Dealers looking to better satisfy the evolving preferences of car shoppers should take a fresh look at car insurance.
As car buyers navigate affordability challenges, embedded insurance and financial products (such as warranties and GAP insurance) can sometimes derail almost-finalized deals. While dealers can’t sell insurance directly – and some who spoke with WardsAuto report that in-store insurance agents have been ineffective – there are still ways to make the car-buying experience more budget-friendly.
A study by Polly, an embedded auto insurance provider, underscores why dealers should prioritize insurance assistance for car buyers:
Insurance ranks higher than brand when buyers evaluate key car-buying attributes. That shows the growing importance of long-term cost considerations.
“Our 2025 ‘Embedded Auto Insurance Study’ underscores the critical role of embedded insurance in modern car dealerships,” says Mike Burgiss, chief marketing officer at Polly. “These findings highlight a paradigm shift in car buying, where consumers prioritize total cost of ownership and in-dealership convenience over brand and technology.”
What can dealers do to assist consumers in their search for affordable insurance?
The first step is ensuring that F&I managers understand how discussing insurance with customers can boost F&I profitability and reduce the risk of lost deals.
Then dealers should also consider the following tools to streamline integrating insurance into the F&I conversation:
By integrating insurance into the car-buying process, dealers can enhance customer satisfaction, improve financial transparency and drive greater profitability.
Article originally published on WardsAuto
Author: Nancy Dunham, Principal Analyst/Retail