If you have ever had to call a company offering its own 24-hour emergency response service, be that for an accident involving a fleet vehicle, or a property concern, the chances are pretty good that the voice on the other end of that phone call is not who you think it is.

Today, the calm and reassuring voice responding to your 0800-INSERT THE BRAND OF YOUR BUSINESS HERE call will belong to someone at First Rescue, the consolidation of accident management specialist SurePlan and the motor and business services team of First Assistance.

The new entity, First Rescue, now has a much greater product offering to its existing clients and new organisations requiring a white label telephone solution to facilitate roadside rescue, accident management, or business and property concerns for their customers/clients.     

For the last 30 years, what is now First Rescue has been the 24/7 voice of prominent motor vehicle distributors from luxury top end marques to fleet mainstream vehicle suppliers and well-known leasing companies among many other corporate and professional entities.

And, as a white label solutions provider, First Rescue…
Wait, what’s all this ‘white label solutions’ stuff?
‘White label’ is an accepted corporate term and refers to a fully supported product or service made or distributed by one company but sold or utilised and branded by another.

It is an intelligent way for a company to provide a branded product or service like after-hours beck-and-call services, which are not core to their business – though customers or clients may perceive them to be – delivered with the anticipated level of professionalism and assurance of that business.

First Rescue fully understands and appreciates the nuances of brand sensitivity, which is the reason it can list so many prominent corporates as its own clients.

CEO of First Rescue Gordon Brown, says that while First Rescue clients are many and diverse, “There are still many businesses out there who don’t realise the full capability of what we can deliver.

“This is not a weakness, however, but a strength,” he says with a twinkle in his smile. “If you knew who we were when you were calling someone else, we wouldn’t be as good as we are, would we?”

Gordon is excited about the road First Rescue is currently on. “We’re setting off on a similar path to what we know, but we’re better equipped to do it, something our clients are going to benefit from.”

The ‘new’ company draws on the information and experience gained over 30 years of Trans-Tasman operations, with a great number of New Zealand business entities putting their fleet response needs into First Rescue’s well qualified hands.

Those needs include accident management first response, insurance issues, roadside assistance, breakdown assistance, towing, incident management and reporting and risk mitigation solutions.

“We can also provide corporates with good data, and we have some really good tools around the area of identifying risk,” Gordon says.

“From the perspective of an independent organisation outside of the insurance industry, we believe we have access to more fleet accident data than anyone else, based on the claims we have lodged on behalf of our clients through the years.

“On the roadside rescue front we’ve got some pretty good technology around not only being able to assist the vehicle driver but give them the assurance that assistance is on the way, which gives them – and their organisation – visibility on how far away that assistance may physically be.”

Business development manager Dave Comp expands on this: “We provide the roadside rescue for the IAG brands – most notably State Rescue and AMI – and that’s looking after over 400,000 policy holders benefiting from the Roadside Rescue offering.

“Last year alone, we assisted some 250,000 people and with our network of 66 branded roadside rescue vehicles nationwide with over 1000 vehicles available to us on a 24/7 basis, have the ability to expand our services and diversify into related areas for our on-the-road clients.”

“As an example,” says Gordon, “we’re on the cusp of launching our EV mobile solution – using First Rescue branded electric vans of course – recognising the growth of the electric vehicle segment.”

While the requirement for roadside charging is comparatively low, Gordon says it provides a comfort and assurance factor for First Rescue’s EV customers to know there is a solution out there, from a provider they know and trust.
“We will continue to develop and expand our EV solution and grow with the market,” adds Dave.

First Rescue offers tailored solutions, just as it always has. As Gordon points out, First Rescue clients have different requirements, and First Rescue works with those clients to ensure the requirements are met and exceeded. “All our corporate and lease company clients want a solution with their own ‘flavour’, and we have the flexibility to provide that flavour.”

As an adjunct to this, First Rescue is leveraging its experience and expanding its customer reach. As Dave puts it: “We are now putting our noses up over the parapet saying, ‘We are the ones who have been providing the services to a lot of known brands over the last 30 years.’

“We will continue to provide the white label solution for those who want it, but for those who only want the base services without the need for identification of their corporate identity, we can put that in place too, delivering the same high level of service and commitment we have been, and will continue to, deliver over three decades.”

For more information on how First Rescue can deliver a 24/7 response service for your organisation, visit the www.firstrescue.co.nz website.