Gap insurance worth having?

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Gap insurance worth having?

Doing a little reading i come to the same conclusion as www.fool.co.uk

GAP insurance is another money-spinner. If your car is written off, your motor insurer may not pay out enough to clear your finance agreement, so GAP insurance covers this difference. This protection is expensive, complicated and riddled with get-out clauses, so it's best avoided!

If you do go for it check and double chek the policy and ask for clarification on anything you think looks suspect, remember the dealer will be making a very healthy commision out of selling you GAP insurance.

Another few quotes from the same aource:

GAP insurance: if your car is written off, the payout from your motor insurer may not be big enough to pay off the balance of your finance agreement. Hence, GAP insurance covers the difference, so you're not left out of pocket. Sadly, motorists find this product difficult to grasp, leaving dealers free to charge top dollar for it: commissions on this cover frequently exceed 80% (four-fifths of the total cost!).

Payment protection insurance (which covers your repayments if you die or can't work due to accident, sickness or unemployment) is another massive rip-off, with equally excessive commissions, so just say NO!
 
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Thanks for that, very helpful (y)

I had declined it earlier today (I told the dealer to give me 24 hours to decide) anyway but good to know that others are thinking along the same lines.

I didn't really see the point, yes the insurer won't pay out the original retail price of the car but the market price they will pay out will be close to the retail price of an equivalent car of the same age, e.g. if you crash it after 6-months you will get nearly enough to buy a 6-month old equivalent. If you owe more on the finance than the market price you get then it doesn't really matter: in the end the only extra you're paying over what you thought you'd be paying/loosing when you took out the finance is the small difference between the market and retail price of the same age of written off vehicle.

Cheers :cool:
 
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Gap insurance is a pretty new idea isnt it?

For me, it seems to make sense. I bought the car for £5k, down from £6k. The car was bought outright, Gap cover for me is 3 years (think thats standard, could be wrong!)

It's really all covered in the t&c's of the insurance. I supposed it was originally designed for people who have finance on vehicles, but infact benefits those without.

One warning, there was someone on here a few months back who said the Gap refused to pay because she didnt have a settlement figure from the day the car was written off. Word of warning, if you have Gap insurance, get the settlement figure from your finance company on the day of the accident, saves them trying to sting you later I guess
 
I'd say yes if your a tool........mate of mine bought a mint low miles clio 172 cup for 8 grand wrote it off a week later by wrapping it round a tree back wards. Insurance say its worth 6.5k......gap insurance will hopefully cover him for the loss....except the gap insurance company is arguing with the insurance about how much the car is worth so in the meantime he's in limbo with no money to buy a new motor...tho he still has his previous motor to run round in while its going on....tho that was hit by an truck on the way to Donny......hes not having a good month tho at least the micra still runs..
 
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