GAP Insurance

[Big Ry]

I'm in the process of sorting out the GAP (return to invoice/replacement) cover for the SP10.

I can get 5 years and £50k cover from gapinsurance.co.uk for £444. Just wondered if anyone has used them for cover and also whether anybody has had the misfortune to have to claim on GAP cover and how it went.

I'm not a risk averse person but for that level of cover it seems a little silly not to really, just on the off chance that someone in a Corsa t-bones me when i'm filling up

Edited by Big Ry on Friday 3rd April 19:13

[DB4DM]

Presumably GAP insurance is only useful for a depreciating asset?

[Big Ry]

DB4DM said:

Presumably GAP insurance is only useful for a depreciating asset?

Yes and no.......

Remember that traditional insurance will only pay out a trade value on your car, so be it a DBS or a V12VR, they're still going to give you a good 10 grand less than what you will pay to replace it with the same thing. As the GAP insurance will pay out the difference between the insurance and the replacement value, it means that if I smashed it up in 4 years time, I'd end up with the funds to buy the equivalent car exactly as it was when I bought it. So a 9 month old Vantage (or what will be a vantage replacement), even if the cost to buy such a vehicle is more than I paid for mine. That 5 year peace of mind for £450.....seems a bargain to me.

Obviously conventional GAP insurance is pointless if you're talking about a classic DB4/5/6 etc, as i'm sure that would have a guaranteed value for insurance purposes anyway.

[AMDBSNick]

Big Ry said:

Yes and no.......

Remember that traditional insurance will only pay out a trade value on your car, so be it a DBS or a V12VR, they're still going to give you a good 10 grand less than what you will pay to replace it with the same thing. As the GAP insurance will pay out the difference between the insurance and the replacement value, it means that if I smashed it up in 4 years time, I'd end up with the funds to buy the equivalent car exactly as it was when I bought it. So a 9 month old Vantage (or what will be a vantage replacement), even if the cost to buy such a vehicle is more than I paid for mine. That 5 year peace of mind for £450.....seems a bargain to me.

Obviously conventional GAP insurance is pointless if you're talking about a classic DB4/5/6 etc, as i'm sure that would have a guaranteed value for insurance purposes anyway.

Traditional insurance will replace "like for like"

GAP was traditionally designed to cover the difference between used vs new price but now has many versions.

Best check the facts Big Ry

[Big Ry]

AMDBSNick said:

Traditional insurance will replace "like for like"

GAP was traditionally designed to cover the difference between used vs new price but now has many versions.

Best check the facts Big Ry

I agree with what you're saying re like for like, but surely the insurer is always going to start at trade, you at retail and the two of you will need to meet somewhere. Obviously if you have an agreed value then that's different.

So the GAP i'm about to take out covers me for a replacement vehicle (not return to invoice, but actual replacement cost) of the same or equivalent spec, age, condition and mileage as of the date that I take the policy out, regardless of whether that replacement would cost more than what I originally paid. So yes, if in 4 years my car is only worth 50k, but to buy a 9 month old Vantage (or whatever it is at that time) costs 95k, then the gap will pay out the 45k difference (up to a maximum of 50k). I'm happy with the small print (standard stuff like the insurance is void if I smash it on a track). This is how I understand it anyway, but more than happy for someone to point out if I'm wrong.

https://www.gapinsurance.co.uk/policydocs/Replacem...

I really just wanted to know whether anyone recommended any particular insurer etc.

[divetheworld]

I used https://shortfall.co.uk/ for Return to Invoice GAP. Well recommended.

[BeauBee]

Big Ry said:

....traditional insurance will only pay out a trade value on your car, so be it a DBS or a V12VR, they're still going to give you a good 10 grand less than what you will pay to replace it with the same thing. As the GAP insurance will pay out the difference between the insurance and the replacement value, it means that if I smashed it up in 4 years time, I'd end up with the funds to buy the equivalent car exactly as it was when I bought it.

In my experience, I was unfortunate to have my previous car stolen (high end 2011 Audi).
How it worked for me...
The insurance company paid out market value (based on condition [I had recent pictures to verify condition], age and mileage).
So I was left with a deficit over the original purchase price.
The GAP Insurance paid out the difference, that is, the original purchase price minus options less the Insurance pay out = difference - paid out by GAP Insurance.
I'm so glad that I was advised by the dealer to take out GAP insurance.

[bogie]

To me, GAP insurance was/is a great product and came around the same time as PCP became popular. You had people renting high value assets with low deposits, so they may be in negative equity for 2 years or more until depreciation versus payments evened out. The GAP insurance protects the original lender too so they get their money back easier if the car is written off/stolen and the "owner" left with tens of thousands of debt

Usually taken as an individual premium, GAP appears good VFM ...you pay £1k to insure your car every year and for another £50 a year you can insure the GAP...so its an easy sell for the dealer. As with any insurance, its just luck and 99.8% of people will never need it (thankfully) but those that do are grateful to have it

I do have it on a Range Rover I bought a couple of years back, the cost was around £50 a year and after another 3 years depreciation with + 60k extra miles my car is worth about £12-15K less than I paid for it ...so if it gets written off or stolen now I would indeed be £15K up ....or Its just cost me £150 in extra insurance.....

[Jonsv8]

Big Ry is quoting best part of £100 per year for cover which starts at say 10k and increases to 50k (ie depreciation).

