We Proudly Recommend the Following Companies and Services.
The mission of the Tennessee Automotive Association Service Company (TAASC) is to identify and recommend firms whose value-added products and services benefit TAA members. TAASC’s focus is to meet individual TAA member needs, provide competitive pricing and support your association.
Programs & Services Recommended by TAASC
TAA Worker’s Compensation Trust: TAASIT was established effective January 1, 1991, for Tennessee franchised dealers to self-fund workers’ compensation coverage. The program offers substantial discounts, interest-free monthly premium payments based on actual payrolls and return of surplus premium, subject to state approval, to those participants who have favorable loss experience. All participants share in the investment income. TAASIT has returned more than $30 million to its members. For more information, contact TAA Headquarters 615-269-3433 or Brentwood Services, our third-party administrator, at 615-263-1300 or toll-free at (800) 524-0604.
Supplemental Insurance: American Fidelity Assurance Company offers Disability Income Insurance, Life Insurance, Cancer Insurance, Flexible Spending Accounts and Section 125 Plans. For more information, contact (800) 654-8489 or visit www.americanfidelity.com.
Business Forms: Marketed by Reynolds & Reynolds Forms Division. Designed to stay abreast of statutory changes and accompanied by excellent follow-up service. Reynolds & Reynolds may be contacted by calling 1-800-344-0996.
Drug-Free Workplace Training & Testing: Premier Drug Compliance, LLC, Cookeville, Tenn., assists TAA members in establishing and conducting a “qualified” Tennessee Drug Free Workplace Program at a discounted cost. Enables participating entities to receive a 5% premium reduction for workers’ compensation coverage. Long term, it can significantly impact your company’s experience modification factor which will also directly benefit your workers’ compensation premium costs. For immediate assistance or to learn more, contact Chip Lewis, at (931) 432-8378 or visit www.premierdrugcompliance.com .
Long-Term Care Insurance: Marketed by Ed Owens, Southeastern Benefit Designs, Knoxville, Tenn. Coverage through MedAmerica and Group Insurance Services, Inc., the for-profit subsidiary of BlueCross and BlueShield of Tennessee. TAASC’s endorsed plan offers its participants a monthly cash benefit when you need care and a special pricing for TAA members and their immediate and extended family members over 18, including spouses, adult children, parents, siblings, grandparents and in-laws. For more information, call Ed Owens at (800) 424-9543.
Property & Casualty Insurance: Federated Mutual is TAASC’s endorsed provider for property and casualty insurance products. Federated may be contacted by calling Jon Medo at (317) 432-3325 or visit www.federatedinsurance.com.
F&I Products and Training: Assurant Dealer Services’ proven status as a market leader is based on the ideal that the innovative products and services provided to dealerships are backed and insured by the industry’s strongest carriers. Whether taking advantage of in-dealership training, workshops, or courses located at the corporate headquarters, the Automotive Training Academy (ATA) utilizes a hands-on method to increase profitability in all areas of the dealership. For more information, please call James Schickowski at (706) 528-0201 or email him at james.schickowski@assurant.com or visit www.assurant.com.
Human Resource Services: SESCO Management provides professional human resource consulting services to small and medium-size clients throughout the country. Services include development of employee handbooks and policy manuals, compensation administration, management and leadership training and development, organizational development, federal and state employment law compliance. For more information, contact Bill Ford at (423) 764-4127 or visit www.sescomgt.com.
Highland Capital Management, LLC: Highland Capital Management offers 401(k) investor-managed accounts utilizing Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) in custom proprietary risked-based models. Their eight diversified ETF Models cover the entire risk parameters from ultraconservative to ultra-aggressive as well as being low-cost. They also utilize high performing mutual funds. Highland Capital Management is a Memphis-based investment advisory firm specializing in managing equity and fixed-income portfolios. Since 1987, Highland has served clients in the private, corporate and public sectors with a proven investment process and solid long-term performance. Highland manages $3.4 billion as of 12/31/2023. Highland Capital has served as TAASIT’s Investment Advisors since 1994. For more information, contact David Thompson at (901) 328-1228 or visit Highland Capital Management online at www.highlandcap.com.
Spot Delivery is a concise, easy-to-read, monthly legal update that you can depend on to provide timely answers to legal questions you face every day. This newsletter addresses complex legal issues from an industry perspective; it also keeps you informed on new legal developments affecting your business. TAA members receive a 40%+ discount for an annual subscription. For more information or to subscribe today, contact Marlene Locke at 410.865.5420 or simply subscribe online at https://www.counselorlibrary.com/taa/.
