Gap Insurance

If your vehicle is written off or stolen, your insurance payout will reflect the value of the car when the incident took place. If, for example, you have a finance agreement on the car, gap insurance could make up the difference between the payout you receive and anything you still owe on the car. It can also be helpful to put towards a new car, as it helps protect you from a financial loss if your payout is less than the car’s original value.

Whether or not you need gap insurance depends on your specific circumstances. The question to consider is, would you want to buy a new car to replace your existing one if it was written off? Would you still owe more than you’ve been paid out on a finance agreement? If the answer to these questions is yes, you may benefit from buying a gap car insurance policy.  

If you’re covered by a fully comprehensive policy and your vehicle is less than 12 months old, you may be entitled to a brand new replacement if your existing car is written off. Double check your car insurance policy, and you can always make a note to take out gap insurance when the first year has passed.

Your motor insurer deducts your agreed excess from the write off value - and gap insurance pays the difference between this and the invoice value.

If the incident was not your fault and you have an uninsured loss recovery policy on your main motor insurance, then the provider will continue to claim the excess back for you. 

A fault claim is any claim resulting in your insurer being liable (paying for the claim). For example, you are not to blame for a theft claim but your insurer would be liable, as they have no other party to recover the costs from.

If your insurer pays for your damages in the event of a claim, for example where a third party hit your vehicle, but then re-coups their costs via the third party's insurer, this would be a non-fault claim as your insurer was not liable.

No, in fact you do not need to let us know. We will need you to inform us of any unspent driving convictions before we provide you with a quote though.

Yes, you should inform your insurer of any incident the insured vehicle is involved in, so that your policy is always fully up to date, even if no claim is to be made. All incidents should be reported to 0800 9537 537.

If you would prefer to spread the cost of your car insurance policy, you have the option of setting up a Direct Debit to pay your premium in equal monthly instalments through our preferred provider, Premium Credit Limited (PCL). Only available on an annual policy. 

To find out more about PCL and direct debit payments, select Direct Debit.

To understand more about how PCL work together with Towergate, please read our Regulatory Information.