GAP Insurance - Can you buy GAP Insurance after the event?

 

At GAPInsurance123, we have a wealth of experience selling GAP Insurance in the UK for over a decade. In that time, UK vehicle buyers have asked us thousands of questions. 

 

It may surprise some, but one question we do get asked quite regularly is: 

 

Can you buy GAP Insurance after you have been in an accident or suffered a theft, fire or flood with your vehicle? In other words, can you buy GAP Insurance after the event? 

 

In general, the answer would be no. But it may be more complicated.   

 

The basis for any insurance is that it can protect you from an event that MIGHT happen in the future. 

 

The problem with buying GAP Insurance after the event is that the uncertainty has been taken away. If the vehicle is written off, the event that caused this has already happened.  

 

Imagine you are in a car accident or have your vehicle stolen. You report it to your motor insurer. Then, your friend asks you if you have GAP Insurance. You don't, but is it too late to get cover now? 

 

Probably. 

 

Let's examine a few different situations and whether you could buy GAP Insurance and make a successful claim. 

 

Case 1

 

Your car is stolen, and your motor insurer declares the vehicle a total loss. You realise you do not have GAP Insurance. 

 

In this case, the event has already happened, and because of it, the motor insurer has declared the vehicle a total loss. 

 

In this case, you cannot buy GAP Insurance, as the event that resulted in your car being declared a loss has already happened. 

 

Case 2

 

Your car is in an accident. Your motor insurer is assessing whether the damage will lead to it being declared a total loss, but that decision still needs to be made. 

 

You could buy GAP Insurance in this case, but it will not cover you if the motor insurer declares the vehicle a total loss due to the accident that has happened. 

 

If the motor insurer repairs the vehicle and gives it back to you, then you could claim on the GAP Insurance for any claim in the future for a different event.

 

Case 3

 

You buy a car that was previously declared a total loss but then repaired and returned on the road. 

 

How would you stand with buying GAP Insurance in this case? 

 

Similarly to the previous examples, the incident that has seen the vehicle written off has already happened. So, you cannot make a successful GAP Insurance claim on a car previously declared a total loss.  

 

So, to summarise, GAP Insurance can only be taken if  

 

• the vehicle has not been declared a total loss previously

 

and

 

• the vehicle has not suffered an incident that may see it written off or stolen, and declared a total loss in the future

 

We hope this answers this query for you. If you did look to buy GAP Insurance under these circumstances, you could be wasting your money. You could be accused of attempting fraud if you knew the vehicle was about to be written off and tried to hide this from your GAP Insurance provider. 

 

Both situations you would want to avoid. 

 

Published 16/9/23, written by Mark Griffiths