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As our country is still grappling with how the Coronavirus pandemic is shaping a new normal for society, many industries are recognizing that changes must be made to certain facets of their operations. This is certainly true within the world of financial institutions and lending in many different ways. Between dealing with the overwhelming number of applications from the Payment Protection Program and having to adjust lending operations with many working remotely the last thing a lender wants to hear now is that the Blanket VSI that protects their auto lending portfolio is being adjusted. 

GAP coverage, also known as Guaranteed Asset Protection or Guaranteed Auto Protection has been available to consumers and lenders since the early 1990s. However, due to the current economic conditions its benefits to consumers and lenders have never been more crucial than it is now. There are many reasons for loan officers to consider making GAP a recommendation to their borrowers. 

The community lender’s role as a trusted advisor during the mortgage application process is truly an important one. In many cases the lender can rely upon their expertise, however, there are times when it is prudent to rely on a trusted partner of their own to provide sound advice to their borrowers. One of these cases is finding the most affordable option for flood insurance. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has uprooted our way of life. The impact of this contagious virus can be felt through all aspects of our daily living. The public health crisis is of the utmost importance right now, there is no disputing that fact. But as our medical and scientific communities continue to develop therapies, vaccines, and public health solutions to combat the virus going forward, there comes a time to reflect on how the pandemic is impacting different segments of our lives and our economy.

Vendor due diligence is a term used to describe the process a company goes through to determine if a potential business partner “checks the boxes” to be deemed worthy of providing the service(s) desired by said company from a reputation, strategic, compliance and transaction standpoint. While almost all financial institutions have some process in place for evaluating third-party vendors, what happens after all the boxes are checked? Are they just another approved vendor, or are they a trusted business partner? Only time and experience with the vendor will tell.

Less than four months into the Twenties of the 21st Century, uncertainty has hit our world and our economy in ways that can aptly be described as unprecedented. Our country and our industry face challenges on a scale that would have been hard to imagine only a few short months ago. When I first sat down to write this, I intended to focus on blanket insurance concepts and how they might be of assistance to community lenders as they strive to be more efficient and better protected.