GAP Insurance - Does It Work?

[developer]

Posted in General Discussion so more may see it, as I think it's worth sharing.

Upfront I should say that this is a policy I bought nearly 3 years ago - things may have changed with newer policies and I only have knowledge of my policy.

When I bought the E63S in Jan 2015 I chose Invoice Value Gap Insurance from Chris Knott.

£254.80 for 3 years cover, in the band £40K to £75K (as I recall).

Here's the maths:
£61,500 invoice value.
£40,000 write off value last week.

Today I received a £22,000 payout from the GAP insurers, being £21,500 GAP and £500 contribution to my policy excess (which was £850 total).

A simple claim form and a series of additional questions - I guess to validate I wasn't trying to defraud the system.

So, in my case it's worked very well - I hope that's of use to anyone considering Invoice Value GAP.
As always I guess it's the small print that matters and should be read carefully.

Hope that helps and dispels the type of GAP "wriggle out of paying" myth I'd heard about before buying my policy.

It goes without saying I'd rather still have the car and not the incident, but...

 

[Alps]

Glad it worked out John

For a high depreciation car, its definitely worth taking out.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

John, thanks for sharing this. Whilst the money isn't the first concern in the aftermath of a traumatic situation such as this, having a quick settlement without the aggravation which goes without a long drawn out process is very helpful for helping to move on and get back to normal.

I previously didn't have GAP insurance, but having a car stolen in not dissimilar circumstances, changed that. Until then I dismissed GAP insurance as a sales persons commission earner, and thought I would prefer to make up the difference in the event of a loss.

However the time it took to reach a settlement, the frustration and effort of trying to increase the settlement to reflect market prices, and eventual failure was a distraction I could have done without. The settlement from my insurer was 25% less than the average of the small number of similar cars for sale.

 

[developer]

I think, like a lot of insurance, it can seem a nice little earner for them but at £1.60 a week for the duration of the policy it just seemed to make sense.

On the previous E63 (@£37K) it was £1 a week - daft not to.

 

[Headhurts]

I have in the past purchased GAP insurance and would again if not purchasing new.

If you buy a new car the police insurance scheme through Roland Smith is worth checking out, if a new car is written off within the first 2 years of purchase a new car is supplied regardless of fault.

I’m pretty sure you don’t have to have any police connections to buy this insurance but do check it out if you go this route.

The insurance premiums are extremely competitive.

Robin


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[AMGeed]

Very useful info and really worth thinking about on a newish high value car.

 

[zipdip]

Well John,I suppose "well done" is not the best choice of words given the circumstances but it fits your foresight in buying GAP insurance,as you say £1.60 a week is a small amount,given the cost of your stolen vehicle,I hope you and your family are getting over the theft.

 

[developer]

It was GAP or Tracker subscription and I chose GAP.