Promoted: Free 30-day GAP policy for PHers with ALA

[ALA Insurance]

Hi liner33

Thank you for spotting this and letting us know.

The links have been updated and should work now - really appreciate your help!

Thanks,
Katie

[ALA Insurance]

Hi DeckyQ

Thanks for getting in touch

No problem at all - it is a lot to get through

At the moment, we don't have an excess insurance which is specific to hire cars; our policy is to cover the comprehensive insurance excess on your personal car. However, I think it is something you can purchase independently from the car hire company and is always worth looking into alternatives (although look into the T&Cs to make sure it's the sort of thing you're looking for!)

I'm hoping other PHers on the forum might be able to help...

Thanks,
Katie

[ALA Insurance]

Hi Dal3D

Thanks for getting in touch.

It depends on the car really - the Vehicle Replacement Plus policy allows for a replacement or superseding model if one matching the original is no longer available. For example, when Skoda replaced the Yeti with the Karoq (I believe!) anyone with a VRI policy on a brand-new Yeti would instead receive a new Karoq in the event of a claim.

If there isn't a replacement model from the manufacturer (or you don't like it) or if the car is a limited edition, then it would probably be best to opt for the Back to Invoice Plus policy.

I hope that helps as a starting point! If you have any other questions at all please get back in touch either on here, by email ([e-mail]) or by calling us on 01653 916304.

Thanks,
Katie

[ALA Insurance]

Hi Porkupine

Thanks for getting in touch

To answer your first question, if you sell the car, we can't transfer the cover to the new owner but there are two options for you:

a. Use the policy credit (calculated daily pro rata) on a new policy for your next car. This would be a brand-new quote and so there may be a balance to pay towards the new policy premium but there is no fee of any kind.
b. you can have a pro rata refund but this is subject to a £35.00 cancellation fee (charged by the underwriters).

With the second question - that's correct. It covers any instance where comprehensive motor insurer declares your car a total loss. Thye would pay you a market value settlement. The GAP insurance would cover the shortfall, depending upon the type of policy you have. If you have a Back to Invoice Plus policy it would provide a top up payment to the original invoice price of the car (or outstanding finance balance if higher at the time and if applicable).

I hope that helps and if you have any other questions at all please let me know.

Thanks,
Katie

[ALA Insurance]

Hi everyone!

There are a number of codes available online at various times and if I can help anyone in relation to discount codes please get in touch. My email is [e-mail]

Thanks,
Katie

[ALA Insurance]

Hi dnhc

Thanks for getting in touch.

We do offer Agreed Value cover when the initial Back to Invoice Plus policy ends - this would be based on the Glass's Guide Retail Value of the car at the policy start date and can be bought for cars less than 10 years old with fewer than 100,000 miles on the clock.

Our maximum term for Back to Invoice Plus cover is 4 years; there are 5 year policies available from other providers however we would always suggest checking the T&Cs as the cover can change in the final year and may not be beneficial. Our policy would cover up to the invoice price for the full 4 years.

I hope that helps and if you need any further information at all please let me know.

Thanks,
Katie

[ALA Insurance]

Hi interstellar

Thanks for your message.

I'll run through the differences between the two policies, and "better" is always a bit subjective dependent on individual circumstances - with some examples this will hopefully become clearer.

Back to Invoice Plus: this pays up to the original cash price you paid for the car (so it is to a fixed amount) and the settlement is paid to you to use as you wish.
E.g. You paid £20k for your car, it's written off and your insurer pays £10k so the GAP insurance pays the other £10k.

Vehicle Replacement Plus - pays up to the cost of replacing your car a) as it was when you first bought it, and b) at the "current" cost. The GAP settlement is paid to a supplying dealer.
For example, your car was £20,000 and brand new when you bought it however it's written off after 2 years and the equivalent brand-new car is £23,000 at that point. If your insurer pays £10k, the VR+ policy would pay £13k to cover up to the new vehicle cost.

One thing to mention which applies to both - if you have finance and the settlement balance is the higher amount at the time of the claim, the GAP policy will pay up to this amount instead. Also, this is cleared as a priority by your comprehensive insurer's settlement and the GAP settlement. Whatever is leftover is then paid to you (under the BTI+ policy) or to a dealer if you have VR+.

I hope that information is useful and if you need any more information please let me know.

Thanks,
Katie

[ALA Insurance]

Hi GasEngineer

Thanks for getting in touch!

Of course, that's just on the following link and if you need any help with it at all please let us know!

https://www.ala.co.uk/30-day-free-gap-insurance?al...

Thanks,
Katie

[ALA Insurance]

No problem at all!

Can I ask when it was you took delivery of the car, please? If you prefer (and so we can run through more details) it might be worth sending the information over on an email to [e-mail] - the key thing for us is when you took delivery of the vehicle, and as long as this was within the last 30 days the age of the car shouldn't affect anything.

That way we can make sure we get the policy sorted in the best way possible for you

Thanks, Katie

[ALA Insurance]

We're going to PH25!

Delighted that ALA are one of the exhibitors at the PistonHeads 25th Anniversary Party on 12th August (tomorrow!) at Bicester Heritage.

For any of you PHers heading to the event, feel free to pop over for a coffee and a chat in our comfy/cozy space - we'd love to meet you

See you there!

The ALA Team

[ALA Insurance]

Hi Sheepshanks!

Thanks for getting in touch, I can have a look into this for you

The 12 month limit is specifically where the car was bought brand new and the comprehensive insurer has covered it new for old for the first 12 months.

Other than that the age and mileage limits are really generous so the main requirement which applies to most people is that the car is less than 8 or 10 years old, depending on the type of policy. This is where your wife's car would be.

Price wise, are you able to pop me the details on an email and I can check this for you? It's [e-mail]

Thanks,
Katie

(or pop along to our stand tomorrow - we can run through it over a coffee!)

[ALA Insurance]

Hello!

That's great, thank you - I've just sent over a reply and if I can help any further at all please let me know.

Thanks,
Katie

[ALA Insurance]

Hello to all you PHers on this lovely summer afternoon (better late than never!)

We just wanted to say thank you to all who came to see us at the PistonHeads 25th Anniversary event in Bicester last month.

It was great to meet all of you - the team enjoyed chatting to everyone over free coffee and brownies in a stunning venue and with some impressive cars.

If anyone had any questions about any of our policies (or where we got the delicious brownies!) please get in touch either on here or by emailing [e-mail].

Thanks!
The ALA Team

[ALA Insurance]

Hi Samcat

Thanks for popping onto the forum to let us/PHers know about this.

I'm sorry to hear the website crashed and glad it was working properly for you in the end - if you did have any ongoing issues or queries please feel free to pop me an email so that we can look into it further ([e-mail])

Thanks again!
Katie

[ALA Insurance]

Thanks for the message DiamondLights - this is a good opportunity to give a quick update.

Hi PHers

We wanted to reassure you that we are still providing GAP insurance. You might have read about the FCA banning car dealerships from providing it due to overly inflated prices and not following consumer duty regulations.

We're pleased to say that we are still providing Defaqto 5 Star Rated, fair value GAP – authorised by the FCA.

We have a nice discount code for PH readers; PH10 for 10% off your GAP quote.

Head over to ala.co.uk, call us on 01653 916304 and of course let me know any questions you might have on here, I'll be happy to help!

Thanks,
Katie