My car insurance is only about £300 for prob 80k of car value and has to cover everything inc non write off claims and third party claims.

I accept my car depreciates so getting 60k in 2 years if that's what it's worth would be ok.

Gap therefore seems really expensive to me, I think the margins are massive. 50k cover might only pay out 25k on average. Do more than 1 in 250 cars get written off every year?

I also understood it was to protect against negative equity on pcps.

That's my take, others prefer the peace of mind.

[Big Ry]

OK, so using shortfall.co.uk it brings down a 5 year policy to £414, that's less than a tank of fuel a year.

I appreciate cars depreciate and when I come to sell it i'm OK with that. What i'm not keen on is being forced to have to accept say 50-60k when I didn't even want to change the car (assuming it's stolen or smashed).

We all know that it's VERY easy to write of something like an Aston or Ferrari. It doesn't need to be a huge smash at all due to parts and labour costs. Last year I needed a new grill, grill mount and bonnet respray......that came to just shy of £5k (and that wasn't Works, it was Chiltern). At the same time there was an 4.3 V8V in there that had been rear ended at a roundabout. Looked pretty superficial, creased tailgate, new bumper etc. The cost was I am told just over £12k. The guy wanted a hire car but his insurer told him that if he insisted on an Aston hire car they would write the car off due to cost.

My point being that you could cause £30k+ of damage without any problem at all (carbon splitter for starters), which on a 2-3 year old car would probably put you in total-loss territory. Even more so, a relatively minor prang would write off a 4-5 year old Vantage I'd have though.

It works for me, but I appreciate not for others.

[Jonsv8]

Big Ry said:

It works for me, but I appreciate not for others.

You are my friend the only one that matters on this.

[Big Ry]

Jonsv8 said:

You are my friend the only one that matters on this.

Indeed I am, just always keen to hear others opinions etc (as I have done), for a sanity check if nothing else

[hawkeye651tvr]

I had the misfortune to be rear ended by an Audi A4 in a Maserati 4200GT whilst I was stationary with sufficient force to slam me into the back of a flatbed truck in front of me. Needless to say the Maser was a write off. I'd had the car for 7 months and the 'fully comp' Insurance (Aviva thru Adrian Flux) only offered me £7K less than the Dick Lovett invoice price. Daylight robbery!! Fortunately I had purchased RTI insurance which covered the difference without a blink of an eye and I am now the greatest exponent of RTI insurance!
Just purchased a 2013 (2014MY) V8 Vantage from HWM (yesterday) and am definitely having RTI insurance!!

[Jonsv8]

hawkeye651tvr said:

<stuff that says RTI was worth it>

Just purchased a 2013 (2014MY) V8 Vantage from HWM (yesterday) and am definitely having RTI insurance!!

Now we're talking! We like pictures when you get it!!
And welcome to the club


And 2 posts in 10 years is top lurking

[AMDBSNick]

Big Ry.

I can't help you on the GAP question as I've never had it nor wanted it. My point was in this day and age "quality" insurers will offer the correct retail value on a TL immediately. The days of horse trading are a thing of the past IMHO. Perhaps having a broker helps

I have several clients who have claimed on their GAP policy, they obviously think it's the best thing since sliced bread

[Jockman]

AMDBSNick said:

Big Ry.

I can't help you on the GAP question as I've never had it nor wanted it. My point was in this day and age "quality" insurers will offer the correct retail value on a TL immediately. The days of horse trading are a thing of the past IMHO. Perhaps having a broker helps

That's exactly what I've just done with Hiscox

Big Ry, before you sign on the dotted line come in from the angle of utilising your Insurer to their max.....then sign up for Gap if you still feel it's a better deal

If I were with Admiral, for example, I would definitely be looking at Gap Insurance.

[hashluck]

Jockman said:

AMDBSNick said:

Big Ry.

I can't help you on the GAP question as I've never had it nor wanted it. My point was in this day and age "quality" insurers will offer the correct retail value on a TL immediately. The days of horse trading are a thing of the past IMHO. Perhaps having a broker helps

That's exactly what I've just done with Hiscox

Big Ry, before you sign on the dotted line come in from the angle of utilising your Insurer to their max.....then sign up for Gap if you still feel it's a better deal

If I were with Admiral, for example, I would definitely be looking at Gap Insurance.

This. I have always detested the idea of having to insure against my insurance being crap. So check your main policy is giving you what you need first.

[Big Ry]

I think I'm looking at this from a different angle though to most posts on here.

I'm not too worried about my insurer not paying me market value, I have no doubt that they would (with possibly some haggling) pay me out market value which is fine. I'm taking it though from the angle that if I did stack it or it vanished in 3-4-5 years times, then on top of market value from my insurer (say 40-50k), I'd also be in line for a pay out which would top up the market value payout to the equivalent of buying a 9 month old car again.

Obviously I hope that the situation never arises, but if it did I'd be pissed that I didn't take that £400 policy which could end up paying out anywhere between 30-40k.

Edited by Big Ry on Monday 6th April 18:55

[Jockman]

Tbh for something that cheap and 5 years peace of mind.....having read all the small print....fill yer boots

[Jonsv8]

Jockman said:

Tbh for something that cheap and 5 years peace of mind.....having read all the small print....fill yer boots

Too right, its less than a bottle of Chateau Margaux 2007