AutoAp, Inc. helps motor vehicle retailers make better business decisions at vehicle acquisition; reduce safety recall liability with daily inventory monitoring; and profit from net-new service revenue discovered in their sold-customer vehicles. Dealerships can also print comprehensive consumer disclosure statements in support of their compliance efforts with the upcoming Tennessee Motor Vehicle Recall and Disclosure Law. Recognized by Automotive News for safety recall management best practices, more dealers trust AutoAp over any other safety recall management source. To learn how AutoAp’s industry leading recall management solutions can help your dealership, visit http://www.autoap.com or call or email Mark Allen, CEO, directly at (503) 951-6150, taa@autoap.com to discuss your needs and/or set up a demonstration.
Armatus Dealer Uplift is the largest provider of Retail Warranty Reimbursement submission services in the country. The company has worked with nearly 7,000 dealers, has over 16,000 successful submissions in all 50 states, assisted with drafting 17 warranty reimbursement statutes, and is endorsed by 23 State Dealer Associations. A commitment to technological advancement makes Armatus the only turn-key solution in the industry capable of handling large volumes of work with precision and accuracy. With state-of-the art, proprietary software Armatus assures dealers get optimal results. The mission of Armatus is to ensure dealerships get paid at the highest rate, in the shortest period of time, and with as little disruption as possible. For more information, visit www.dealeruplift.com or call 877.477.2228.
ComplyAuto Privacy & Data Security Compliance Software offers cloud-based solutions to help dealerships across the country with their state privacy and federal compliance goals, including the GLBA’s Safeguards Rule. A true “one-stop-shop” and backed by over 60 years of combined automotive experience, ComplyAuto understands the legal nuances as they apply to dealerships and offers solutions for both the technical requirements, such as intrusion and attack detection (EDR/MDR), multi-factor authentication (MFA), device encryption, and monitoring use of sensitive customer information (DLP), and the non-technical requirements, such as third-party contracts and vendor risk assessments. For more information about their services, pricing, or their industry-leading Compliance Guarantee, please go to https://complyauto.com or email info@complyauto.com.
Dealer Merchant Services (DMS) mission is to help dealers recoup one of their largest expenses, credit card processing fees, by helping them pass along those fees to their customers. DMS has over 370 rooftops in 40 states, and DMS notes they have saved the dealer body over $8.5M since inception. DMS’ stated goal is to educate dealers on the legal changes, create awareness around credit card expenses and provide dealers with best practices for a seamless implementation. They have educated over 1700 dealers through NADA webinars and have trained over 6000 dealership employees. TAA Members can reach Founder/Managing Partner Amberly Allen at Amberly@DealerMerchantServices.com or call the DMS main line at 1.888.819.5149. More info can be found at dealermerchantservices.com
Winslow Solutions. Hiring correctly is a major challenge for most dealerships. A “war for talent” is occurring throughout the nation, as it’s increasingly hard to find reliable people. Also, the risk of placing the wrong people into key positions is exceptionally high. Our Confident Hiring Solution™, Winslow Assessment System, and performance coaching services virtually eliminate hiring and promotion mistakes. For many of our clients, 90-day turnover is suppressed to zero. We work with your existing management team, when needed, to sharpen their leadership skills. Bottom line — We aim to strengthen your confidence when making important personnel decisions. If you could benefit from improvements in selecting, onboarding and developing your team, please call Eric Samuelson at (804)-798-3355 or write to eric@confidenthiring.com. Visit www.winslowsolutions.com/auto to learn more.
TAA Services and Programs
• Legislative Representation: TAA members have a strong voice in Tennessee state government; their interests are continuously being promoted and protected.
• Association Staff: Your association staff works full-time for your benefit. . . assistance is as near as your telephone, email, fax machine or mailbox.
• TAA Bulletins: Confidential bulletins are sent to TAA members which contain advisories to help dealers’ compliance efforts and to improve their sales and service.
• Dealer Legal Defense Fund: Since 1997, TAA has expended over $1.5 million in defense of our members’ interests.
• Annual Convention: Designed to offer new business contacts, education, entertainment, and a fresh perspective on your dealership. Our 2025 event will be a Tri-State (Tennessee/Alabama/Mississippi) Convention held at The Hilton Sandestin Beach Golf Resort & Spa, Destin, FL.
• Regional Meetings: The TAA Chairman and president hold meetings across the state during the fall in order to fully apprise the membership of the issues that face our industry. Just as important, members take this opportunity to inform TAA of their concerns one on one.