5 takeaways from the Warranty & Service Contracts Innovations conference

What if you could reduce claims costs by as much as 20%, increase attach rates, and protect customer lifetime value?

The Warranty & Service Contract Innovations Event answered these questions and more by bringing together industry leaders to explore how AI, connected services, and evolving partnerships are changing the $64B warranty and extended service contract operations.

In this blog post, we’ll discuss our five key takeaways from this year’s discussion.

1. Reshaping warranty with AI

TLDR: Using AI, companies can reduce claims costs by 5-20% and increase productivity by up to 35%.

AI is quickly showing its worth by reducing claims costs, improving first-contact resolution rates, and increasing overall profitability.

In the case study, “Applying AI to Optimize Productivity, Profitability, and Efficiency of Warranty/Service Contracts,” Ashok Kartham, CEO at Circuitry.ai, and Matthew Jackson, Manager of Product and Pricing at Hendrick Autoguard & NationsGuard, discussed how AI Advisors, Analysts, and Agents, powered by Decision Intelligence can automate claims processes, reduce fraud, and improve customer experiences.

This session showed how agents automate claims workflows, including image analysis, payment approvals, and training tasks, while Advisors provide instant, context-specific answers to questions pulled from their own structured and unstructured data. Analysts deliver predictive alerts to flag out-of-line claims or pricing gaps before they turn into costly issues.

Ask yourself: What could you do if your teams were 35% more productive?

2. Strengthening OEM and administrator partnerships

TLDR: Strengthening partnerships between OEMs and TPAs ensures shared financial gains and better claims management and service outcomes.

As the service contract landscape changes, OEMs and TPAs are finding new ways to collaborate to meet customer needs.

In the Brown & Brown presentation, “Developing a Customer VSC Platform Within Your Brand,” Donald Berry, Vice President of Insurance for GM Financial, noted that aligning service contract efforts with the OEM brand yields increased vehicle sales, loyalty, and enterprise profitability, with the added bonus of OEM portal integration and consolidated billing.

In the presentation “Rethinking Our Claims Journey,” Kirsten Elsworth, Senior Director at Ally Insurance, noted that now is a good time to focus on the basics to ensure claims processes are thorough, and most good business plans can be summed up with napkin math.

At the dealer level, this thinking came to life in the presentation “From Crisis to Commitment” with Adam Cherin, Variable Operations Director, and Tyler Wolfe, Regional Finance Director at Hudson Automotive Group. They discussed how dealers can stay agile and protect customer relationships and revenue. They emphasized how dealer teams benefit from flexible service partners that enable fast product changes, quick-term adjustments, and real-time decision support.

Their perspective reinforced a key idea: partnerships enable dealers to respond faster, customize offerings, and deliver value that feels personal and timely to their customers.

Ask yourself: are your partnerships helping you keep clients and customers happy?

3. Latest service contract trends

TLDR: Economic pressure, EVs, and tech-savvy buyers are reshaping what coverage looks like and how it’s delivered.

The service contract space is evolving with different expectations, products, and delivery models.

From a home warranty lens, Jim Mostofi, CEO of Rely Home, shared a data-driven view of the market's direction. As economic uncertainty grows, more consumers are turning to home warranty and service contracts to protect against unexpected costs.

Mostofi also cited research by Allied Market Research that the market is expected to expand from $8.3 billion to $13.6 billion. To meet these rising expectations, providers are investing in tech-forward experiences, like automation and AI, to help improve speed, consistency, and customer satisfaction.

Joe Pak, CEO of Amber, added the EV perspective, highlighting how the rise of EVs is changing protection plans and service expectations. Pak also pointed out that only 1.5% of ASE-certified technicians are currently qualified to work on EVs, showing the industry's growing need to onboard and train a new wave of technicians and supplement them with new technology.

Kolby Rath, Business Manager at John Deere, rounded out the picture. In his presentation, “Maximizing the value of Connected Equipment through Life Engagement,” he focused on the shift from selling parts to selling outcomes. The industry is moving beyond traditional service contracts and warranties to engage customers through the product lifecycle.

Ask yourself: Do your coverage plans, sales channels, and service models reflect the way the market is changing?

4. Increasing attach rates and profitability

TLDR: Designing profit participation programs that align with customer value drives increased attachment rates, sustained profitability, and client retention.

Many companies overlook the upside of value-driven programs and miss out on real revenue gains as a result.

In his presentation "Reinsurance and Other Profit Participation Programs,” Guy Koenig, President at GSFS Group, outlined how bonus/advance programs, profit sharing, and dealer obligor programs can incentivize higher participation while boosting dealer loyalty. These structures do more than incentivize upfront sales. They align financial outcomes with long-term performance, helping dealers retain more value from the policies they sell.

During the presentation from Brown & Brown, Donald Berry also shared how GM and Subaru developed vehicle service contract (VSC) platforms that felt like natural extensions of their brands. Supported by unified marketing, dedicated field teams, and digital tools for quoting and claims, these platforms make it easier for dealers to position protection products as part of the overall ownership experience.

Ask yourself: Are you missing out on increased revenue and retention by waiting to shift to value-driven participation programs?

5. Warranty Process Automation with AI Agents

TLDR: Agentic AI streamlines claim processes by automating complex tasks, reducing costs, and improving claim accuracy.

AI’s impact on claims management was a recurring theme throughout the event. AI is driving a shift from traditional manual claims processing to automated process management, where AI-powered agents handle claims from start to finish.

During the panel, “From Insights to Action,” Ted Danner from Circuitry.ai; David Froning, Portfolio Manager of IOT Solutions at SAS; and Jeremy Kuchenbecker, Vice President - Enterprise Digital Strategy at APCO Holdings, explored how AI automation can streamline the claims process, including an in-depth discussion of predictive analytics and loss control plus risk management.

That theme was echoed in the Circuitry.ai case study with Hendrick Autoguard & NationsGuard. They showed how Agentic AI can be added to existing systems to handle repeatable tasks, like validating images and videos, processing payments, and escalating exceptions.

As Ashok noted, companies don’t need to rebuild from scratch. Instead, AI can integrate into existing claims infrastructure, improving accuracy, surfacing insights, and letting teams focus on the tasks that matter.

Ask yourself: If you’re not automating claims with AI, how much time and money are you losing?

See what your warranty team could be doing with AI

As the industry moves toward outcome-based models and predictive maintenance, companies that leverage AI and strengthen their partnerships will remain competitive and keep customers loyal.

If these takeaways resonated with you, you’re not alone. Many teams are asking the same questions about how to cut costs, reduce manual work, and drive better outcomes.

That’s where Circuitry.ai’s Warranty Decision Intelligence comes in. By automating routine tasks and decisions, reducing processing times, and enhancing claim accuracy, it’s built for the kinds of challenges we saw throughout this year’s event.

Missed us at the Warranty & Service Contract Innovations Event? Let’s get you caught up. Schedule a personalized demo today and see how Warranty Decision Intelligence can boost your team’s productivity by 35% and reduce excess claim expense by 5-20%.