Gap Insurance

Sybaris · July 9, 2022

Ok quick question and thoughts.

I take out Gap (RTI) insurance when I change over as for me I like that peace of mind. Now I know the dealership will charge .... alot, and there are cheaper cover out there.

However in the event of a write off, I want the Gap provider to pay out without the fuss, arguing and often that wriggling out that some insurers like to do. Is it better to take a slightly higher hit for the Gap from Lexus and have everything under one roof (I am going with Lexus Insurance) or for the sake of the extra £100 or so go else where and risk some unknown (FSA regulated) insurer that could be a real pain in the backside to deal with later on?

Herbie · July 9, 2022

2 hours ago, Sybaris said:

Is it better to take a slightly higher hit for the Gap from Lexus and have everything under one roof (I am going with Lexus Insurance)

You must be rich :laughing: I don't know of one instance where Lexus insurance isn't hundreds of squids more than more mainstream companies. My own experience is that Lexus wanted more than double the £515 that Ageas are charging me. I've worked hard for my money and I hate just giving away more than I need to.

I took out GAP insurance with MotorEasy, which gave me three years cover for half the price that the dealer was quoting.

Thankfully, I've not needed to claim (and I am touching wood as I type this so as to not tempt fate). As with all insurance companies, you never know if they are good or bad until you make a claim, but reading lots of good reviews about them makes me comfortable with my choice.

Sybaris · July 9, 2022

Over double !!!!!! OK I wasn't expecting that. I am guessing then that if they are regulated and go bust, the FCA takes the hit.

PeterI · July 9, 2022

I got my gap insurance from ALA, I did use a discount code[1] from either "piston heads" or "honest john" I got their "Vehicle replacement plus gap" policy for £237 (car purchase price of £49,157), from memory the dealer wanted over £500

For actual vehicle insurance Lexus were a bit more expensive (10%ish) than some of the alternatives on compare the market, but their cover didn't require a black box style thing in car and says they will use OEM parts.

[1] I can't remember which site.

bigglesfllesundone · July 9, 2022

With ALA if applying through quidco you get 7.5% cash back, I think they may then also apply a discount when you apply.

bigglesfllesundone · July 9, 2022

When buying a fiesta I was offered gap insurance, I offered to pay half the price offered, offer was accepted.

Sybaris · July 9, 2022

That's a good idea, make a counter offer back to the dealer if they say no I go elsewhere.

RXtoNX · July 9, 2022

I told my dealer that I would arrange GAP insurance myself through ALA as I always do.
As part of the final negotiations re discounts etc they asked to see the quote I was getting and then agreed to match it cost wise, which was a substantial discount on what they originally quoted, but with better terms including full vehicle replacement cover for 4 years rather than return to invoice

Shahpor · July 9, 2022

10 hours ago, PeterI said:

I got my gap insurance from ALA, I did use a discount code[1] from either "piston heads" or "honest john" I got their "Vehicle replacement plus gap" policy for £237 (car purchase price of £49,157), from memory the dealer wanted over £500

For actual vehicle insurance Lexus were a bit more expensive (10%ish) than some of the alternatives on compare the market, but their cover didn't require a black box style thing in car and says they will use OEM parts.

[1] I can't remember which site.

Funnily enough, I bought Gap insurance for my car just this morning.

I went through moneysupermarket, but obviously didn't get as good a deal as you as it cost me £252.75 for 3 year vehicle replacement insurance on £44,000 from ALA.

Still worth it though.

I would be curious to know if anyone has actually just it though and how the process went.

Sybaris · July 9, 2022

I got a quote from ALA and signed up to quidco, you can get 7.5% back from them. That seems like the best option.

Shahpor · July 10, 2022

17 hours ago, Shahpor said:

I would be curious to know if anyone has actually just it though and how the process went.

What the hell is 'just it'? 🙂

No doubt it is obvious, but that should read 'used it'.

PCM · July 11, 2022

Personally, never used Gap insurance.

Sounds like a product looking for a reason to exist.

I just save the £.

Have never needed it...

Herbie · July 11, 2022

2 hours ago, PCM said:

Personally, never used Gap insurance.

Sounds like a product looking for a reason to exist.

I just save the £.

Have never needed it...

It does have a place and a reason to exist Piers.

As soon as you drive your brand new car out of the dealers it drops in value by a few grand. If you were to write it off a few days later, the inurance will only give you the lower value so the GAP insurance makes up the difference so that you can have another brand new one again and not be out of pocket.

As for not needing it... that's what we hope of all insurance policies.

RXtoNX · July 11, 2022

2 hours ago, PCM said:

Personally, never used Gap insurance.

Sounds like a product looking for a reason to exist.

I just save the £.

Have never needed it...

I don’t think my daughter would agree with you after her 3 year old car was written off by someone who decided that a give way sign didn’t apply to them.

Due to GAP insurance she was able to get a NEW replacement car without having to go through the hassle of trying to get an insurance company to offer a market price just to put her back in to the same position as at the time of the write off, i.e. a replacement car of similar spec, age etc.

deltapapa · July 11, 2022

On 7/9/2022 at 10:41 AM, bigglesfllesundone said:

With ALA if applying through quidco you get 7.5% cash back, I think they may then also apply a discount when you apply.

