GAP Insurance

[Michael Morris]

Changing our car this week and the dealership is trying to sell us GAP insurance.

Any thoughts on how essential it is or is it an additional add-on that's not required.

[BLUETIT]

Re: GAP Insurance

Had to look it up as never heard of it !
Looks like an additional payment to me, Shirley your normal insurance covers in the event of a write off ?

[Michael Morris]

Re: GAP Insurance

Had to look it up as never heard of it !
Looks like an additional payment to me, Shirley your normal insurance covers in the event of a write off ?

They say if the finance owing on the car is £15,000 for example and it get's written off the insurance might only offer you £10,000. So this additional insurance covers the £5k shortfall.

[light up the darkness]

Re: GAP Insurance

The idea is …in the event that your motor is written off it covers the difference between what you paid for the car and what the insurance company will pay you

IMO it’s another means of squeezing more cash out of the working citizens

Others may have a different opinion

[Vindec]

Re: GAP Insurance

Changing our car this week and the dealership is trying to sell us GAP insurance.

Any thoughts on how essential it is or is it an additional add-on that's not required.

GAP insurance covers the difference between anything you might get back from your insurance company and the market value of your car. It's up to you whether you want it but personally I wouldn't bother. If you do want it my advice would be to get independent quotes as dealer prices are normally way above what you can get online.

[Undercoverinwurzelland]

Re: GAP Insurance

Depends on depreciation really. Your motor insurance will only pay the market value at the time of the accident/theft/fire, so if that's less than the amount you still owe the finance company you could be out of pocket.
As Vindec said, you can shop around online.
This might help https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/in...gap-insurance/

[BLUETIT]

Re: GAP Insurance

The idea is …in the event that your motor is written off it covers the difference between what you paid for the car and what the insurance company will pay you

IMO it’s another means of squeezing more cash out of the working citizens

Others may have a different opinion

I’m with you, how many cars have you written off “BOSS” ?

[TWGL1]

Re: GAP Insurance

They say if the finance owing on the car is £15,000 for example and it get's written off the insurance might only offer you £10,000. So this additional insurance covers the £5k shortfall.

I’ve had it for years , but I’ve never had to claim , I suppose it depends of the value of your car , and if it’s on a long financial agreement.

[TWGL1]

Re: GAP Insurance

They say if the finance owing on the car is £15,000 for example and it get's written off the insurance might only offer you £10,000. So this additional insurance covers the £5k shortfall.

This link may be useful

https://www.moneysupermarket.com/car-insurance/gap-insurance/

[dml1954]

Re: GAP Insurance

This link may be useful

https://www.moneysupermarket.com/car...gap-insurance/

That is not an unbiased website though. They are trying to get people to buy GAP through their portal, for which they get commission. In my opinion GAP is another scam by dealers to get money off you. It isn't cheap for a start and the dealers get commission for selling it to you from the broker they use. The way I look at it, everyone knows that as soon as you buy a car it depreciates in value. If you decide to sell your car you wouldn't expect to get the same as you paid for it, so why expect to get the full price you paid ‘as new’ if it is written off. It is unlikely that any finance owing would be greater than the value at the time of accident as most modern finance deals are structured to take account of depreciation anyway.

[TWGL1]

Re: GAP Insurance

So if you buy a new car and write it off after 3 years , you don’t receive the price you paid for it , as I’ve always thought that was the whole point of the policy ?

[19bluebirds27]

Re: GAP Insurance

It’s a good policy when pitched in the correct way as it’s a regulated product as per the FCA.

What you want it Return to Invoice (RTI) GAP.
If vehicle is written off then the policy pays the difference between the insurance payout and what you paid for the vehicle on the invoice.
Putting you back in the same position financially as when you purchased.
Some providers even cover your vehicle excess too, covers all names drivers and mirrors the decision of your own insurance company.
Yes a dealer will sell it for a profit of course but why shouldn’t they - they face severe sanctions if they miss sell it, not properly qualify you via a Demands and Needs exercise (which you sign for).
There is normally a designated Business Manager who handles this process and they most sales people are not added to the companies register to even discuss it.

Think of it in the context of home insurance claim/catastrophe.
Buildings cover alone is your car insurance and the optional Content cover is the GAP.

[blue matt]

Re: GAP Insurance

we never take them out, I know used cars deprecaite in value as soon as you take them from the dealership, but the amount isnt massive ( like in the old days ) and the shortfall isnt likely to be a huge amount

[slomaj]

Re: GAP Insurance

The GAP in GAP insurance is an acronym for Guaranteed Asset Protection. You can think of the asset as your car, but the protection element is a little more complicated and refers to financial cover of the depreciation of your vehicle.

Insurance providers will usually pay the current market value of your car in the event of a ‘total loss’ claim – when the car needs to be replaced entirely. The system leaves a lot of motorists out of pocket, especially as new cars typically drop in value between 15% and 35% in the first year and up to 50% or more over three years1.

GAP insurance covers the difference (or the gap) between the amount your insurance provider pays and the amount you'd need to pay to buy a new or equivalent model.

For example, if someone buys a new car for £30,000 which is stolen within the first year, an insurance provider might only pay £25,500 as a ‘total loss’ payment.

If that motorist has ‘return to invoice GAP insurance’, they can expect to receive £30,000 as a ‘total loss’ payment.

[Gofer Blue]

Re: GAP Insurance

Changing our car this week and the dealership is trying to sell us GAP insurance.

Any thoughts on how essential it is or is it an additional add-on that's not required.

Never buy GAP insurance from a car dealer - try one of the specialist companies who I guarantee will be cheaper (it's what we did).
I like the peace of mind you get, knowing that even a relatively small "bump" could be so expensive to repair that your insurer will write-off your car, especially important during the first three years of ownership when depreciation is massive.

Try these guys:

https://www.ala.co.uk

You can get an instant quote on-line without the need to supply email address etc. N.B. I have no connection to this company.