Automotive Risk Management Partners ARMP

What a Good Compliance Partner Should Handle for Your Dealership

Terry Dortch President, Automotive Risk Management Partners

Key takeaways

  • A good compliance company should already handle new rules and regulations, such as data breach requirements, without the dealership needing to take separate action.
  • The FTC provides guidance on data breach handling at ftc.gov, but a compliance partner should already have this process managed for the dealership.
  • A compliance vendor should not charge extra fees for new rules or courses unless the vendor itself incurs added costs, such as needing to purchase data.
  • Dealerships without a compliance provider can contact Automotive Risk Management Partners to build a program at a reasonable rate.
  • ARMP positions itself as a long-term partner rather than a vendor seeking to profit from a single transaction.

Summary

Trade publications like Automotive News, Auto Success, Digital Dealer, and Wards constantly warn dealers about new compliance requirements, from the FTC Safeguards Rule and data breach handling to whatever regulation is trending that week. The point of hiring a real compliance partner is that these updates should already be covered, not treated as a reason to panic or as a new item to shop for separately. The FTC's own website even offers guidance on handling a data breach, but a dealership working with a genuine compliance company shouldn't need to go find that themselves.

For a dealer, the practical takeaway is about vetting who you pay for compliance. Dortch warns that some providers have tacked on extra fees for things like DEI training or other one-off nuances that should already be built into the base program, and cautions dealers against accepting fee increases that aren't tied to a real added cost, such as new data the provider has to purchase. New rules and regulations shouldn't cause sleepless nights if a store has the right partner in place, and dealers without one are encouraged to reach out for a program built at a reasonable, long-term rate rather than a one-time high fee.

Transcript

New rules and industry noise around compliance

Hi, my name is Terry Dortch. I'm with Automotive Risk Management Partners. I want to talk to you today about, I guess, fishing—and not fishing in the sense that you're thinking. Anytime you open up a journal, an automotive periodical, Automotive News, Auto Success Dealer, you know, Digital Dealer, Wards, you know, all the different magazines and publications that are out there, somebody's thrown something out there that says you got to call them about compliance, new car rule, or the Cars Rule. I'm going to tell you guys, you guys got to look at it like this: if you're doing business with a good compliance company, you don't need to worry about this stuff. They're going to handle this for you.

Data breach handling and FTC guidance

I saw, was it yesterday or the day before, or, um, there was a whole thing coming out now around, um, the whole new data breach rules and how to—excuse me, how to handle a data breach. You know, you can go to ftc.gov and they've got a whole little handbook on what you have to do if there's a data breach. Or if you're doing business with a company like us, we're already going to have that handled for you. You don't need to worry about things like that. That's the purpose of hiring a compliance company, is so that they come in and they handle these things.

Concerns about extra vendor fees

You know, when COVID came out, there were some companies out there that were charging an extra fee to provide a course for DEI. There have been a host of different little nuances where they'll charge you for certain things that really should be part of their program. I'm going to tell you right now, a good compliance company—unless it costs them more money because they have to buy data or they have to buy something in order to provide a service to you—there shouldn't be an increase in your fees. There's no reason to justify that. Obviously, inflation occurs and there is some of that that we need to suck up, but that should be minimal at best.

Relying on a true compliance partner

My point in all of this is, when you're seeing all of this out there, realize that a true compliance company, a true partner with you, they're going to have this stuff handled anyway. So if you're concerned, or if you're worried about it, pick up the phone, call us, we'll help you. If you're a customer of ours, please call us, because you know what, we've got you handled. And if you're a customer of ours, you probably already know that.

Getting a program if you don't have one

My point in all of this is, when these new rules and regulations come out, don't lose any sleep over it. It's not worth it, especially if you have a compliance company. And if you don't have someone doing it for you, call us. We can definitely put together a program for you, and we can do it at a reasonable rate. We're not here to take your head off. We're not here to make a killing off of one deal. I mean, that's not what we're here for. We're here for the long term. We're here to be your partner, and we're here to take care of you.

Take that, digest it a little bit, and then if you do need anything with—when it's compliance related—give us a call. We're out there. All of our information is right here on the screen. Reach out to us, we'll be more than happy to talk to you. Thanks, take care.

Questions this video answers

Do I need to worry every time a new compliance rule or data breach requirement comes out?

No. If you are working with a good compliance company, they should already have new rules like data breach requirements handled for you, so you do not need to lose sleep over every new regulation announcement.

Should a compliance vendor charge extra fees for things like new rule updates or training courses?

Generally no. A good compliance company should not increase your fees unless it costs them more money to buy data or a service, such as extra charges some companies added for a DEI course during COVID, since these should typically already be part of the program.

What should I do if I don't currently have a compliance company handling new regulations for me?

Call Automotive Risk Management Partners. They can put together a compliance program for you at a reasonable rate, positioning themselves as a long-term partner rather than trying to profit heavily off a single deal.

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Covered in this video

  • FTC data breach guidance
  • CARS Rule
  • Compliance vendor fees
  • Dealership compliance partnerships