Or 10% cash back via "TopCashBack".

"Every little helps"🙂

Sybaris · July 11, 2022

Cool thank you for that

Shahpor · July 11, 2022

7 hours ago, RXtoNX said:

I don’t think my daughter would agree with you after her 3 year old car was written off by someone who decided that a give way sign didn’t apply to them.

Due to GAP insurance she was able to get a NEW replacement car without having to go through the hassle of trying to get an insurance company to offer a market price just to put her back in to the same position as at the time of the write off, i.e. a replacement car of similar spec, age etc.

Hi Paul,

Glad to hear that your daughter got to benefit from it. Could you perhaps elaborate on how the process went? From what you have suggested, she got Vehicle Replacement Insurance, so was it a case of her insurance company paying out the value of her 3 year old car and the GAP insurance topping off the rest back to new car value?

Thanks.

DAN@ADRIAN FLUX · July 11, 2022

Hi.

Just to let you know that we offer a 12 month product called Total Loss Protection. Whilst it's not exactly the same as your traditional GAP insurance we feel for some customers it can make a cost effective alternative.

Please feel free to take a look if you wish.

https://www.adrianflux.co.uk/extras/total-loss/

Regards,

Dan.

RXtoNX · July 11, 2022

4 hours ago, Shahpor said:

Hi Paul,

Glad to hear that your daughter got to benefit from it. Could you perhaps elaborate on how the process went? From what you have suggested, she got Vehicle Replacement Insurance, so was it a case of her insurance company paying out the value of her 3 year old car and the GAP insurance topping off the rest back to new car value?

Thanks.

From memory she notified the GAP insurer, at the same time as her insurance company, who advised her as to the process & paperwork required to be able to make a claim on the GAP insurance.

To claim on GAP insurance you need to have your insurer to declare the vehicle a total write off so she was advised to wait for the loss adjuster to provide a market value, which would be no where near the market value, and then reject it advising them that your GAP insurer will be taking over the claim handling on her behalf.

It all ran smoothly from there with everything sorted iirc within 2-3 weeks of receiving the first offer.

Shahpor · July 12, 2022

19 hours ago, RXtoNX said:

From memory she notified the GAP insurer, at the same time as her insurance company, who advised her as to the process & paperwork required to be able to make a claim on the GAP insurance.

To claim on GAP insurance you need to have your insurer to declare the vehicle a total write off so she was advised to wait for the loss adjuster to provide a market value, which would be no where near the market value, and then reject it advising them that your GAP insurer will be taking over the claim handling on her behalf.

It all ran smoothly from there with everything sorted iirc within 2-3 weeks of receiving the first offer.

Thanks for the update Paul, sounds very good indeed.

So, for the avoidance of doubt, say her car was worth £30k new. Insurance company offered to pay her £15k for her now written off 3 year old car then the GAP insurance took over and topped it back up to £30k so she could buy a new car?

Apologies for labouring the point, but there is precious little confirmed information out there about GAP insurance specifically.

royoftherovers · July 12, 2022

On 7/9/2022 at 9:01 AM, Herbie said:

You must be rich I don't know of one instance where Lexus insurance isn't hundreds of squids more than more mainstream companies. My own experience is that Lexus wanted more than double the £515 that Ageas are charging me. I've worked hard for my money and I hate just giving away more than I need to.

I took out GAP insurance with MotorEasy, which gave me three years cover for half the price that the dealer was quoting.

Thankfully, I've not needed to claim (and I am touching wood as I type this so as to not tempt fate). As with all insurance companies, you never know if they are good or bad until you make a claim, but reading lots of good reviews about them makes me comfortable with my choice.

I too use Motor Easy.

RXtoNX · July 12, 2022

42 minutes ago, Shahpor said:

Thanks for the update Paul, sounds very good indeed.

So, for the avoidance of doubt, say her car was worth £30k new. Insurance company offered to pay her £15k for her now written off 3 year old car then the GAP insurance took over and topped it back up to £30k so she could buy a new car?

Apologies for labouring the point, but there is precious little confirmed information out there about GAP insurance specifically.

Yes, GAP insurance tops up the normal insurance payout to enable you to buy a new car of similar make, model & spec if you have replacement vehicle GAP insurance.

Alternatively, if you select the cheaper “back to invoice” option the GAP payout is the difference between the insurance co payout and what the original purchase price was of the car, inclusive of any extras

Shahpor · July 12, 2022

50 minutes ago, RXtoNX said:

Yes, GAP insurance tops up the normal insurance payout to enable you to buy a new car of similar make, model & spec if you have replacement vehicle GAP insurance.

Alternatively, if you select the cheaper “back to invoice” option the GAP payout is the difference between the insurance co payout and what the original purchase price was of the car, inclusive of any extras

Excellent, thanks for confirming Paul 👍

So, strange as it sounds, from a purely financial point of view, getting your car written off at, say, 2 and a half years old would actually work out quite well all things being equal.