# GAP insurance



## ire74 (Mar 20, 2016)

Hi. New member, and soon to be first time Audi/TT owner. Nano grey TT 2.0 TFSI Quattro has just left the factory. This is a great forum, and I'm hopeful of advice from others re GAP insurance with Audi.

The dealer mentioned this when I ordered the car, however I haven't yet committed to it. From memory, it was around £500. I've seen similar policies online for around £180 for 3 years cover. Has anyone opted for one of these online policies and had any experiences of needing to make a claim versus Audi?

Thanks

Iain


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## LEIGH-H (Feb 24, 2016)

Hello and welcome. It's been said many times: you are unlikely to need gap insurance during your first year; most insurers include a new for old clause for brand new cars. If there's a total loss (hopefully there won't be), your insurer will replace the car for another brand new one of the same specification. Check with your insurer, then save your money and take out a non-Audi policy - unless your dealer will match your web quote in a year's time.

Leigh


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## ire74 (Mar 20, 2016)

Thanks Leigh

Yes, I did think that for the first year, it's not really needed, so may hold off for 12 months and purchase something then. I've often bought these policies with previous cars, but I'm starting to feel that the price is a real rip off!


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## Damo999 (Mar 9, 2016)

Hi Guys

Anyone got any heads up on good deals on normal full comp insurance ? done the usual compare sites etc and prices are coming in around the £700-£750 mark ! I'm 41 (I know mid life crisis lol)clean licence, 6 years no claims so seemed a touch steep or maybe this is the norm ?


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## Gas TT (Feb 21, 2014)

Hi have you tried LV my MK 2 1.8 Sline is less than 200 with protected no claims but I'm a prehistoric 56 so much more midlife crisis than you!


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## glund91 (Feb 13, 2016)

I'm about to hit 25 and even now my quotes have come out around £500 for the year


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## Damo999 (Mar 9, 2016)

Gas TT said:


> Hi have you tried LV my MK 2 1.8 Sline is less than 200 with protected no claims but I'm a prehistoric 56 so much more midlife crisis than you!


No not tried any of the direct companies yet, LV, Direct Line etc. Once i get a date for collection i'll have to have a good look around to see if they offer anything to beat the comparison sites


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## Gatsoburner (Mar 20, 2016)

Jeepers, fully comp for us, Hastings Direct, 48, clean licence, no claims, wife's nearly 50...lol..£350, what postcode you in


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## Damo999 (Mar 9, 2016)

glund91 said:


> I'm about to hit 25 and even now my quotes have come out around £500 for the year


Is yours the 2.0 t quattro s-line ? If so i'm either doing something wrong or maybe post code or job affecting my prices ????


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## Damo999 (Mar 9, 2016)

Gatsoburner said:


> Jeepers, fully comp for us, Hastings Direct, 48, clean licence, no claims, wife's nearly 50...lol..£350, what postcode you in


I live in saddleworth the other side of Oldham so not far from the bronx lol so OL post codes might be high ?????


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## 4433allanr (Mar 11, 2016)

As Leigh said.


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## 4433allanr (Mar 11, 2016)

Admiral are very good. Do it through Comparethemarket to get 2 for 1 movies for 12 months.


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## Damo999 (Mar 9, 2016)

apologies for going off topic, GAP insurance ! to original question agree with others, not worth the money in first year


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## gixerste (Dec 13, 2010)

I would get a back to invoice gap insurance now that way if anything happens and you have a total loss claim you will get the value stated on you invoice. If you wait a year you will only get the value of your car at the time you take the policy out and that could be £10k less.


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## Piker Mark (Nov 16, 2011)

GAP is worth having in the first year if you do a high mileage! Just thought I'd point that out.

General insurance for the TTS was an interesting thing for me - I had my S3 with esure, £320 pa. Called them to change to the TTS and they wanted nearly a grand! I found the same with Direct Line, they were £800. I haven't paid that much for car insurance since I was in my 20's! Anyway, price comparisons told me under £500 was easy to find. In the end I did go direct with Aviva for £390. Seems to be some companies out there really trying to pile it on for that car. No idea why there's such variances, so pays to spend a few hours shopping around. Just to add - that's all fully comp, with a few cover options added. I could probably get it below £300 if I chose very basic fully comp cover without say an upgraded hire car, excess protection, NCB protection, etc, etc.

