Buy Gap Insurance for Kia

What is vehicle replacement insurance and what can it do to help protect you and your Kia?

Vehicle replacement is designed to pay the difference between your vehicles valuation on the day it is written off and the amount of money that you would need to spend to buy another Kia the same age, mileage and specification as yours was on the day that you first drove it home from the dealership.

So what does Vehicle replacement actually do in cold hard monitory terms and why should you consider it?

We all know that vehicles including your Kia will lose value over time.

Equally we all accept that your own insurance company will only ever pay you what your Kia is worth on the day it was written off.

What you may not however consider is that over time prices for new cars and vehicles in general tend to increase.  Vat changes, manufacturing costs, labor rates, he cost of transportation and raw materials all means that buying the same equivalent vehicle again in say two, three, four or even five years time is most likely going to cost you more money.

For example lets say that you have just bought a Kia Sportage 1.7 CRDI 3 2 wheel drive Sat Nav which according to current price lists you will have paid in the region of £23,195. Taken from what cars depreciation calculator ( November 2012 ) your Kia is estimated to depreciate in line with current industry averages. This means that by the end of the first year your Kia is estimated to be worth £17,424, the second year £14,325, the third year £11,776 and the forth year £10,050.

For illustration purposes lets say that your Kia is written off in three years time and your own motor insurance company offer you the current valuation which again taken from What car is estimated to be £11,766.

With out any form of gap insurance what so ever and with out having to use your saving's this would be the only amount that you would have to be able to clear your finance or replace your Kia.

So lets play devils advocate and say that you had protected yourself with a form of return to invoice gap insurance which when your vehicle is written off naturally means that between your two insurance companies you now have the full price you original paid back. 

Insurance companies settlement £11,766
Gap insurance £11,429
Purchase price £23,195.( less road fund which you can claim by from DVLA ) 

The problem is that even with just two percent inflationary increase and not allowing for manufacture increases the cost of buying another new Kia has now risen to £24614. So in effect there is still a shortfall of £1419.71 that you will have to pay in order to be able to buy another new Sportage.

With vehicle replacement there would be no shortfall instead you would be paid the full amount that you need to be able to replace your Kia.

Our policies are some what different from many others that you may find in that we will never try to find another vehicle for you instead we will always pay you the cash equivalent. You may decide how, on what and when your money is spent.

Also if you have bought a pre registered Kia within 90 days of it being registered and your garage was the first and only keeper then settlement will be based on a brand new model and not a pre reg. We pay towards your own motor insurance excess, policies are transferable, deferrable cancelable with many more additional benefits.

Cover also starts from as little as £39.00 inclusive of insurance premium tax for a one year policy.

Our vehicle replacement policies are feature rich so why not click or call and speak to member of the team about your options and make informed choices about your Kia.

Why should you buy Return to Invoice Gap insurance for Kia?

Imagine you have just bought your new Kia, your dealership have also probably offered you Gap Insurance, with the average amount offered from finance companies and main dealerships being £395.00 this usually a lot more than independent brokers, such as us.

What can Gap Insurance offer you and your Kia?

It may be hard to believe but it is probable that every car will lose value over time, even your own pride and joy, with the average vehicle losing 50% of it's value in the first 3 years alone. So why is this important to you?

It may be hard to believe that it will be you involved in an accident, or you that is the victim of car theft, but with 600,000 cars written off in the UK each year, a staggering amount, it is important to take the importance of cover for your vehicle seriously.

Return to invoice Gap Insurance could be the difference between being paid the full amount you originally paid for your car, ( less road fund licence which you can claim back from DVLA) rather than just the valuation on the day it is written off, which may be the case if you are only covered with motor insurance. After all your own motor insurance company are only ever legally obliged to offer you what your Kia is worth on the day it was written off and not the amount that you originally paid or the amount that you still have outstanding on finance.

With cover from both insurance companies, you can rest easy knowing that your full amount of money will be reimbursed, allowing you to use the money to buy a new car.

Imagine losing thousands of pounds because the value of your car has decreased over time and you are not covered with gap insurance, this leaves you out of pocket and without a car. In an even more unfortunate position, could be if your car has been purchased on finance and you have an accident or your car is stolen, as you will still be expected to pay for the vehicle in full, finance companies even have the right to demand the full remaining payment. Paying for a car you no longer have can not be a ideal position to be in no matter what your personal circumstances.

With Return to Invoice Gap insurance, this will ensure that you are completely covered for circumstances such as these, taking some of the financial stress of the situation away, with the full amount, the finance balance can be easily repaid and the remaining money can be used as you see fit.

While no individual or organization can predict exactly how much the value of a vehicle can decrease over time, the current and past rates of Depreciation may shock you.

