"Gap" car insurance.

[DTS]

Ladies and gentlemen

The good wife has it in her head we need to get "gap" car insurance. In short if your car is written off she is told I am sure quite rightly that our car insurer will only give us the market value of our car.

"Gap" insurance covers the difference between what we paid for the car and what we get from our insurer. The Wife does love an insurance policy. I am not convinced on this occasion.

Anyone got any experience of this please?

Thanks DTS.

 

[callan]

Ladies and gentlemen

The good wife has it in her head we need to get "gap" car insurance. In short if your car is written off she is told I am sure quite rightly that our car insurer will only give us the market value of our car.

"Gap" insurance covers the difference between what we paid for the car and what we get from our insurer. The Wife does love an insurance policy. I am not convinced on this occasion.

Anyone got any experience of this please?

Thanks DTS.

I always get gap insurance based on the understanding that gap covers the difference between the purchase price of a new car versus the market value of the one you have bought.

 

[DTS]

I always get gap insurance based on the understanding that gap covers the difference between the purchase price of a new car versus the market value of the one you have bought.

Any idea on typical costs mate? mrs says £200 for a year which is almost as much as we pay for proper insurance. New car is Nissan Qashqai Nentec if that helps.

 

[callan]

Any idea on typical costs mate? mrs says £200 for a year which is almost as much as we pay for proper insurance. New car is Nissan Qashqai Nentec if that helps.

I'm pretty sure that sounds about right, be careful if you are doing finance on the car that they don't roll it into that....otherwise its 200 plus apr.

 

[wakes123]

Ladies and gentlemen

The good wife has it in her head we need to get "gap" car insurance. In short if your car is written off she is told I am sure quite rightly that our car insurer will only give us the market value of our car.

"Gap" insurance covers the difference between what we paid for the car and what we get from our insurer. The Wife does love an insurance policy. I am not convinced on this occasion.

Anyone got any experience of this please?

Thanks DTS.

I used to work in insurance motor claims, the difference between market value and what you paid for the car will often be quite high (the minute you drive a car out of the shop it loses a lot of it's value).

It all depends how risk averse/seeking you are and the % chance you think you will have a write off crash.

In my opinion £200 a year seems steep.

 

[DTS]

I'm pretty sure that sounds about right, be careful if you are doing finance on the car that they don't roll it into that....otherwise its 200 plus apr.

Thanks mate. Brought it outright and made sure no hidden charges.

 

[Pubey]

I didn't really consider it when we got our car. But I don't do lots of miles every day. If I was driving on the motorway each day then maybe it'd be worth while, but I'm a fairly chilled out and safe driver (especially the the family in the car) and don't really think I'm particularly 'high risk' for totalling my car.

I guess these policies get sold by making people overestimate their own chance or risk of totalling a car. I'd expect that risk to be very low in general.

 

[DTS]

I didn't really consider it when we got our car. But I don't do lots of miles every day. If I was driving on the motorway each day then maybe it'd be worth while, but I'm a fairly chilled out and safe driver (especially the the family in the car) and don't really think I'm particularly 'high risk' for totalling my car.

I guess these policies get sold by making people overestimate their own chance or risk of totalling a car. I'd expect that risk to be very low in general.

This is my argument. In sixteen years of driving I have never had a crash. That said £200 to gain £x"k" possibly worth the trade off.

 

[Mad Cyril]

Any idea on typical costs mate? mrs says £200 for a year which is almost as much as we pay for proper insurance. New car is Nissan Qashqai Nentec if that helps.

Sell the car and buy one for £150.

That way if there is an incident it will only cost you £150 to replace and you save £50 which could be spent on accessories for your vehicle.

 

[Firestorm]

GAP insurance is designed to cover the difference between what your insurer pays out and, depending on the type of policy:
•What you paid for the car
•What you still owe on the car
•What it would cost you to buy the car now

So you might want to check what the policy will pay out on

You may also want to enquire as to how long the policy is and if its 200 pa through out the life of the policy .

I would imagine its a 3 year policy @ 200 pa

I have heard one draw back though, often the Valuation from your Fully comp insurer in the event of a total loss, will be lower than that suggested by Gap insurer on the pay out, also any excess on your main policy will not be covered by Gap

 

[londonblue]

Ladies and gentlemen

The good wife has it in her head we need to get "gap" car insurance. In short if your car is written off she is told I am sure quite rightly that our car insurer will only give us the market value of our car.

"Gap" insurance covers the difference between what we paid for the car and what we get from our insurer. The Wife does love an insurance policy. I am not convinced on this occasion.

Anyone got any experience of this please?

Thanks DTS.

I was offered it, and didn't take it out. I assume you're buying a new car? If not then there is no need for it as the market value should be the same as you paid for it. With a new car, as soon as you drive it off the forecourt its value has diminished greatly.

However, the reason I didn't take it out is because the gap between market value and what you will need to pay for a replacement (which is really what you're interested in) reduces over time. I don't know how long that is, but I would guess that so long as you don't stack it in the first 2 years you should be OK.

I'm the opposite of your wife, I refuse as much insurance as I think I can get away with. I reckon over the years, given that I have hardly ever claimed on an insurance policy, I have saved myself a huge amount of money.