Took my GAP out on date of purchase as I average 15 to 18k pa...


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## CWM3 (Mar 4, 2012)

GAP, just taken out 3 years RTI cover with 25K covered (amount covered, not car value), covers excess to £250 for £125 with ALA on the wifes new car. Although her insurance covers year 1 replacement, just not worth poncing around for that amount of money.

Insurance on my car, not a Mk3 but Mk2 TTS, mods notified ie mapped etc £210 with LV, euro cover, guaranteed NCB, but no hire car. DA postcode. Clean license


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## glund91 (Feb 13, 2016)

Damo999 said:


> Is yours the 2.0 t quattro s-line ? If so i'm either doing something wrong or maybe post code or job affecting my prices ????


Yes mine is 2.0t Quattro S-Line S-tronic. 38k list price all options added.


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## Damo999 (Mar 9, 2016)

glund91 said:


> Damo999 said:
> 
> 
> > Is yours the 2.0 t quattro s-line ? If so i'm either doing something wrong or maybe post code or job affecting my prices ????
> ...


Cheers for confirming mate, was your prices on the comparison sites ? our direct with one of the others ?


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## GapInsurance.co.uk (Nov 21, 2013)

Whilst some Motor Insurance policies include "New-For-Old" cover during the first year of cover for a brand new vehicle that you are buying (it rarely applies to cars that are being leased) the quality of that New-For-old cover ranges considerably from one insurer to the next, such that in some cases the criteria you'd need to meet (even if your car was written off in the first year) in order to qualify for a new-for-old replacement, is so tight that in many cases you'd end up with just a market-value payout anyway.

Not understanding fully how the New-For-Old cover of your Motor Insurance policy works, and forgoing GAP insurance in favour of it, can end up being a very costly mistake. Read this for general guidance on the potential "Perils of New-For-Old Cover": http://blog.gapinsurance.co.uk/index.ph ... old-cover/

It's also worth noting that most companies will only permit you to buy Invoice (back to the original purchase price) or Replacement (up to the cost of replacing the vehicle at the time of claim with one like you originally bought) GAP insurance within a limited amount of time after taking ownership of the vehicle. The majority of these range from 3 - 6 months with only one or two permitting up to 12 months. If you wait more than the permitted timescale to purchase a policy you'd be forfeiting any decent level of GAP insurance cover entirely and be left only able to purchase a form of "Agreed Value" GAP insurance based on what your car was worth at the time you bought the policy (which, in the case of a brand new vehicle could be considerably lower than the figure you bought it for or the cost of buying the same new vehicle again).

If you have New-for-Old cover with your motor insurance and (having checked), you're comfortable that it will do what you think it will do, you're far better buying a GAP insurance policy and electing to have the start date of the policy delayed until the anniversary of the date the vehicle was first registered.

This way cover is in place for the later years, without having to have "duplicate" cover for the first year and you're not running the risk of forgetting to take out GAP insurance towards the end of that first year and suffering financially (in the event of a write-off in the 2nd, 3rd, 4th or 5th year (depending on the duration purchased)) through not taking it out.

I hope this helps 

D


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## glund91 (Feb 13, 2016)

Damo999 said:


> Cheers for confirming mate, was your prices on the comparison sites ? our direct with one of the others ?


That was on confused.com I haven't really nailed down specific figures yet, just did a quick check to make sure it was affordable before ordering my TT. I am currently paying £450 on my Fiesta ST which is only a £20,000 car, 197bph and 1.6 turbo engine. So £500 for a beastly TT is really not bad at all.


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## Damo999 (Mar 9, 2016)

glund91 said:


> Damo999 said:
> 
> 
> > Cheers for confirming mate, was your prices on the comparison sites ? our direct with one of the others ?
> ...


No good price especially for age ! I'll have to spend a while getting loads of quotes


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## 4433allanr (Mar 11, 2016)

Thanks to Gapinsurance.co.uk for the above info. I'm just trying to get an answer from Admiral as to what their version of new for old is. When I find out I will let you all know.


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## GapInsurance.co.uk (Nov 21, 2013)

4433allanr said:


> Thanks to Gapinsurance.co.uk for the above info. I'm just trying to get an answer from Admiral as to what their version of new for old is. When I find out I will let you all know.


