Western Auto Insurance

Western Auto Insurance is only one arm of the insurance giant, Western General Group, which is a corporation made up of five different companies.

New car warranties are usually offered when a car is purchased at an auto dealership.

Abraham Ehrlich started the company in 1954 when he started his career offering auto insurance products to auto dealers throughout Southern California. The agency grew as Robert Ehrlich also joined the company and before long they found that the insurance products they offered were not sufficient. As a result they formed their own insurance company, known as Western General Insurance, in 1971.

Throughout the 70's and 80's, Western General continued to grow through a constant development of new programs and services, which the company offered primarily to car dealers up through 1996. The company grew from a California corporation to a nationwide service, entering into national agreements with insurers across the country. In 1996, Western General broke into the consumer market by offering car buyers continuation of the temporary casualty loss coverage after they bought a car. Just four years later in 2000, Western General launched the "Private Passenger Auto Insurance" program known as Western Auto Insurance. The company services the niche market of "non-standard automobile insurance."

Western General uses the Internet as a powerful marketing tool. Even though the company started in California - and primarily operates there - it is always looking for ways to extend its auto insurance business across the country. Western General does that by offering its insurance products to insurers throughout the country, but it also does it by allowing customers more online functionality than some other insurance companies.

Customers with Western Auto are able to accomplish most of their insurance business on the Internet. The company provides customers with the ability to view their contract, submit claims, make payments or conduct other business that historically required the customer contact an agent for. This positions Western Auto in a position to extend its business into market areas where there may not be agents available.

Western General started its business primarily as an insurance company for car dealerships. In 1996 it broke into the consumer market by offering an extended insurance product. Today it offers three extended warranty plans in order to provide new car owners with peace of mind in case of a mechanical breakdown. The three "Mechanical Breakdown Plans" listed on the website are as follows.

• The Vehicle Increased Protection Plan: This plan allows dealerships to offer their customers with a wide range of mechanical breakdown protection coverage intended for new or pre-owned cars with low mileage.
• The Mileage Plus Plan: This program is offered primarily for used car dealerships that want to offer customers additional breakdown protection on cars with higher mileage. Some breakdowns are even covered for up to 125,000 miles.
• Mechanical Breakdown Protection Plans: Western General created this program primarily for financial institutions. It is similar to the Increased Protection Plan, with the exception that it has certain terms modified to accommodate some of the requirements that financial institutions demand. This makes it one of the few approved insurance products in many credit unions and banks.

On its website, Western General offers a breakdown of the services that mechanical breakdown agents and automobile insurance brokers have access to. Some of these include:

• Access to the electronic payment system
• The ability to order supplies and reports
• An entire online support network

Western General provides this online system so that agents and brokers can offer their products from anywhere in the country.

The only way to take part in a Western General insurance program is to sign up for an extended warranty or similar product through an auto dealer or with an automobile organization like AAA. Most automobile dealerships offer insurance plans like these, and if you live in California the odds are good that the car dealership you visit probably offers Western General insurance products. If it's very important to you to work with Western General rather than another insurance company, talk to the car dealership about what company offers their extended warranty products before you even consider buying the car. If you aren't satisfied with the answer, search for a dealership in your area that does do business with Western General.

There are many insurance companies across the country that provide the sort of auto insurance coverage that Western General offers, but it's not always easy to know which companies are financially secure enough to protect you when you really need it. Most customers prefer to go with a company that is long-established in the industry and has the financial backing to cover any sized claim that may come along. Western General is one of the most well established insurance companies in the country.

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