(I've had the odd minor car payout. I have also had to claim on holiday insurance when my son was taken ill and admitted to hospital in Spain. One of those is a legal requirement and the other is something even I insist on having.)

 

[pickledseal]

I was offered gap insurance on my BMW. Didn't take it as it was a bit steep. When it got nicked, I wouldn't have got a penny as the payout covered the finance (I was 18 months into 3 year deal). Sadly the £3k on my credit card which was the deposit wasn't and wouldn't have been!

Just bought a 3 year old Focus (how times change) and need to look at this as it is on a PCP.

 

[Holy Joe]

Check your 'normal' car insurance details. Many cover the full purchase price for a brand new vehicle for the first year.

 

[united we stand]

I was offered it, and didn't take it out. I assume you're buying a new car? If not then there is no need for it as the market value should be the same as you paid for it. With a new car, as soon as you drive it off the forecourt its value has diminished greatly.

However, the reason I didn't take it out is because the gap between market value and what you will need to pay for a replacement (which is really what you're interested in) reduces over time. I don't know how long that is, but I would guess that so long as you don't stack it in the first 2 years you should be OK.

I'm the opposite of your wife, I refuse as much insurance as I think I can get away with. I reckon over the years, given that I have hardly ever claimed on an insurance policy, I have saved myself a huge amount of money.

(I've had the odd minor car payout. I have also had to claim on holiday insurance when my son was taken ill and admitted to hospital in Spain. One of those is a legal requirement and the other is something even I insist on having.)

I agree with most of that, and haven't claimed on my car insurance in over a decade, and have made one house insurance claim in 25 years. I see GAP insurance as a brilliant piece of salesmanship by insurance companies. Giving us the opportunity to spend more money on something that most of us don't need. Even the marketing is massively flawed . From the go compare website
he disappearance of your car may be bad enough, but there may be an even more painful void when your insurer tells you they will only pay out the current market value.

In all seriousness what were people expecting them to pay out ?
Due to depreciation, that figure is likely to be far less than you paid for your car, less than it will cost you to buy your chosen replacement,
[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]The piece in red here is very cleverly written . If you are replacing on a like for like basis then the payout should cover it, if not argue the toss and you will win .

Lastly if people are really worried,then simply get insured with a company that offers to replace the car for you if it is written /off stolen (ie direct line according to the TV advert) - GAP only works (IMO) if you are hoping to gain on the deal , where as normally insurance is to replace what you have lost, not gain on it. If you are the sort of person who thinks they are likely to use it , and see it as an opportunity therefore to make a little cash then I see the point [/FONT]

 

[londonblue]

I agree with most of that, and haven't claimed on my car insurance in over a decade, and have made one house insurance claim in 25 years. I see GAP insurance as a brilliant piece of salesmanship by insurance companies. Giving us the opportunity to spend more money on something that most of us don't need. Even the marketing is massively flawed . From the go compare website
he disappearance of your car may be bad enough, but there may be an even more painful void when your insurer tells you they will only pay out the current market value.

In all seriousness what were people expecting them to pay out ?
Due to depreciation, that figure is likely to be far less than you paid for your car, less than it will cost you to buy your chosen replacement,
[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]The piece in red here is very cleverly written . If you are replacing on a like for like basis then the payout should cover it, if not argue the toss and you will win .

Lastly if people are really worried,then simply get insured with a company that offers to replace the car for you if it is written /off stolen (ie direct line according to the TV advert) - GAP only works (IMO) if you are hoping to gain on the deal , where as normally insurance is to replace what you have lost, not gain on it. If you are the sort of person who thinks they are likely to use it , and see it as an opportunity therefore to make a little cash then I see the point [/FONT]

Completely agree. The thing is, all insurance plays on our fears and this is no different. Some very clever insurance bod thought this up a few years ago, but in reality it will just make insurance companies even more profit.

I did forget that a couple of years ago we claimed on our household insurance for a leak in the bathroom that lead to a collapsed ceiling below in the utility room.

But, on the stuff that I don't have insurance I have definitely saved money. When I have needed to pay for something it is still cheaper than the amount I would have paid in insurance over the years.

 

[pickledseal]

Isn't gap insurance more for those who buy on credit where you NEED more than the value of the car to pay off the credit? Or when I bought my BMW the car was about £16k but total price including credit was about £18.5k. Had I walked out and totalled it, I would have owed £18.5k and insurance, best case, would have paid £16k leaving £2.5k down?

 

[jstallan]

Check your 'normal' car insurance details. Many cover the full purchase price for a brand new vehicle for the first year.

My thoughts exactly.

What's the Qashqai like ? Petrol or Diesel ? I'm looking to sell on my Mondeo privately (shameless plug) and the QQ is on my list.

 

[Benfleet A1]

My thoughts exactly.

What's the Qashqai like ? Petrol or Diesel ? I'm looking to sell on my Mondeo privately (shameless plug) and the QQ is on my list.

Very reliable but as an driving experience as dull as dish water.

 

[jstallan]

Very reliable but as an driving experience as dull as dish water.

Excellent. I've just purchased one :smile::smile:

I did have a test drive of a 1.5 dci at Toomeys on Saturday and quite enjoyed it.

 

[londonblue]

Very reliable but as an driving experience as dull as dish water.

Indeed. My wife test drove one and really didn't like it.