If your vehicle has been written off or stolen, the GAP claim runs alongside the motor insurance claim rather than instead of it. The order matters, and one step in particular is where people cost themselves money.

1. Claim on your motor insurance first

Report the loss to your motor insurer and let that claim run. GAP sits on top of their settlement, so there is nothing to calculate until a figure exists.

This is also why a GAP claim cannot proceed if the motor insurer declines the claim or decides the vehicle is repairable.

2. Tell your GAP provider early

Do not wait for the motor claim to conclude. Most GAP policies require notification within a set period of the incident, and leaving it until everything else is settled can put you outside it.

A short call at the start costs nothing and protects the claim.

3. Check the motor settlement before you accept it

This is the step that matters most, and the one most people skip.

Your GAP payment is calculated from the motor insurer’s settlement. If that settlement is lower than the vehicle was genuinely worth, you are not simply losing the difference, you are carrying it, because the GAP calculation is normally based on a fair market value rather than whatever figure was accepted.

Insurers’ opening offers are not always their final ones. Check the valuation against trade guides and comparable advertised vehicles, and challenge it with evidence if it looks low. Do this before accepting, not after.

4. Gather the documents

Expect to need the motor insurer’s settlement confirmation, the original purchase invoice, your finance or lease agreement with a current settlement figure, the V5C, and your GAP policy documents.

Having these ready is the single biggest factor in how quickly a claim is paid.

5. The shortfall is calculated

Your provider works out the difference between the settlement and either the invoice price or the outstanding balance, depending on the type of policy you hold, then applies the maximum claim limit and any deductions set out in the terms.

6. Payment is made

Where finance is outstanding, payment usually goes directly to the finance or leasing company to clear the agreement rather than to you. Where there is no finance, it comes to you.

If anything is unclear

The worst time to read a policy for the first time is while making a claim.

If you need to notify a claim or want to check where you stand, call us on 0161 388 2550 or email sales@gapinsurancetoday.co.uk.