Why Gap Insurance Is Vital When Buying A New Car
Anyone who has bought a car in recent years will be familiar with the term ‘gap insurance’. When you buy a new car it is now standard practice for the dealer to try and sell you an expensive gap insurance policy and the inflated price will more often than not put the customer off. However, there are two very important points which every potential buyer of gap insurance should know.
Firstly, you don’t have to buy gap insurance from the dealer when you buy the car, you can get it much cheaper online. Secondly, it is a common mistake to ignore gap insurance altogether but it is a big mistake to do so. Allow me to explain why.
Gap insurance covers the ‘gap’ between what your collision insurance company will pay out and the amount owed on a car in the case of a total write off of your car. In such a case your insurance company will only pay out the current market value of your car which, if you have had the car for a year or two, will be a lot less than you paid for it. If you have taken out gap insurance, however, you will receive a lump sum payment of the difference between what the insurance company has paid out and what you still owe to your finance company.
Imagine a scenario where you have bought a car on finance or with a personal loan for 15,000 paying 300 a month and 1 year in you have an accident and the car is written off. You contact the insurance company and they say they will pay you back the market value of the car, which is now only 11,000. You have made a year’s worth of payments totalling 3,600 and still owe 12,400 on the car. If you have taken out gap insurance you will receive the 1400 difference between what you have received from your collision insurance company and what you still owe on the car. If you have not taken gap insurance out it will leave you having to find an extra 1400 from your own pocket to pay your finance company or bank.
So you will often hear people asking the question ‘gap insurance is it worth it‘? The answer is most definitely ‘yes’. In addition if you decide you want to buy gap insurance there is no need to pay a fortune, if you go online and shop around you will find some great deals. If something happens to your new car it may be the best purchase you ever made.
You can learn more about gap insurance and get an online gap insurance quote by visiting www.ala.co.uk.
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