CDK Global to acquire Salty Dot
CDK Global , an automotive retail technology company, plans to acquire Salty Dot , a mobile-first solution that helps consumers secure the insurance they need for their vehicle without leaving the car-buying experience.
Founded in 2019, the Salt Lake City-based company (a team of ~61) offers a platform to allow carriers and distribution partners to offer insurance in real-time during the purchase process. Through an integration with the dealer management system (DMS), the car buyer receives a text message during their purchase process with a link to a ‘quick and easy’ form. Salty’s platform—driven by artificial intelligence—then selects the carrier and personalized policy based on their answers and presents it to them digitally within ‘minutes’.
“In a time of significant retail disruption, CDK is focused on helping dealers and manufacturers meet the evolving demand for simple and convenient retail experiences. Now that we’ve completely digitized the sales and service processes within the dealership model, we are taking the next step of bringing dealers new capabilities—like Salty’s Embedded Insurance®—to help consumers manage the many decisions that come with buying and owning a car. With Salty, we are strategically rethinking the future of auto retail and helping put dealers in command of the entire consumer experience.” – Brian Krzanich, president and chief executive officer, CDK Global.
“I am proud of the work the Salty team has done in creating a digital experience that gives consumers a seamless way to buy insurance when it’s most relevant to them—during the car-buying process. By joining an industry leader like CDK, Salty gains instant access to nearly 15,000 retail locations in automotive and related industries, which will accelerate the adoption of our platform and fundamentally change the experience consumers have during and after a vehicle purchase.” – James Hall, founder and chief executive officer, Salty.
Salty is licensed in all 50 states and is available to all dealers nationwide—not just those that use CDK’s DMS or customer relationship management (CRM) system. The company’s insurance partners include Progressive, Travelers, MetLife, Amica, Nationwide, Kemper, Dairyland, and Bristol West among others.