policy covers the hybrid drive battery electric, or other high voltage battery, power inverter, hybrid cooling system, all of the car's hybrid system control units and sensors.
Its become more and more common for warranty companies to offer hybrid coverage, but for the most part, hybrid battery components are not covered.
Wear and Tear Coverage
Many extended warranty providers will not help pay for issues that arise due to wear and tear. AUL's higher-tiered warranties include many wear and tear items. The Reserve Care Plus coverage includes brake group coverage.
No Waiting Period
It's common for car warranty companies to require a waiting period, but AUL doesn't. Once your warranty contract has been purchased, it goes into effect. AUL contracts include same-day policy coverage.
In contrast, it's pretty normal to see a required waiting period lasting 30 days and 1,000 miles before you can submit a claim.
Disappearing Deductible Benefit
Depending on your policy, AUL deductibles range between $0 and $250, with buy-up options.
Highlight: AUL deductibles are charged per repair visit.
The FTC warns consumers to check whether their extended auto warranty deductible needs to be paid per covered item repair or per visit. This is a common concern in the industry and something you should always be aware of before you sign on the dotted line.
Additionally, AUL also offers a disappearing deductible benefit. This program comes standard with some policies and via added fee on others. A disappearing deductible is an incentive for customers who file fewer claims on their policy.
Transfer, Cancel, or Renew Your Warranty
Most AUL Corp contracts can be transferred to a new owner. You can sell it, with the warranty attached, adding value to the purchase.
If you wish to cancel your AUL Corp warranty, you can fill out the form online. A simple cancellation form needs to be filled out by the contract holder and returned to AUL Corp via email or fax.
When your warranty is nearing its end, depending on the make, model, and previous payout, you may have the option to renew it.
Customer Service and Ease of Claims
AUL strives to be a great administrator. It is user friendly for both actual contract holders and dealerships. It focuses on the service role rather than sales. One example is its emphasis on making the process easier both for contract holders and, dealers, and repair shops.
Its focus on customer service means that claims service is streamlined. Every customer service call is answered by a live person to direct your call, not a phone tree. Many members of the claims team are even ASE- and factory-trained. They focus on ease and speed. AUL likes to highlight how quickly its claims process goes — 65% of claims calls have zero wait time. The average hold time is just 25 seconds.
AUL has the capacity to handle thousands of claims per day. AUL claims can be submitted by repair shops online 24 hours a day, and the company's emphasis on efficiency extends to dealers, repair facilities, and consumers. Shops can even be reimbursed pretty quickly.
Highlight: AUL offers same-day claims payment.
However, most AUL claims are paid out within just two hours of receiving a finalized invoice.
Roadside Assistance Benefits
Most AUL vehicle service contracts include roadside assistance and towing up to 150 miles, without any copay. Its roadside assistance services include the following:
- Towing
- Battery jumpstart
- Emergency gas delivery
- Flat tire
- Key lockout
Some contracts even offer trip interruption coverage.
The Bad
- Claims Administration
- Limited DTC Access
- Pricing Not Available Online
Claims Administration
Rather than submitting a claim as the owner, the repair shop pros are meant to contact AUL for you to get things reported and approved. A simple eClaims process is specifically designed to help them get it done faster.
Claims can be submitted online 24/7 by dealership repair shops and independent repair shops, but approval can only happen when the department is open. AUL Corp's claims administration hours are Monday to Friday, 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pacific.
AUL suggests that, if within 60 miles of it, you return to the selling dealership for repairs, but if you are further away, any ASE-certified shop will do. It will even suggest approved local repair shops, if you want.
However, even if you can get a repair shop to work on your car on a Saturday, the repair shop can't call and get anything approved on the weekend, early in the morning east coast, or later than 5 p.m. PT.
Limited DTC Access
For those that are interested in this company's extended warranty products, but you are just shopping around, this warranty company sells its policies, for the most part, through dealers and sales agents. This also means that if you buy it when you are purchasing a car through a dealership, you can bundle it into your financing, if you wish.
Pricing Not Available Online
Many car warranty providers offer an instant quote service to get an idea of what a policy will cost you. That's because most warranty companies sell directly to customers. Because you can only access an AUL warranty through a select distributor, a quote tool isn't offered online. You need to talk with an agent or dealer.
The Bottom Line
AUL is one of the nation's leading third-party car warranty leaders. It is an industry leader, developing the used car warranty market and consistently updating its warranty policy lineup as the auto industry changes. It strives to be the best warranty administrator possible. While it's an older company, it is on top of its game, with its eye on making customers' experiences smooth, with no waiting period, and emphasis on a streamlined and straightforward claims experience. All phone calls are answered by a human — no robotic phone trees.
AUL's claims system works directly with the repair people. They submit the claim for you, through an online portal in the repair-shop claims system.
The company continues to innovate to benefit the industry with advanced coverage that is hard to find elsewhere, like the hybrid components (battery-included) covered by its Reserve Care Plus policy and its tech-specific smart vehicle warranties.
However, to buy an AUL policy, it needs to go through a dealer or insurance agent. Direct-to-consumer access is not available. Therefore, pricing is only available through dealers, and availability depends on where you shop.
AUL focuses on facilitating and improving its role as administrator. AUL knows its niche. Its motto is even trademarked: "Service contracts. It's what we do."
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