Steve Blanchard is on a mission to help car dealerships in the Albany region elevate their brands. He believes this can happen by turning customers’ negative perceptions about extended warranties into positive ones.
Blanchard, a native of Upstate New York, founded Empire State Warranty LLC in 2021 to “revolutionize” the car warranty industry. Although it’s standard for warranty companies to deny payment for repair bills outside of the coverage agreement or when the maintenance records aren’t complete, he doesn’t automatically look for reasons not to approve claims.
Blanchard said that when repairs are denied, a customer must pay for them out of pocket, which can create frustration about the warranty business. This comes when car repair costs are soaring. CNBC reports that motor vehicle maintenance and repair costs increased by 4.1% from November 2013 to November 2023, compared with 2.8% for the overall consumer price index.
Meanwhile, Blanchard said that due to the uncertainty about receiving payment, many repair facilities won’t work on cars covered by extended or “ aftermarket” warranties that cover the vehicle after a manufacturer’s warranty runs out.
“We’re trying to get to a place where these repair shops say, ‘We don’t take aftermarket warranties, except from Empire State,” Blanchard said. “We’re going to practice what we preach and do what we say we willdo. We willdo the right thing when a claim comes in and pay what the repair facility wants us to pay so the customer doesn’t have to come out of pocket. We’re changing the narrative and believe the dealers offering our warranties will benefit fromconsumer goodwill.”
Car warranties that bring consumers peace of mind
Blanchard has a history of success in the warranty business, having been a Presidents Club award winner as Preferred Warranties Inc.’s top sales representative in 2016. He started with the company in 2013 and, in just three years, built a $1 million book of business selling warranties to dealers in the Albany area.
Later, he started his own company to offer a more personal service to independent auto dealers in the Capital Region.
Empire State Warranty aimsto offer comprehensive coverage and exceptional customer service and set a new standard in the industry through an innovative approach to warranties and a dedication to customer satisfaction. Blanchard hopes having one of his company’s warranties gives a consumer the kind of peace of mind a “CARFAX report” brings to the used car buying experience.
The benefit of working with a locally-owned car warranty company
“We are the first warranty company ever founded in the Albany region,” Blanchard said. “Being locally owned and operated allows us to build strong ties with dealers and their customers and bring personalized service tailored to their specific needs, along with quick response times.”
Blanchard is building the business with his wife, Alaina, chief operating officer. They recently opened an office at Hangr Coworks in Clifton Park.
He said the business differs fromits larger competitors because dealer owners work directly with him and appreciate the owner-to-owner connection.
“The stronger relationship we can have with the dealer, the stronger the benefit will be to the customer purchasing the warranty,” Blanchard said. “Taking the dealers’ best interest to heart enables them to take the customer’s best interestto heart and deliver an elevated level of customer service. That has great reputational value.”
Making the claims process simple for repair facilities
Empire State Warranty also differentiatesitself by making the claims process simple. Initiating a claim is as easy as logging onto the company’s website and clicking “start a claim” from the home page. Empire State Warranty will respond to that initial filing in under an hour.
“Repair facilities are looking for this efficiency,” Blanchard said. “They don’t want to know whether the warranty will cover the repairs three days from now. They don’t want the car clogging up the lot because the repair work hasn’t been approved. We’ll start the process immediately by lookingat the vehicle. That rapid communication is unheard of in the extended warranty space.”
Empire State Warranty also offers personalized and flexible plans that can be customized to individual needs, allows coverages to be modified as circumstances change, and provides flexible terms for contract length and payment schedules.
Exit5 Auto Group Co-owner shares why he chose Empire State Warranty.
As Blanchard builds the business, he forms long-term partnerships with the dealerships and repair shops.
“Empire State Warranty and their President/CEO Steven Blanchard has been more of a partner to Exit5 Auto Group than a vendor,” Patrick Lyga, general manager and co-owner of the dealership wrote in a testimonial. “Steve’s experience in the financial product space is felt immediately. He takes a hands-on approach to building relationships and offers way more than providingvehicle service contracts and ancillary products. For the last several years, he has committed to being a part of our development and growth in our F&I [finance and insurance] productivity and profitability, which continues to set new all-time highs. Steve and his team are committed to handling the claims process efficiently and effectively.
“Furthermore, he monitors all relevant statistics to provide detailed reporting to continue making incremental gains and improvements,” Lyga said. “I could not be more satisfied with Exit5 Auto Group’s relationship with Empire State Warranty. If you’re thinking of making the switch, do it, and you can thank me later.”
Learn how Empire State Warranty is helping auto dealers grow their businesses by exceeding customer expectations.
Laura Newpoff is a freelance writer with The Business Journals Content Studio.
