Third Party Warranty Administrators (TPA’s)

Consumers that purchase extended warranty contracts for electronics, appliances, and other products expect prompt and professional servicing of the products they have paid a premium to have covered. Third party administrator (TPA) companies provide extended warranties to consumers on behalf of brand-name retailers, and are required to maintain extensive service provider networks to assess and repair products under their warranty contracts. TPAs rarely directly employ the service providers for the products they warranty. Instead, TPAs outsource the recruitment and management of extensive service provider networks to trusted partners that specialize in managing service networks.

Trust, Quality and Efficiency of the Service Provider Network is Critical to Profitable Warranty Service

The key to increasing the profit margins for TPA’s that provide warranty coverage to big box retailers is to increase first-time-fix rates while reducing product replacement events. TPA’s also recognize that the brand of their retailer-customers is at risk if negative service events occur for warranty contracts. In order to meet the expectations of both the consumer and the retailer-customer, the quality of the TPA’s technicians being dispatched for each warranty call is critical. TPA’s must ensure their service providers have the appropriate background screenings, insurance coverage, and required technician certifications.

PlusOne Solutions CompliancePlus service enables TPAs to reduce the risk of sending inappropriate technicians into consumers’ homes. CompliancePlus includes extensive criminal, driving and drug screening services. In addition, CompliancePlus can optionally include insurance validation for independent service providers and verification of relevant trainings and certifications for individual technicians. Results and relevant documentation are collected and securely stored in a FCRA-compliant system that notifies both the TPA and the independent service provider of any failed technician screenings or license expirations.

Recruiting and Onboarding – The Key to On-demand Service Network Coverage

One of the biggest issues that TPAs encounter is service coverage for products that are sold over broad geographies. This problem is compounded for TPAs that warranty an array of product offerings that require a diverse set of skills for complicated service events.

PlusOne Solutions’ FieldServicePlus service helps TPAs expand their service networks by providing “on demand” recruiting and onboarding via PlusOne’s Service Network of over 45,000 independent service providers. The PlusOne service network covers the entire US and incorporates a broad range of skills that enables our clients to service a variety of products in even the most remote locations. Furthermore, PlusOne enhances our coverage by offering full-service recruiting services to help fill coverage whitespace and emergency dispatch situations.