I'm pretty sure Admiral don't provide New-For-Old cover at all :?


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## gixerste (Dec 13, 2010)

4433allanr said:


> Thanks to Gapinsurance.co.uk for the above info. I'm just trying to get an answer from Admiral as to what their version of new for old is. When I find out I will let you all know.


I'm with Admiral and have GAP insurance to cover the short fall in what they pay out (normally what you'd get part ex) and what I'd need to buy a replacement car and/or pay off the finance


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## ZephyR2 (Feb 20, 2013)

Thanks for the info Gapinsurance and I will refer back to that nearer the time of delivery.
One thing I don't really get with GAP is if I have a 2 year old car written off then I would be quite happy to have it replaced with a similar 2 year old car - as would be provided by my normal insurance. I don't see a need at that stage for GAP, particularly if I have already paid off the PCP.

I have also heard of owners being stuck in an argument between the standard insurer and the GAP insurer about how much the standard insurer should have valued the car at. Obviously if your own insurer values your car low (to save them money) then its going to cost the GAP insurer more. And I wouldn't be surprised if that wasn't a tactic of some insurers if they know you have GAP.


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## GapInsurance.co.uk (Nov 21, 2013)

ZephyR2 said:


> One thing I don't really get with GAP is if I have a 2 year old car written off then I would be quite happy to have it replaced with a similar 2 year old car - as would be provided by my normal insurance. I don't see a need at this stage for GAP, particularly if I have already paid off the PCP.


That possibly stems from the fact that most people that know of GAP insurance (and sadly most people don't know that GAP insurance is a "thing") know of it in the form of Finance GAP insurance which is a reducing level of cover (e.g. the more that you've paid off the finance before a claim occurs, the lower the GAP insurance policy will be required to pay out).

Invoice or Replacement GAP insurance however, work whether the car is financed or not (and work particularly well for a cash buyer).

*How they work:*

In the event of the vehicle being written off through accident, fire, theft or flood etc...

Invoice GAP insurance: aims to pay the difference between your Motor Insurance payout and the original cash-price that you paid to put the vehicle on the road originally.

Replacement GAP insurance: (in the case of a brand new vehicle) aims to pay the difference between your Motor Insurance payout and what it would cost at the time of claim to replace your vehicle with a brand new version of the same (or nearest equivalent) vehicle - even if that new vehicle costs more than the cash-price you paid for your vehicle first time around.

The better GAP insurance policies pay out in cash to the policyholder, (although if there is finance outstanding at the time of claim, the finance company receives their bit first and the policyholder gets the excess funds only), and then leaves the policyholder free to dispose of those funds as they saw fit. Some GAP insurance policies will see the GAP insurer insist on sourcing the next vehicle for the policyholder or, paying out in the form of a credit to one of their nominated dealers with which the policyholder has to deal with in order to source their next vehicle (clearly for financial gain).

So... for what is usually (by comparison to say, the amount you'll pay for your Motor Insurance over the same period) a pretty small premium (although not from a Motor Dealer), your Motor Insurance payout in the event of a Total Loss can be topped up to either the original cash-price (Invoice GAP insurance) or the new equivalent replacement price (Replacement GAP insurance) and you'd clearly be in a (potentiall substantially) better financial position in terms of sourcing your next vehicle.



ZephyR2 said:


> I have also heard of owners being stuck in an argument between the standard insurer and the GAP insurer about how much the standard insurer should have valued the car at.


GAP insurance policies historically had what's referred to as "Market Value" clauses... there were (and in some cases can still be) two different types... one of these is bad enough, but avoid at all costs a policy with both:


*The purchase price of the vehicle* - GAP insurance claim administrators would look back at how much you paid for the car originally and compare that with what say, Glass' Guide said the vehicle was worth at the time you bought it. If they found that you'd paid more for the vehicle than Glass' Guide said it was worth, they would refuse to cover the amount by which they'd deem you to have over-paid for the car in the first place.[/*]
*The motor insurance payout* - GAP insurance claim administrators would compare the amount offered by your Motor Insurer against what say, Glass' Guide said the vehicle was worth at the time of claim and if the motor insurer was offering less than what Glass' Guide said the vehicle was worth, they'd refuse to cover the amount by which your Motor Insurer would be deemed to have underpaid[/*]

One or both of the above (particularly the latter), could cause somewhat of a stalemate at the time of claim and unnecessarily delay the claim process due to both GAP and Motor Insurer being unable to reach agreement.

