Schaumburg, Ill. — Zurich has launched an awareness campaign for automobile dealers to help them navigate the maze of new laws and regulations expected to affect their businesses in 2011 and beyond. The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act), Truth in Lending Act, and the laws of Title X are just a few of the rules and regulations automobile dealers need to understand and follow in order to be in compliance with the law.

"Many auto dealers don't know that the passage of Dodd-Frank will have a substantial impact on the way franchised auto dealers conduct financial transactions beginning July 21, 2011," said Glenn Roberts, national training and business development manager for Zurich North America Commercial. "Zurich is looking out for auto dealers by helping them know that Dodd-Frank is not just for big banks and Wall Street."

In order for Zurich to help educate its customers on rules and regulations affecting auto dealers, Zurich collaborated with Hudson Cook LLP, a law firm specializing in legal issues that face auto dealers, to develop a comprehensive legal guide that will be used to train and educate Zurich's employees. That information will now be share with the company’s customers.

Zurich is encouraging its customers to raise these issues with their respective attorneys to develop a compliant F&I office. Some of the information Zurich is ready to help auto dealers understand is detailed below:

• The Dodd-Frank Act amended the Truth in Lending Act (TILA) to increase the scope of credit and leases covered by TILA. In addition, the range of damages available under TILA and the class action cap have been raised. The federal agencies responsible for drafting and maintaining regulations dealing with these coverage amounts will revise those regulations to reflect the changes, which become effective July 21, 2011.

• The Dodd-Frank Act amended the Fair Credit Reporting Act to require creditors, which includes dealers, to provide the actual credit score used to help make the credit decision to consumers in an adverse action notice.

• Congress gave the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) more authority and a mandate to regulate dealers for unfair and deceptive acts and practices. Count on the FTC to increase its regulation and enforcement of dealers.

• State attorneys general may enforce the laws of Title X, which are federal consumer financial laws and rules issued by the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection. Attorneys general have historically been aggressive in pursuing dealers. They will now be armed with new enforcement tools and remedies.

For more information on the program, visit the Zurich Website.