How to make a GAP Insurance claim

Q: What if I am unhappy with the claim?

Ask the claims team to explain their calculation. If you disagree, you can appeal and make a complaint. If you remain unhappy after the firm’s response, escalate to the Financial Ombudsman Service.

Q: Can I claim if the car is stolen and recovered?

It depends on whether your motor insurer declares a total loss. If the vehicle is repaired and returned to you, GAP Insurance does not apply.

Q: Can I accept the motor insurer’s first offer?

It is better to notify the GAP insurer first. Accepting an offer before lodging your GAP claim can slow processing if the GAP insurer needs a breakdown of the motor settlement.

Q: Can the GAP Insurance settlement be paid to anyone?

No. Payment goes only to a party with a financial interest in the vehicle, such as a finance or leasing company, or the owner who appears on the invoice or lease and is named on both the motor and GAP policies.

Q: How many times can you claim on GAP Insurance?

You can usually claim once per policy. After a successful claim and replacement vehicle, you would take out a new GAP policy for the new car.

To make a GAP Insurance claim, you must first wait for your motor insurer to declare your vehicle a total loss, following a theft, accident, fire or flood. Once this has been confirmed, and before you accept any settlement from the motor insurer, call the GAP Insurance claims line and lodge your claim.

The GAP claims team will confirm the paperwork they will need from you. Once received, the claim will be processed, and any eligible claim will be settled with you.

Here we will break down the process for you and answer any commonly asked questions on making a claim.

Please note that the information provided below is for a general idea of the process. Please refer to your policy documents and speak to your claims team to clarify precisely what may be required in your case.

When you claim on a GAP Insurance policy

You can claim your GAP Insurance cover if:

Your vehicle is in an accident, fire, flood or is stolen
The car is declared a total loss, or write off, by your motor insurer
The insurer offers a market value settlement

GAP Insurance claim - Step by Step

Report your accident, fire, flood or theft to your motor insurer and get a claim reference. If the vehicle is stolen, report it to the Police and obtain a Crime Reference Number.
As soon as the vehicle is declared a total loss, call the GAP Insurance claims line and register your claim. Please do so BEFORE accepting any offer from your motor insurer.
The GAP Insurance claims team will inform you of what documents you will need to provide. Take copies of everything because your motor insurer may want copies of the same documents.
Submit your GAP Insurance claim. Provide all the documents requested, including the settlement letter from your motor insurer, any finance settlement confirmation, V5, etc.
Your GAP Insurance claim is assessed. Any eligible claim is calculated and paid appropriately to your policy type.
If you are unhappy with the outcome, you can make a complaint to the firm. If you are dissatisfied with their reply, then you can escalate this to the Financial Ombudsman Service.

Documents you may need for a GAP Insurance claim

There will be several documents you may need to make a GAP Insurance claim. These include:

A letter from your motor insurer confirming the write-off and the settlement
A settlement letter from your finance or lease company
A copy of the V5C
The original invoice, lease or finance agreement
Proof of identity
Insurance certificate
Bank Details to make a payment to you

How a GAP Insurance settlement is made

The payment for your GAP Insurance claim can be different, depending on which type of GAP Insurance you have and how the vehicle was financed or purchased.

How a GAP Insurance settlement is paid
	Return to Invoice GAP	Vehicle Replacement GAP	Lease & Contract Hire GAP
Owned outright	All to the policyholder	All to the policyholder	N/A
HP, PCP finance	Finance cleared first, remainder to policyholder	Finance cleared first, remainder to policyholder	N/A
Bank Loan	All to the policyholder	All to the policyholder	N/A
Lease, no deposit protection	N/A	N/A	All to the leasing company
Lease with deposit protection	N/A	N/A	First payment to the leasing company to settle the lease, second payment to the policy holder to cover the initial rental deposit

For Return to Invoice and Vehicle Replacement GAP policies, you have the option to own the vehicle. If you do so outright (no finance is linked), then all the GAP Insurance settlement can be paid to you.

If you have Hire Purchase or Personal Contract Purchase agreements on the vehicle, then the finance company have an interest in the car. This means the finance must be settled first (out of any motor insurer's settlement and GAP Insurance settlement combined). The remainder of the settlement will be paid to the policyholder of the GAP policy.