The best GAP insurance policies have long since dropped Market Value clauses from their wordings meaning that such disputes and/or delays are well and truly a thing of the past.


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## ZephyR2 (Feb 20, 2013)

Thank you for taking the time to explain all that GapInsurance - much appreciated. Think I'll have to read it a few times before I can get my head round it all.


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## Keltosh (Jan 27, 2016)

I won't be taking any chances, as soon as I have a confirmed dealer pick up date then I will sort out my gap insurance for all three years. I've already had a quote from the company above.


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## 4433allanr (Mar 11, 2016)

Thanks again for the info. You are right about Admiral, that's why I went back to Privilege, my mistake. As mentioned above I will have to read several times to understand.


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## R_TTS (Mar 16, 2016)

4433allanr said:


> Thanks again for the info. You are right about Admiral, that's why I went back to Privilege, my mistake. As mentioned above I will have to read several times to understand.


Very useful info, thanks. I'm with Adirmal, and didnt really want to change, as they were cheapest by far for a multicar policy. I best investigate GAP insurance.


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## ChrisH (Jul 19, 2007)

Funny how views can be changed, a few weeks ago I started a thread on here about GAP cover and the replies were that "95% of insurance companies provide free new for old cover". Now Gapinsurance.co.uk has enlightened you all to the fact that is nor true it seems the £299 spent for RTI for 4 yrs covering the length of the PCP from my local Audi dealer wasn't such a bad deal my son got after all.


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## 4433allanr (Mar 11, 2016)

Its still the case that most offer new for old, he enlightened me to the fact that although it is fairly plain English, the phrase new for old can be interpreted differently by someone working for an insurance company!
He also makes the point that he and others can supply the cover cheaper than the manufacturers. It sounds like you got the cover discounted as some on here were quoted £600 for 3 years.


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## ChrisH (Jul 19, 2007)

4433allanr said:


> Its still the case that most offer new for old, he enlightened me to the fact that although it is fairly plain English, the phrase new for old can be interpreted differently by someone working for an insurance company!
> He also makes the point that he and others can supply the cover cheaper than the manufacturers. It sounds like you got the cover discounted as some on here were quoted £600 for 3 years.


I wasn't intending to knock this thread. 

My Audi dealer have a standard charge on display in their showroom that for a £30-50k car the GAP cover is 399, over 50k it is 699 which I did get for less and they extended the 3 to 4 yrs to match the PCP agreement. The main reason for taking GAP cover being if you have taken the PCP as most people have done to get the 5k finance offer if the car is written off VWFS will be informed and expect the amount owing on the finance to be repaid within 30 days. In the early days of ownership for those with small deposits the car will have dropped in value by at least 20% (VAT) making the market value if thats what is paid by the insurer a lot lower than the finance owed.
Who pays the GAP?

Hope this is of help to some folks.


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## marshik (Mar 29, 2016)

interesting discussion!

I just got the quote from gap site for 4 years on £35k car: replacement GAP =£249 and invoice GAP=£ 206

it looks reasonable less than in dealers showrooms..


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## Dreams1966 (Oct 27, 2014)

This looks a decent site:

https://www.directgap.co.uk/

Worth popping some figures in.


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## ChrisH (Jul 19, 2007)

marshik said:


> interesting discussion!
> 
> I just got the quote from gap site for 4 years on £35k car: replacement GAP =£249 and invoice GAP=£ 206
> 
> it looks reasonable less than in dealers showrooms..


Best to make sure it covers both RTI as well as the finance GAP.


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## GapInsurance.co.uk (Nov 21, 2013)

ChrisH said:


> Funny how views can be changed, a few weeks ago I started a thread on here about GAP cover and the replies were that "95% of insurance companies provide free new for old cover". Now Gapinsurance.co.uk has enlightened you all to the fact that is nor true it seems the £299 spent for RTI for 4 yrs covering the length of the PCP from my local Audi dealer wasn't such a bad deal my son got after all.


£299 isn't SO bad from a Motor Dealer for Invoice GAP insurance on a car up to £50k. It's still too much though. Consider we'd (and most other online providers) be selling an almost certainly superior (i.e. in relation to the specific policy terms and conditions) 4-year Invoice GAP insurance policy on a £50k car with an utterly-overkill Claim Limit option of £50k for £240. the policy would get cheaper still (although not usually by any huge amounts) with lower claim limits.

