Protective Asset Protection’s parent company will purchase Protective’s rival finance and insurance product provider AUL Corp.
Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed in the Monday announcement by Protective Life Corp. Protective Life expects the deal to close in the second quarter.
Protective Life Senior Vice President M. Scott Karchunas, president of Protective Asset Protection, told Automotive News in an email interview Tuesday that the companies had been discussing a deal “for the past few months.”
Buying AUL offered new talent and “a complementary business” with dealership, agent and lender relationships, he said.
“We did not look at this opportunity as filling a gap in our existing portfolio, but instead as a chance to add expertise — particularly with serving the automotive and financial institution industry’s needs for pre-owned vehicle service contracts and warranty programs,” Karchunas said.
Protective Life CEO Rich Bielen said in a statement Monday that AUL contributed a national network of agents and dealerships and offered “distribution channel growth opportunities in the higher-mileage and the financial institutions space.”
Karchunas said Protective Auto Protection served more than 8,000 dealerships. AUL would add thousands more and provide “a notable increase” in revenue, he said.
If the deal closes as expected, Protective Life Corp. will have purchased 59 companies over its lifetime, including six after it was acquired by Dai‑ichi Life Holdings in 2015. Karchunas said those six included two other F&I product providers, Revolos in 2021 and United States Warranty Corp. in 2016.
“Our Asset Protection Division has grown steadily over recent years through both acquisitions and organic growth,” Bielen said in a statement. “It continues to be a very important part of our business, and we look forward to continuing the momentum with the acquisition of AUL.”
Karchunas called the F&I industry “competitive and healthy” and did not anticipate a regulatory challenge to the acquisition of another vehicle product provider.
Asked if the AUL name would remain after the merger, Karchunas said the emphasis would be growing the 60-year-old Protective Asset Protection brand. But he called the AUL brand “an important consideration of the integration plan.”
“AUL developed impressive brand awareness and positioning over the last 30-plus years and we will be seeking opportunities to leverage the brand equity within the overall Protective brand strategy,” Karchunas said.
Karchunas said a goal would be to minimize disruption and offer new solutions for AUL and Protective agencies and dealerships during the transition.
“Combining Protective’s resources and reach with our rapidly growing platform will enable us to provide more robust solutions for our agents and dealers,” AUL CEO Jimmy Atkinson said in a statement Monday. “Protective and AUL also align in our focus on culture and opportunities for our employees, contributions to our communities and award-winning customer service.”