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Why buy Deferred Gap Insurance?

 

You may have heard of Deferred Gap Insurance or been wondering what 'deferring' your Gap Insurance can do for you. Well, we at Easy Gap plan on informing you of the pros and cons of Deferred Gap Insurance.

 

To explain the perks, you must first understand precisely what deferred Gap Insurance is. So, deferred Gap Insurance is simply the delay in your policy's start date compared to your vehicle's purchase or collection date.

 

So, for example, you buy your vehicle on the 1st February 2021 but opt to start your Gap Insurance cover on 1st February 2022.  

 

You can defer both Return to Invoice Gap Insurance and Vehicle Replacement Gap Insurance policies to a start date that will suit you best.  deferred gap insurance

 

But, why would you want to delay the start date on your policy? Doesn't having a period between purchasing your vehicle and your Gap cover beginning mean risk and no cover?

 

If you have recently purchased a brand new vehicle, your motor insurance provider may likely offer 'replacement' or 'new for old' cover for the first 12 months of ownership. 

 

This means if your motor insurer 'writes off' the vehicle in the first year, they will give you a brand new vehicle in the settlement, rather than pay you the market value. 

 

Many motor insurers use this as a perk of choosing them over another provider. If you are not aware of your motor insurer offering such a bonus, why not check as it could save you paying for a policy twice for the same 12 month period of cover.

 

Suppose your motor insurer does offer 'replacement' cover for the first 12 months, and you are happy with the terms and conditions of that cover. Why not delay the start date on your Gap Insurance policy and save yourself some money? This is because you could take a year less of Gap Insurance cover. Generally speaking, the longer the Gap cover the more expensive you expect the premium to be.

 

Well, it might not be as straightforward as you think. 

 

Pitfalls of deferred Gap Insurance

 

If you choose to delay the start of your Gap cover and rely upon your motor insurers replacement cover, you must be sure that your motor insurer will supply a new vehicle as you hope. Even though many motor insurers offer 'replacement' cover on new cars, there will be terms and conditions attached. Some of these terms may prevent a new vehicle from being supplied. 

 

These include:

 

  • Where a new vehicle is not available within a specific timeframe when you claim, in this instance some motor insurers will revert to paying you the market value only. 
  • Where the vehicle is subject to a finance agreement where you are not the owner of the car. This could include a PCP or a lease. 
  • Where you have exceeded a set annual mileage in the car before it being declared a total loss. 

 

Remember if you defer your Gap cover's start date, and your motor insurer does not provide a new preplacement then you have nothing to fall back on. 

 

How does Deferred Gap Insurance work?

 

If you would like a total of 5 years protection on your new vehicle, you would confirm with your motor insurer that you have 12 months 'replacement' cover with themselves and ensure that you are happy with all the terms on the policy. Then purchase a 4-year policy with a delayed start date in conjunction with the end of your replacement cover.

 

For example, you buy your new car on 1st February 2021 with replacement cover from your motor insurer in the first year. You buy Gap Insurance to start on 1st February 2022 to coincide with the end of your replacement cover with your motor insurer. 

 

So, can you buy Deferred Gap Insurance at Easy Gap?

 

After all that, the simple answer is 'no'. Easy Gap does not currently provide Gap Insurance outside 180 days of the vehicle purchase. However, we do know someone that does....

 

Our sister website at Total Loss Gap offers both Return to Invoice Gap or Combined Invoice and Replacement Gap with up to 365 days permitted between the vehicle purchase and the policy start date. To qualify, you must have bought a brand new vehicle, where you are the first registered keeper, and be able to show your motor insurer does provide replacement cover in year one. 

 

Please try Total Loss Gap 365 - Deferred Gap Insurance for more on our Total Loss Gap deferred products.