By comparison, Replacement GAP insurance which (at least in our case) is absolutely a superior policy than Invoice GAP insurance is available based on the same, for ~£270.

And those prices are before you get in to promotions & discounts etc.

For clarity on my point about New-For-Old cover though... it's not that "New-For-Old" cover itself "is not true"... it's that what's required from one insurer to qualify for a New-For-Old replacement vehicle at the time of claim can be considerably different to what's required of another insurer and some of them are so difficult to qualify for that it's often best to treat it as though you don't have New-For-Old cover at all.

Examples:

Most insurance companies will deem an accident-damaged vehicle to be a "total loss" (aka "write off") if the cost of repairing that damage, exceeds 60% of what the vehicle is worth at the time of claim... yet you'll find the vast majority of New-For-Old schemes offered by Motor Insurers require that the cost of repairing the vehicle must exceed 60% of what it would cost to buy a brand new version of the same vehicle before you'll qualify for a New-For-Old replacement.

If we look at an Audi TTS 2.0 TFSI (272ps) Quattro Roadster S-Tronic registered on September 1st last year, for which the cost new was £39,505 and which (according to Glass' Guide) is now worth circa £26,750 assuming it's covered average mileage of ~6,000... if that was accident damaged now, most insurers would declare it a write off if the cost of repair exceeded £16,050 (60% of £26,750). Assuming the list price of the new equivalent had not increased from £39,505 the repair bill would have to be in excess of £23,703 (60% of £39,505) for you to qualify for a New-For-Old replacement vehicle with most insurers that offer "new-for-old cover". In the event (in this example) that the repair bill came in at say £17,000... you'd be left with a Market Value payout of £26,750 and be kicking yourself for not having had GAP insurance in the first year that would have paid out a further £12,755 to you to at least get you back to the £39,505 original purchase price.

And THIS, is for a vehicle that's approaching 7-months old. The issue above is normally compounded further as your vehicle ages (depreciates) and the list price of the new equivalent remains static and/or increases over the rest of the first year!

Let's assume though that we take the above vehicle and revise the example so that it is accident damaged and the repair bill is sufficient that you do actually qualify for a New-For-Old replacement. Is a brand new version of the same vehicle readily available to the insurer within their desired timescales? Is it still being manufactured? Has the specification changed in the new model such that the motor insurer don't deem it to be the equivalent model any more?

What does it say in your New-For-Old cover terms and conditions, that the motor insurer will do if for any reason they can't get one of the same vehicles again? Well, some (few), will pay you back what you bought the car for (a form of Invoice GAP insurance if you will)... fewer still will pay you the cash equivalent of the list price of the new vehicle they're unable to get hold of (Replacement GAP insurance)... most, as I'm sure isn't remotely surprising, will revert to a Market Value payout instead and you'd be back to wishing you'd bought (or hadn't deferred the start date of) GAP insurance.

New-For-Old cover is absolutely a thing and we regularly deal with customers who've had their vehicle replaced New-For-Old by their Motor Insurer. But, to approach the topic of whether to forfeit GAP insurance in favour of New-For-Old cover from a Motor Insurer with anything less than a detailed comprehension of what terms and conditions apply to the New-For-Old cover from the Motor Insurer, is a dangerous game.


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## ChrisH (Jul 19, 2007)

Yes, the 299 paid to the dealer did cover both RTI and finance GAP.


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## GapInsurance.co.uk (Nov 21, 2013)

ChrisH said:


> Best to make sure it covers both RTI as well as the finance GAP.


Indeed.

In terms of online providers, save for one or two companies, most of their Invoice GAP insurance policies will actually be combined "Finance & Invoice GAP insurance" policies. Equally there's the superior combined "Finance, Invoice & Replacement GAP insurance" policies out there too.

For those that aren't aware, the combined policies work as follows:

*Finance & Invoice GAP:*

Pays the difference between Motor Insurance payout and *the greater of* either the amount outstanding on finance at the time of claim *OR* the original cash price of the vehicle.

*Finance, Invoice & Replacement GAP:*

Pays the difference between Motor Insurance payout and *the greater of* either the amount outstanding on finance *OR* the original cash price of the vehicle *OR* the cost of replacing the vehicle new-for-old.

