GAP stands for guaranteed asset protection and is a name given to an insurance policy which is sold to cover any financial loss in the event of a write off. Statistics show there is a vehicle stolen in the UK every minute and of these around 50% are written off due to being crashed, burned out or never found.

Everyone assumes that in the event of a write off your insurance company will pay for a new vehicle or at least clear the outstanding finance. This is completely wrong, your insurer will pay the current market value for the car and even if you’ve just bought it you’ll be out of pocket. Take a look at the video below which is taken from the BBC series Rip Off Britain. This highlights why GAP Insurance is worth buying and also why buying from the dealer will cost you dearly.

It’s certainly interesting viewing and gives a clue to the problems people face when suffering a total loss. The point it makes about dealers charging high premiums is a serious problem in the industry as it gives GAP insurance a bad name. 

Dealers used to have a monopoly on GAP insurance however over the past few years the savvy car buyer started to look online for a comparison and would generally find a comparable policy for less than half of the dealer price, this coupled with increasing online competition has made it a buyers market where a high quality GAP policy from a reputable supplier can be purchased for a sensible price.

Once you’ve decided that GAP insurance may be for you there are two other things to consider.

1. What type of GAP insurance do I need.  Which GAP Insurance
2. Where should I buy it from. Where to buy GAP Insurance