Frequently Asked Questions
GAP Insurance is a type of insurance that helps you if your vehicle is written off by your motor insurer. It protects you from losing money if your car is damaged beyond repair due to an accident, fire, or theft. When this happens, your insurer will pay you the current value of your vehicle, called the ‘market value’. This amount might be less than what you still owe on your car loan, which means you would need to use your savings to pay off the remaining loan and buy a new vehicle.
If you don’t have a loan on your vehicle, you can use the money from your motor insurer to buy a similar car. But if you want a newer or better car, you’ll need to pay the extra cost yourself. GAP insurance can help you financially in these tough situations.
Click here for more information about the different types of GAP available.
Click here for some details on real GAP Insurance claims.
Important
There are different types of GAP insurance, and which one is best for you depends on how you bought your vehicle. Read our Guide to GAP.
It’s important to remember that GAP insurance is not the same as regular motor insurance. You need to have comprehensive motor insurance to buy GAP insurance.
GAP insurance is a policy that you can claim on when your vehicle has been written off by your motor insurer.
If your vehicle is written off, think about whether you can afford to pay off any loans, find money for another deposit, buy a new vehicle, and cover any excess costs from your motor insurance. If you can, GAP insurance might not be necessary. But if you’d rather not use your savings for a new vehicle, GAP insurance could be a good choice.
Vehicles can lose value fast. This makes GAP insurance important, especially for new cars, which can drop 20% to 30% in the first year and up to 50% or more in three years. How much you drive and the condition of your vehicle can also change its value.
Our GAP insurance offers you extra benefits, these are:
- Excess cover – Up to £750
We will pay you up to £750 towards your motor insurance excess if your insurer deducts it from your settlement following a write off. - Free hire car following a write off. We don’t want any of our customers feeling stranded with no vehicle to use.
If your vehicle is written off or stolen and not recovered we will supply you with a hire car for up to 35 days. The hire car can be delivered to your home or place of work and then collected at the end of the hire period. - At no extra cost your policy covers anyone insured to drive your vehicle.
- Vehicle on Contract Hire? Get your deposit back
If your vehicle is written off or stolen and not recovered our Lease GAP cover will pay you back the initial deposit you put down on your contract hire agreement, up to the maximum amount of 6 months' rent.
'Total Loss' means your motor insurer has decided that your vehicle is too damaged to repair or has been stolen and not recovered.
Sometimes known as fully comprehensive cover, it pays out if you damage your car, someone else's car or injure someone in an accident, regardless of who is at fault.
Comprehensive car insurance also covers you against fire and theft. It's different to third party insurance, which only covers the damage you do to other vehicles and people.
Third party, fire and theft insurance covers you for damage to other vehicles and people, plus it covers your own vehicle if it gets damaged in a fire or gets stolen. But it won't cover the damage you do to yourself or your own vehicle.
IMPORTANT: To purchase GAP Insurance you must have fully comprehensive car insurance and this must remain valid.
With the word ‘comprehensive’ you might question if you need GAP insurance….but read the following.
Motor insurance does not take into consideration any finance you have on the vehicle, so if your vehicle is written off your motor insurer will payout what they see as the current value of your vehicle , not what you have left to pay to a finance or lease company or what you may have paid as a deposit under a contract hire.
Your motor insurance policy might say that it will replace your vehicle for a new one if it is less than one year old following a total loss. If this is the case GAP insurance might not be for you, however check the following:
- Are you the registered keeper of the vehicle? Vehicles on Contract Hire you may not be so check the terms of your motor policy as some won’t replace your vehicle if you are not the registered keeper of the vehicle.
- Are you first registered keeper? Quite often the vehicle is new but has already been registered to the dealer, so in fact you are the second registered keeper. Check the terms of your motor policy.
- Is your vehicle on finance? Check if your finance provider would accept a replacement vehicle from your motor insurer. If not this could affect things.
Yes, we do have a GAP product that you can buy. Please answer the questions on the quote wizard to help you.
Yes you can. Please follow instructions on the quote wizard.
You don’t have to buy GAP from the dealership where you got your vehicle. It’s always good to shop around.
This is the maximum amount your GAP policy will pay you following a claim. The maximum claim amount will be shown when you get a quote.
GAP insurance is available for both new and used cars up to 10 years old
If you sell your vehicle, you can move your GAP policy to your new vehicle. You need to contact us for this to happen. Your premium might change.
Our GAP Insurance policies are backed by a UK ‘A’ rated insurer that is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme and covered by the Financial Ombudsman Scheme.
Insurance companies get a financial strength rating to show how well they can pay future claims. This helps people decide if the company is reliable before they buy a policy. The best rating a company can get is an ‘A’ rating.
If you have a lease or contract hire, you cannot buy our Purchase Price Protection because you don’t own the vehicle. Use our quote wizard to see what other GAP product may be suitable for you.
Some GAP products can only be bought within a certain time after getting your vehicle, so it’s important to know when you bought it. If you’ve had your vehicle for more than 90 days, there are still other GAP products you might qualify for. Use our quote wizard to see.
Yes we do, we just call it Purchase Price Protection.