Though I should point out that generally speaking (at least in our experience - we ask every customer what type of policy the dealer quoted them for and for how much) most Invoice GAP insurance policies available from Motor Dealers these days, are also combined Finance & Invoice GAP insurance policies - though it's definitely worth checking!


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## 4433allanr (Mar 11, 2016)

http://www.defaqto.com/star-ratings/motor-gap-insurance


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## GapInsurance.co.uk (Nov 21, 2013)

4433allanr said:


> http://www.defaqto.com/star-ratings/motor-gap-insurance


The Defacto Star Ratings for GAP insurance are a reasonable start in comparing what policies you might consider... don't assume however that all of the 5-Star rated policies are equal. There are fairly crucial differences between many of the 5-star rated policies!


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## mjhamilton (Apr 26, 2011)

I got the dealer down to £250 for 3yr GAP cover which I was very happy with

I just took in print outs from other online providers to make them more competitive


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## GapInsurance.co.uk (Nov 21, 2013)

mjhamilton said:


> I got the dealer down to £250 for 3yr GAP cover which I was very happy with
> 
> I just took in print outs from other online providers to make them more competitive


I'm curious to know... would you mind sharing why you felt more comfortable buying from the dealer rather than a specialist broker?

It frustrates me that when faced with an obscene price for GAP insurance from a Motor Dealer people will research better prices elsewhere and then give that same dealer that attempted to rip them off, a second chance, often under some warped concept of the dealer being a "safer" place to buy an insurance policy from.

Ultimately, if you were happy to pay £250, that's kind of alright... but...


You still paid over the odds for it. Based on the information in your signature, the ROTR of your vehicle is £41,400. At that price level we'd have provided you with a 3yr Invoice GAP insurance policy with say, an overkill £37,500 Claim Limit for *£149.15* or a superior 3yr Replacement GAP insurance equivalent for *£180.25*. Lower claim limits would have been cheaper still.[/*]
Motor-dealer sourced GAP insurance policies are almost always never as good as the policies that you can get from independant providers such as us. If you would like me to, send me a copy of your policy terms and conditions and I'll compare them with ours and publish on here on the forum, how they compare. I've done this a few times with different dealer-sourced policies on our facebook page but it could be a useful comparison for forum members to refer to.[/*]

Also, take the time to check how the figures were detailed on the final invoice (not the order form, the "Invoice" - assuming you received a final invoice. I'm noticing a growing trend for Motor Dealers to not provide a copy of the final invoice (I can't imagine why, it's not like they might have things to hide, is it? :roll: ). If you haven't got a copy, make sure you get a copy because if nothing else, if you need to claim on a GAP insurance policy (regardless as to where you buy it from) you'll be asked to produce a copy of an invoice).

The reason for checking how the figures are detailed on the invoice is because often, when discount is given off a GAP insurance policy, the dealer will actually take the discount off the price of the car and leave the GAP insurance policy showing at full price.

For example, if they initially quoted you £500 for the GAP insurance and then agreed to £250, you may find that the price of the car has been dropped by £250 but the GAP insurance is still on there at £500. Of course the end result to you at the time of buying the car is still the same but... at the time of making a claim on that policy... a policy that pays the difference between your motor insurance payout and the original invoice price that you paid for the vehicle AFTER DISCOUNT... a policy that does not cover the cost of the GAP insurance policy itself... you'll find yourself £250 short.


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## mjhamilton (Apr 26, 2011)

The quotes I got online ranged from £190 - 220 so for me £250 to have everything under the same umbrella was a small extra cost for me

If God forbid anything happens it's a one stop shop without ambiguity or delay

Maybe a naive perspective but has served me well in many other areas during my life


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## GapInsurance.co.uk (Nov 21, 2013)

mjhamilton said:


> ...to have everything under the same umbrella was a small extra cost for me
> 
> If God forbid anything happens it's a one stop shop without ambiguity or delay...


It's as I suspected. It's a commonly held opinion - one that Motor Dealers are content to rely on and a myth they're more than willing to promote. It also couldn't be more wrong. :?