For example:

Kia Sportage Crossover GDi 1 2WD 1SG 5dr bought at £17,300, Year 1 £13,525, Year 2 £11,126, Year 3 £9,126, Year 4 £7,801

Kia Rio Hatchback 1.1D ISG 15dr bought at £11,895, Year 1, £8,225, Year 2 £6,725, Year 3 £5,475, Year 4 £4,650

Kia Sedona MPV 2.2 CRDi 1 5 dr bought at £20,965, Year 1 £9,499, Year 2 £7,799, Year 3 £6,401, Year 4 £5,541

No Insurance can guarantee that you wont have an accident, or that your Kia will not be stolen but covering yourself with Return to invoice gap insurance can take some of the strain off the unfortunate situation.

What is Finance and Contract Hire Gap Insurance for Kia

Like many other people today if you have chosen the finance or contract hire option of paying your Kia, then there are a couple of things that could be useful in helping you ensure you are fully covered.

Unfortunately, it is an extremely dark truth that accidents do happen, cars are written off and stolen every day, the important thing is to make sure that you do not leave yourself in a horrendous situation, no funds and no car.

If you happen to be involved in an incident where your car is written off, it is highly likely that your Motor Insurer will only reimburse the sum of which your car was worth on that day, not the amount the car was originally worth (the finance amount you agreed to and are now paying off).

The amount your car is worth is also extremely likely to have decreased from the day you purchased it, due to car depreciation rates.

Unfortunately, if such a thing is to happen, the outstanding balance you owe is not wiped out of good will and the finance house or contract hire company actually have the legal right, to demand the outstanding sum of money from you within weeks.

With finance Gap insurance, you can ensure that you are fully protected, meaning that if something like this does occur, it covers the exact amount you still have outstanding no matter if it is called a settlement or rental contribution it is a physical amount that you have to pay to clear your financial liability. 

Similarly with Contract Hire vehicles, if they happen to be damaged to the point of writing off or stolen, you are still going to owe the amount agreed, none of these charges are wiped. With Gap insurance, you can rest easy knowing that the outstanding amounts will be paid back directly. 

Here are some examples of depreciation with regards to Kia based on whatcar.com's current and past figures. This shows the extent of some of the decreases in numbers and proves that it really is not worth the risk to go unprotected.

Kia Sportage Crossover GDi 1 2WD 1SG 5dr bought at £17,300, Year 1 £13,525, Year 2 £11,126, Year 3 £9,126, Year 4 £7,801

Kia Rio Hatchback 1.1D ISG 15dr bought at £11,895, Year 1, £8,225, Year 2 £6,725, Year 3 £5,475, Year 4 £4,650

Kia Sedona MPV 2.2 CRDi 1 5 dr bought at £20,965, Year 1 £9,499, Year 2 £7,799, Year 3 £6,401, Year 4 £5,541

These levels are not excessive but please remember that with no form of finance and contract hire gap insurance should your Kia be written off you are responsible for any financial shortfall. 

Our aim is easy we want to you be able to understand all of your finance and contract gap insurance options so that you can make real informed choices, after all it is yours Kia, your money and you you would have to cope with any financial backlash!

Kia Motors is partly owned by Hyundai Motor Company, South Korea’s largest auto mobile manufacturer and the fourth largest of such in the world.

The word Kia originates from the Korean meaning ‘to arise to the world from Asia’ which can be greatly applied to Kia's recent success. Originally known as Kyungsung Precision Industry, the company began manufacturing steel tubing and bicycle parts.

Re-named Kia in 1952, the auto mobile company began manufacturing motorcycles in 1957, trucks in 1962 and its first car, the Brisa range in 1974. During the 1980’s, production was severely damaged by the then brutal South Korean dictator Chan Doo Hwan. Kia also manufacturers military vehicles for the South Korean and US armies.

In 1992, Kia partnered with the American auto giant Ford and created Kia America Motors. The American brand began enjoying great success throughout the North American market producing Ford and Mazda like models. Despite the great success abroad, the company was forced to declare bankruptcy in 1997 as the result of the Asian financial crisis. After a fierce bidding war with Ford, Hyundai Motor Company acquired the company and has allowed Kia to enjoy enormous success with its newly formed European market, most notably with it’s newly designed ‘tiger nose grille’ and also in its well established North American market.

Kia has literally arisen from Asia with current sales of over 2 million cars a year sold in over 150 countries. The South Korean auto mobile manufacturer occupies  a workforce over 44,000 employees who currently operate across the world in facilities ranging from Malaysia, Slovakia,Vietnam and China. Current annual revenues include a remarkable $14.6 billion.

Current successful models include the Picanto, Rio, Soul, Venga, Optima, Sorento and the Sportage. Kia has invested greatly in its electric vehicles such as the Venga and the Pop city car and also with its hybrid range such as the Spectra, Soul and Ray.

Defaqto is an independent financial research and software company that specialises in rating, comparing and analysing financial products and funds. Their experts validate and analyse the data to provide insight and consultancy to all layers of the financial service sector including advisers, mortgage and general insurance brokers, product providers, web aggregators and the public sector. We are extremely pleased to announce that EasyGap has been awarded a Defaqto 5 star rating for the following products: Combined Return to Invoice Gap Insurance, Vehicle Replacement Gap Insurance and Finance and Contract Hire Gap Insurance. Please refer to the Defaqto star ratings to see how other Gap Insurance suppliers compare!