NAPA, Calif. -

Pelican Auto Finance, which specializes in working with deep subprime consumers, this week selected AUL to be its national vehicle service contract provider.

Pelican Auto Finance chief executive officer Troy Cavallaro described AUL as an industry leader in the vehicle service contract business with a strong national network of agents and dealers.

Cavallaro insisted the combined strength of the field representation and dealer base of the two companies creates a best-in-class solution for dealers in this market.

“Pelican is growing and making an impact nationwide, and AUL is a natural complement to our offering that we feel that customers and dealers will see as a value-add and just another reason to choose us,” Cavallaro said.

Currently in the national roll-out phase, both AUL and Pelican believe that the vehicle service contract offering they developed together will add business to the portfolios of both companies. To date, dealer response has been strong with an unprecedented number of dealers signing up to take advantage of the service contract program.

“The timing couldn't be more perfect,” Pelican chief operating officer and chief compliance officer Joel Kennedy said. “We at Pelican are constantly looking for ways to improve our customer experience, and an AUL service contract is a great offering that we firmly believe will have meaningful impact.”

As the two companies worked together in development of the program, management emphasized the common value of customer service was driving the program development.

Additionally, integration of the technology used by both companies is a key advantage to providing a seamless launch to all Pelican Auto Finance dealers.

“We at AUL believe that there is a terrific alignment between our companies,” AUL chief operating officer Jimmy Atkinson said. “Pelican has a terrific platform and our focus on the claims experience complements their value added approach to the dealer lending space.”

Cavallaro added a couple more assessments about this partnership will mean for dealers in the finance company’s network.

“AUL has demonstrated real competency in the areas of customer service and operational excellence and they have a solid team of professionals with years of experience in vehicle service contracts,” he said.

“By partnering with AUL, Pelican now offers our dealers an even more comprehensive solution to provide their customers with protection that complements the Pelican loan,” Cavallaro went on to say.