The fact is that the Motor Dealer's GAP insurance policy will be administered by a third party claim administrator who, in the event of a claim will be the company that you deal with, a company that will almost certainly make no effort whatsoever to inform the original dealer that any claim has been made and that dealer (assuming you as the policyholder made them aware of a claim if say, there was an issue) would have absolutely no influence over or involvement in the outcome of any claim.

Assuming you purchased the official Audi combined Finance & Invoice GAP insurance policy (>See here<) you'll see that it's underwritten by the Spanish insurer: "Mapfre" and that claims are administered by "Abraxas". To demonstrate my point, look at their customer care/complaints procedure and you'll see that in the event that you have an issue with their GAP insurance policy, you're instructed to complain in writing to... Abraxas (albeit under the title of "Audi GAP insurance") E.g. NOT the original supplying dealer. By comparison, our wordings (and the wordings of most other specialist providers/brokers) encourage you to write to us (e.g. the original provider) - this is specifically because we have ultimate responsibility to ensure that from the moment the policy is sold through to its ultimate conclusion, your journey meets with your expectations and consequently we DO have influence over and quite detailed involvement in the claim process.

Incidentally, if you did purchase the official Audi combined Finance & Invoice GAP insurance policy (or if anyone else reading this is contemplating buying it), I've just published a comparison here.

Make sure you check your invoice figures on the basis I pointed out in my previous post. It's better to find out if the figures have been manipulated now (and request a revised invoice) than discovering at the time of claim that their accounting practices have left you short of money after a Total Loss claim and then it being too late to do much about it.


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## mjhamilton (Apr 26, 2011)

You can always bank on someone with their own agenda to try and spread misdirection on a competitors product and put people down for going somewhere else

Everything you say above is untrue - no funny money Spanish underwriters or weird call centres with poor customer service on this policy

In fact it is owned and under written by one of the U.K. Largest and most well established institutions I can think of

The cover is more than adequate for the car and meets my needs perfectly

I would suggest you don't assume people are stupid and no nothing about anything - I actually have experience in this area and know what questions to ask and know what I need

Also this policy is tied to the franchise who sold me the car so they can actually deal with any issues directly on my behalf if (God forbid) something happens

I am all for people being competitive and offering alternatives but don't make out you are the only option out there by scaring people into buying your product

..... Oh wait... Isn't that what you accuse the dealers of doing???


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## GapInsurance.co.uk (Nov 21, 2013)

mjhamilton said:


> You can always bank on someone with their own agenda to try and spread misdirection on a competitors product and put people down for going somewhere else
> 
> Everything you say above is untrue - no funny money Spanish underwriters or weird call centres with poor customer service on this policy
> 
> ...


I fear you've mis-interpreted my intention and on reflection, I can see why. I'm aware that it's been expressed that I've come across somewhat aggressive in this thread and for that I'm sorry.

Ultimately, if you're happy with the price you've paid and the cover you're getting in return, great!

In terms of what I've said... I've a continual stream of customers telling me/us where they've bought their vehicles from and what methods those dealers employed in attempting to sell them their own policies. In my time I've spent a reasonable amount of time working in car dealerships across various brands and maintain close links to this day... I know how they work. We research and compare other policies out there (both bricks & mortar and online providers/brokers) almost continually in trying to stay ahead of the game and I have access to a considerable archive of other provider's policy terms and conditions. I've a more than decent handle on what's out there.

Overall, given the questionable sales methods often employed and tendancy for them to charge far too much for usually inferior alternatives, I find the goodwill given to Motor Dealers, incredibly frustrating and sometimes my passion/eagerness to counter it... well... I guess it boils over! [smiley=bomb.gif]. Sorry! 

As for me making it seem like we're the "only option out there", I'm genuinely sorry if this is the impression I'm giving because this really couldn't be further from the truth. Clearly I have an interest in promoting my own products, but I'm also more than happy to promote my competitors where I can and regularly send customers elsewhere if the competitor's policy would be more suitable for their individual circumstances than a policy that I can provide for them. I have however, never yet been able to recommend a motor dealer sourced GAP insurance policy as being superior to ours or any other specialist broker's... so...

If you've genuinely found a policy from a Motor Dealer that's as good as you clearly believe it to be, I'm very keen to get my hands on the terms & conditions of that policy.

Is there any way you'd be willing to either supply me with the wordings or point me in the right direction?


