Category Archives: "Direct Marketing Brief"

May 20

The Direct Marketing Brief: The $2.9M Threshold Your Administrator Operates Around

Categories: Direct Marketing Brief Posted by: Kane Barker

Issue No. 7 | May 19, 2026 Intelligence for direct marketers in insurance, home services, warranty, and protection. This Week: The Structure Behind Your Administrator’s Claims Exposure THE NUMBER: $2.9M $2.9 million is the 2026 IRC §831(b) annual premium volume threshold for small P&C company tax treatment, per IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32, up from $2.85M […]

May 12

The Direct Marketing Brief: What CLIP Structure Means for Direct Marketers Selling VSC and Protection Products

Categories: Direct Marketing Brief Posted by: Kane Barker

Issue No. 6 | May 12, 2026 Intelligence for direct marketers in insurance, home services, warranty, and protection. This Week: The Structure Behind Your Admin’s Guarantee THE STATISTIC: B+ B+ is the AM Best financial strength rating that states generally require of Contractual Liability Insurance Policy insurers, the entity that backs many VSC, GAP, and […]

May 5

The Direct Marketing Brief: The AI Infrastructure Around Warranty Marketing Is Moving From Competitive Advantage to Compliance Requirement

Categories: Direct Marketing Brief Posted by: Kane Barker

Issue No. 5 | May 5, 2026 Intelligence for direct marketers in insurance, home services, warranty, and protection. This Week: The AI Infrastructure Shift THE NUMBER: 13.9% That is how much auto repair and maintenance costs have risen since August 2022, per BLS, compared to 5.6% for general CPI over the same period. The average […]

Apr 28

The Direct Marketing Brief: Only 44% of Eligible Vehicles Have Coverage and How to Find Volume and Keep It in a Mostly Uncovered Market

Categories: Direct Marketing Brief Posted by: Kane Barker

Issue No. 4 | April 28, 2026 Intelligence for direct marketers in insurance, home services, warranty, and protection. This Week: The Coverage Gap THE NUMBER: 44% Only 44% of eligible U.S. vehicles carry VSC coverage, per Colonnade Advisors’ March 2026 whitepaper. Set against approximately 296.5 million passenger vehicles on U.S. roads, roughly 70% of which […]

Apr 21

The Direct Marketing Brief: A Record 27% of Trade-Ins Are $10,000 Underwater and Why the Used Vehicle Buyer Is Your Next Acquisition Cohort

Categories: Direct Marketing Brief Posted by: Kane Barker

Issue No. 3 | April 21, 2026 Intelligence for direct marketers in insurance, home services, warranty, and protection. This Week: The Affordability Handoff THE NUMBER: 27% A record 27% of underwater trade-ins now carry $10,000 or more in negative equity, per Edmunds Q4 2025. That is an all-time high. The average underwater balance sits at […]

Apr 14

The Direct Marketing Brief: Rising Mortgage Rates Are Compressing Your Q2 Lead Pool and the Audience Shift You Need to Make Now

Categories: Direct Marketing Brief Posted by: Kane Barker

Issue No. 2 | April 14, 2026 Intelligence for direct marketers in insurance, home services, warranty, and protection. This Week: Inflation Pressure On Demand THE NUMBER: 0.25-0.35 Mortgage rates climbed 0.25–0.35 percentage points through April 1 — pressured by inflation concerns, energy shocks, and broader market volatility following the Iran conflict. For DTC home warranty […]

Apr 7

The Direct Marketing Brief: 35% of Homeowners Cannot Cover One Repair Bill and Why the DTC Warranty Pitch Is Arithmetic, Not Aspiration

Categories: Direct Marketing Brief Posted by: Kane Barker

Issue No. 1 | April 7, 2026 Intelligence for direct marketers in insurance, home services, warranty, and protection. This Week: Home Warranty THE NUMBER: 35% Roughly 35% of U.S. homeowners have less than $1,000 saved for home repairs — yet average annual home maintenance costs now exceed $10,000. A single HVAC replacement runs $1,000–$3,000. A […]