Today we are introduced to David Seruya, CEO of Total Home Protection. A Home Warranty company prized for its innovative solutions and excellent customer service. Continue reading to learn how this company was able to get ahead and become one of the most respected home warranty providers in the industry from the perspective of one of its leaders.
When did you get your start in the home warranty industry?
David Seruya: That would be in 2005. I was still working as a mortgage broker back then, but the company that I was working for had begun to decline. And, ultimately, before the year ended, it shut down completely and everyone was laid off.
Thankfully, a college friend of mine had also been looking to get into a new business at the time. So, we decided to partner up and work on this new venture of ours together. At that point, we honestly didn’t know much about the home warranty service industry. But, we knew that it had some room for competition. And, there was little online about offering home warranty plans directly to consumers, so we saw an opportunity that we just could not miss. So, we took it. Knowing that it would allow us to get ahead of the competition and disrupt the industry from the very beginning.
And how did this first venture work out for you?
David Seruya: Success did not come easy, that’s for sure. Despite our confidence in our plan to disrupt the industry with innovative marketing, we did not make a single sale for almost six months! Still though, rather than throw in the towel, we continued to push forward with a tentative but persistent trial and error approach to test our limits.
Personally, I find that this kind of approach is what allowed us to succeed in the end. You learn pretty quickly that, in business, if you want any kind of success, you’ll need to push forward despite the fear of failure. Because, as cliché as it may sound, it is with these very failures that you will find a lesson learned.
Who is Total Home Protection’s ideal customer?
David Seruya: The ideal Total Home Protection customers are homeowners that are age 35+ with an annual household income worth around $150,000. Of course, we service homeowners of all ages and all budgets too. But, we’ve found it most successful to target those in this particular age and income bracket.
And what kind of benefits can your customers expect by signing up with Total Home Protection?
David Seruya: Total Home Protection offers home warranty plans that cover approximately 20 home appliances and systems. The coverage applies when they ‘wear out’ no matter their age, make, or model. And, if we can’t fix them, then we’ll replace them with the exact model or offer an alternative solution if a complete replacement is not available.
For full transparency, covered items must be in good working condition when the coverage is activated, and there are dollar amount caps that may apply. In addition to this, Total Home Protection reserves the right to offer cashback in place of repair or replacements.
If you’re a current or prospective home warranty policyholder, I recommend that you read our sample contract to make the most of your policy. There, you’ll be able to discover all the great benefits that our home warranty service has to offer.
How has Total Home Protection been doing in such turbulent times? And how have you dealt with any of the issues that occurred?
David Seruya: I believe that a lot of our success comes from our leadership team. No matter how crazy or incomprehensible the times we’re living in are, the THP leadership team is always innovating, implementing new technologies, and just growing along with whatever changes are happening in our economy.
What do you find most satisfying whilst working for THP in recent times?
David Seruya: We recently released our new proprietary CRM. It was outfitted with the latest AI technology to create a custom platform for THP policyholders that would allow us to reduce operation costs, generate sales, and provide insights as to how we can grow and improve from this point on. With this on our side, we’re more confident than ever to compete and stay ahead in such a competitive industry. This, as you can probably guess, is an incredibly satisfying experience.