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## mjhamilton (Apr 26, 2011)

hey man.. no problem at all - you caught me between "shouting at vendors who are not doing their job" sessions 

I'll try and dig it out and see what I can send on........ as a side note I have enough in writing from the dealer to make sure I am covered if the shit should hit the fan, their statements are very black and white


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## GapInsurance.co.uk (Nov 21, 2013)

mjhamilton said:


> hey man.. no problem at all - you caught me between "shouting at vendors who are not doing their job" sessions
> 
> I'll try and dig it out and see what I can send on........ as a side note I have enough in writing from the dealer to make sure I am covered if the shit should hit the fan, their statements are very black and white


"_shouting at vendors who are not doing their job_"... I can relate to that only too well! :lol:

If you could send details of the policy through to me I'd very much appreciate it.

Thanks in advance.


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## jonp (Mar 26, 2016)

just taken mine out with gapinsurance.co.uk i spoke to a lady Named Jade she was Brilliant and explained everything to me was more than happy, audi quoted me £700 !!!!!!! also said about this forum and got 10% off the price.

Happy Days


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## glund91 (Feb 13, 2016)

I got my GAP insurance through here as well, very quick and painless. Accidentally paid the full amount as I forgot to mention the TT Forum, they simply refunded me the discount amount so cannot fault them on customer service.

Have not had to make a claim so cannot comment on how they handle that but fingers crossed I will never need to anyway. Great price for the peace of mind though.


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## 4433allanr (Mar 11, 2016)

Audi quoted you £700!!! Do you mind saying how much you eventually paid?


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## jonp (Mar 26, 2016)

4433allanr said:


> Audi quoted you £700!!! Do you mind saying how much you eventually paid?


i paid £224 for 4 years Replacement GAP Insurance full vehicle price as i do about 20000 miles a year but everyone situation different. but you can use there online quote tool to adjust it to your needs but ring them to get the 10% off

hope that helps


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## 4433allanr (Mar 11, 2016)

Thanks.


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## mjhamilton (Apr 26, 2011)

Don't forget you can haggle with Audi - I got mine for £250


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## 4433allanr (Mar 11, 2016)

I average 6k so insurance for the TT is only £16 more than the A3. That £360 for the TT and the Mini together but then I am nearly 50. Gap insurance sorted.


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## GapInsurance.co.uk (Nov 21, 2013)

jonp said:


> just taken mine out with gapinsurance.co.uk i spoke to a lady Named Jade she was Brilliant and explained everything to me was more than happy, audi quoted me £700 !!!!!!! also said about this forum and got 10% off the price.
> 
> Happy Days





glund91 said:


> I got my GAP insurance through here as well, very quick and painless. Accidentally paid the full amount as I forgot to mention the TT Forum, they simply refunded me the discount amount so cannot fault them on customer service.
> 
> Have not had to make a claim so cannot comment on how they handle that but fingers crossed I will never need to anyway. Great price for the peace of mind though.


Thank you for your custom *jonp *and *glund91*



mjhamilton said:


> Don't forget you can haggle with Audi - I got mine for £250


Out of interest, was this for Invoice or Replacement GAP insurance?


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## wesTTie (Aug 6, 2013)

Also took my Gap insurance out through Frank Pickles (gap insurance) on my last two cars. They offer a good price in comparison and they rate higher than Audi's own package. My wife was in the trade and up selling was part of her job so I know how much is made by dealers on such packages. It is amazing how much you can negotiate off dealer prices. I was informed by my dealer that they give all cars the paint treatment finish on PDI for free as the cost is minimal, what you miss on is the kit and insurance to go with it if you don't pay the extortionate amount asked. Having 3 kits in the garage, one which was free I decided not to add it in this time, but did opt for the wheel repair at £170 (4 claims a year for 3 years) on 20" wheels which is less than I would pay for two repairs. They originally wanted £400. Repair companies in my area are also difficult to find.


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## jessat (Jul 23, 2016)

I am a newbee having got my TT from MK Audi on Tuesday.
I went for the tyre insurance £179 and Alloy £149 as they seemed like a no brainer...it being easy to kerb a wheel or drop into a pothole!! I decided to go with Warranty Direct for Gay. I had them before on my BMW and A4 previous for extended warranty and when i needed to make a claim.. i made a few... they always paid out. Not a bad price £177 3yrs @ 17500.
Guess you go with who you know... Audi wanted £449 i think.


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