Kellie Grocott has been appointed as director of sales for RAC Dealer Network at Assurant following the promotion of Sean Kent into the role of UK client director for automotive.

Assurant partners with the RAC in the aftersales sector to provide a range of warranties and related products bearing the RAC brand to more than 1,350 car, van, motorhome and motorcycle retailers in the UK.

It also delivers marketing, training and business consultancy support.

Grocott, will now lead the operation having been the RAC account director at Assurant for the past three years.

She has held a variety of roles at the company, formerly known as The Warranty Group, since 2009, as part of a career in the automotive industry dating back more than 20 years.

Grocott said: “This is a time of change in the automotive industry, with retailers and their warranty providers adjusting to new ways of working.

“However, I’m confident that the products and structures behind the RAC Dealer Network place both us and our dealers in a strong position, and I’m very pleased to be taking over the RAC director of sales position.”

Kent will now assume overall responsibility for RAC activity as well as Assurant’s automotive manufacturer and other automotive industry relationships.

He said: “The RAC Dealer Network has become a considerable success in recent years and there is really nothing else quite like it in the UK used vehicle sector, providing dealers with the tools required to build a very convincing proposition.

“I’m looking forward to my new role within Assurant and continuing to be part of that story, and also very pleased to support Kellie’s promotion. Having worked alongside Kellie for several years, I know she’ll do an excellent job.”

Back in August RAC Dealer Netowrk reported that car warranty sales had delivered a 21.4% volume increase year-on-year.

Speaking at the time, Kent said: “We have seen a dramatic bounce back since used car and van sales resumed at the beginning of June and there are no signs of it abating yet.

“2020 was already proving to be a record year for warranty sales across the network before the coronavirus crisis took hold and the resumption of momentum that we have seen over the last few weeks has been little short of astonishing considering the circumstances.”