History
We’ve always been at the forefront of consumer debt protection
The WALKAWAY concept was born out of a conversation between consumer creditor (debt) insurance specialist, Vincent Beretta, and a highly-respected General Motors Dealer, Michael Croxon. Mr. Croxon was expressing concern over the growing amount of negative equity he was seeing in loans and leases in the automotive industry. Two days later, Beretta called his soon-to-be business partner Croxon with the idea to create the first-ever vehicle return policy designed to protect Canadians from the impacts of negative equity – WALKAWAY Finance Protection™ was born.
We're trailblazers
Launched in 1999 with no age limits, no pre-existing health restrictions, a flat price, and coverage for seven different life events – this was a product where every buyer found value. The best part about the program was that the first 12-Months were complimentary for the consumer; the coverage would be paid for by authorized WALKAWAY dealers and/or lenders and manufacturers.
We're experienced
The first WALKAWAY policy was issued on January 4th, 2000 and since then nearly three million people worldwide have enjoyed the confidence of buying a car with WALKAWAY. In Canada alone over $100 million dollars of automotive debt has been relieved and the product has been deemed by industry insiders as the most innovative product to hit the retail automotive industry in 25 years.
The last 20 years, we’ve celebrated some very
exciting milestones:
Our company was founded
WALKAWAY was the first-ever vehicle return policy designed to protect consumers from unexpected life events. It was the only product available that provided peace of mind when leasing or financing new or pre-owned vehicles.
We launched the first-ever, end-to-end insurance portal called InsClix
Aligned with the launch of the organization, was the launch of our online insurance platform. InsClix was the first of its kind and continues to grow and evolve to better serve our team members, partners, and customers to this day.
We secured our first dealership partnership
Within the same year, we secured our very first dealership partnership with North York Chevrolet, which is now known as NewRoads Chevrolet Cadillac Buick GMC.
The first WALKAWAY claim was paid
Later in that same year, WALKAWAY settled its first claim. Today, over 86% of the claims reported have qualified for coverage.
Our first policy was issued
The very first WALKAWAY policy was issued in January 2000 – a great way to kick off the new year and a new decade.
We began distributing WALKAWAY products in the U.S.
The WALKAWAY program expanded once again to help protect US consumers with our industry-leading products.
We began distributing in Australia
The WALKAWAY program expanded once again to help protect Australian consumers with our industry-leading products.
WALKAWAY protection for recreational vehicles was launched
The WALKAWAY product line was expanded to offer a custom version of the program for RVs in Canada.
We helped launch Hyundai
Assurance program in the U.S.
In 2009, the US economy was experiencing the worst recession in over 25 years. In collaboration with our valued partners, we helped launch Hyundai Assurance. It quickly became the most successful buyer incentive program in automotive history. Hyundai was the only manufacturer to see year-over-year sales increase in 2009.
We launched the Kia Integrity Advantage program in Canada
In March of 2009, together with our valued partners, we launched Kia Integrity Advantage, the first and only program of it’s kind in Canada offered by an automaker. This program took the risk out of leasing or financing a vehicle for a consumer.
We launched our industry-leading WALKAWAY Total Loss Protection™
We further diversified our offerings with the launch of WALKAWAY Total Loss Protection™, also known as GAP (Guaranteed Asset Protection), to better serve our customers and partners.
We partnered with Volvo
This marked our expansion into excess wear and tear program offerings.
We partnered with Toyota Credit Canada Inc. on an excess wear and tear program
Further expanding our partnerships, we launched an excess wear and tear program across their three brands.
We partnered with TD Bank (TDALP)
We partnered with TD Auto Finance to launch TD Auto Loan Protection, a private-labeled version of the Complimentary WALKAWAY coverage.
2 million WALKAWAY policy holders
Just five years after WALKAWAY was born, we reached 2 million policyholders.
$50 billion in auto loans and leases protected internationally
In 2017, our team celebrated the fact that we reached $50 billion in auto loans and leases protected across the globe.
Surpassed $100 million in debt settled
We celebrated a major milestone when $100 million in automotive-related debt in Canada was settled by WALKAWAY.
We reached $70 billion in assets protected across the globe
Another exciting milestone was surpassed when $70 billion in total, all-time automotive debt was protected by WALKAWAY.
We launched the industry’s first loan-to-value rating calculator
We developed the first-of-its-kind, interactive, and dynamic rating platform, allowing us to provide consumers with a clear illustration of their risk profile and suggest adequate coverage for their unique needs.
We landed one of our biggest partnerships to date with Ford Motor Credit Company.
In just 51 days, our team helped launch the Ford Promise across over 4,900 Ford and Lincoln dealers in the U.S. – all remotely.