For lease vehicles, where you have no option to own the car, then the Lease & Contract Hire GAP settlement will be used to cover any shortfall on your lease. As such, the settlement for that will go directly to the lease company. If you have taken out the optional deposit protection cover, you can claim back up to £3,000 of any initial rental deposit you paid on the lease. This amount would come back to you.

Common pitfalls with GAP Insurance claims

There are a few notable areas where GAP Insurance claims can be delayed or declined.

We have compiled the Top 50 reasons why a GAP Insurance claim can be turned down, and you can take a look through that comprehensive list.

There can be several reasons why a GAP Insurance claim can be delayed. For a claim to be processed, there is a reliance on your motor insurer to confirm the vehicle is written off and to make a settlement offer to you. The GAP Insurance claim cannot be processed until that takes place.

Then the GAP Insurance claims team will need the appropriate paperwork from the policyholder to process the claim. Some of these, like a settlement letter from your finance company, make take you some time to get. It is essential to gather the necessary documents as soon as possible. So you know exactly what you may need, speak to the GAP claims team as early as you can so you know exactly what you need to provide.

Most GAP Insurance claims require notification of your claim within a specific timeframe of the incident that leads to your vehicle being declared a total loss. This is usually quite generous; however, if you are concerned that you may run out of time, then call the claims team and discuss your concern.

Some GAP Insurance claims can be subject to a 'peer review' or 'underwriter review' to ensure the calculations and processing have been done correctly. This can be done on a random sample of claims, or where there may be a specific concern with an individual claim. However, this should not delay your claim unduly.

Some GAP Insurance claims can be processed and paid within days of receiving the paperwork. Some may take longer. The claims team will be able to advise accordingly for you.

GAP Insurance claims calculations - an example

Initial vehicle purchase price: £35,000
Method of purchase: PCP Finance
Type of GAP Insurance purchased: Return to Invoice

Three years later, the vehicle is stolen and not recovered. The motor insurer declares the car a total loss.

Motor Insurers market value settlement: £20,000
PCP Finance settlement: £23,000
GAP Insurance settlement: £15,000

The Return to Invoice GAP insurance can cover the difference between the motor insurer's settlement (£20,000) and the higher of:

the outstanding finance settlement (£23,000)
the original invoice price paid (£35,000)

In this case, the original invoice price is the highest; therefore, the RTI GAP Insurance settlement would add £15,000 to the £20,000 provided by the motor insurer, giving the policyholder their £35,000 back in full.

The first £23,000 of this will be used to pay off the finance settlement.

The remaining £12,000 is for the policyholders to use as a deposit for a new car.

GAP Insurance claims FAQs

What if I am unhappy with the claim?

You can confirm with the claims team how they have calculated the claim. If you feel it is not correct, then you can appeal and also make a complaint.

If you are unhappy with the response to any complaint, you have the option to take it further to the Financial Ombudsman Service. FOS will generally expect that you have exhausted any complaints process with the insurer before they will get involved. FOS are independent, and they will listen to both sides before making a judgment.

Can I claim if the car is stolen and recovered?

It depends on whether the motor insurer declares it a total loss/write-off or not. If the insurer repairs the vehicle and gives it back to you, then you are not covered by your GAP Insurance, as you still have the car.

Can I accept the motor insurer's first offer?

It is general advice not to accept any offer from your motor insurer until you lodge your GAP Insurance claim. The GAP Insurance will want to ensure that they are only paying their fair share, and that the motor insurer is paying the market value that you have paid your motor insurance premium for.

If you accept an offer before making your GAP Insurance claim, then it can slow down the process if the claims team have to chase the motor insurer for a breakdown of their settlement offer.

Can the GAP Insurance settlement be paid to anyone?

No. The GAP Insurance settlement can only be paid to someone or a company that has a financial interest in the vehicle.

That could be:

The finance or leasing company, on behalf of the GAP Insurance policyholder
The owner of the vehicle, as shown on the invoice, or named on a lease for the car, who is also named on the motor insurance and is the GAP Insurance policyholder

How many times can you claim on GAP Insurance?

You can only claim successfully on your GAP Insurance once. If you get a new vehicle afterwards, you get a new GAP Insurance policy to cover that.

Do you need to make a claim? Please check your policy documents for the correct contact information and advice on what to do next.

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Published 13/08/25, written by Mark Griffiths