ORLANDO, Fla. – Universal Underwriters Insurance Companyunveiled a new Compliance Action Plan (CAP) for dealers to helpthem comply with the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act. Universal UnderwritersInsurance developed the new CAP with Member Benefits Services Inc.,Continental-National Services Corp. and Dealership Defense LLC.Under GLB, the FTC implemented the FTC Safeguards Rule and the FTCPrivacy Rule. Effective May 23, 2003, the first rule requires allfinancial institutions, including automotive dealerships to have,among other things, a written information security plan to protecttheir customers' nonpublic personal information. The second ruleregulates the collection and disclosure of customer information.Bill Stoothoff, vice president of finance and insurance forUniversal Underwriters, said violating the Safeguards and PrivacyRules leaves dealerships open to lawsuits from customers and finesfrom the FTC. Without the proper written and electronic safeguards,dealerships are leaving their businesses open to regulatory riskeven if no customer information is compromised, he cautioned.