Issue No. 9 | June 2, 2026

Intelligence for direct marketers in insurance, home services, warranty, and protection.

This Week: Loan Term Extension and the Urgency Window

THE NUMBER: 69 Months

The average used vehicle loan term extended from 64 months in 2018 to 69 months in 2025, according to Experian data cited in Colonnade Advisors’ March 2026 Direct-to-Consumer Vehicle Service Contract Industry Analysis. Five additional months of average term changes the urgency window and risk profile for every protection product in your direct mail stack. A borrower deeper into a longer loan cycle is carrying slower equity build and longer repair exposure. That shifts when VSC and GAP offers are most relevant, and who is most likely to respond.

The consumer who financed a used vehicle on a 69-month note is not the same acquisition target at month 18 as they are at month 36. At month 36, they are deeper in amortization, have built less equity than they would have on a shorter loan, and are entering the part of the ownership cycle where repair frequency and repair costs are rising. That is a specific financial posture. Your list selection and offer timing should reflect it.

THE OPERATIONAL ANGLE

Loan term extension does not just make the borrower more exposed. It extends the window in which they are most likely to respond.

The consumer who is 30 to 48 months into a 69-month loan is simultaneously building equity slowly, driving an aging vehicle, and facing repair costs that have risen 13.9% since August 2022 against 5.6% for general inflation. That borrower is not just exposed. They are aware of the exposure. The repair they saw someone pay for last month is the creative hook that works.

Loan origination date and estimated current payoff position are available at the record level. If your list selection is not using those inputs to target the right window in the customer’s loan life, you are mailing the right product to the wrong moment. A VSC offer at month 18 on a 69-month note lands before repair and equity pressure meaningfully build. The same offer at month 36 lands when the borrower is more exposed, more financially stretched, and more likely to act.

FROM THE BLOG

The DTC VSC Market in 2026: Why the Fastest-Growing F&I Channel Is Just Getting Started

Colonnade’s March 2026 Direct-to-Consumer Vehicle Service Contract Industry Analysis identifies five structural demand drivers for vehicle protection products: loan term extension, repair cost inflation, an aging vehicle fleet, constrained new vehicle affordability, and dealer remarketing growth. The post connects those trends to the consumer financial pressures driving DTC VSC to become the fastest-growing segment of automotive F&I at a 12.3% CAGR.

QUICK HIT

69 months is the average. A meaningful share of active used vehicle loans are longer. The borrower at month 40 on a 72-month note is in a different equity position, facing different repair exposure, and presenting a different conversion opportunity than the same borrower at month 18. Your acquisition model should treat them differently.

Until next Tuesday —

If your list strategy is not yet segmenting on loan position and estimated payoff timing, reply here and we can compare how timing and payoff-position segmentation are affecting VSC response behavior across longer-term paper.