No one wants to hear that their vehicle is a total loss, but with GAP Insurance, it might not seem like such a terrible thing. GAP Insurance is an add an option that you have to purchase additional insurance for a newly purchased or leased vehicle. Typically GAP Insurance is only available through the lender or dealership, and they will likely require you to also have collision and comprehensive coverage through your existing car insurance policy.
But when exactly will GAP Insurance help you? Many people report that GAP Insurance isn’t worth it because it never pays out. The issue is not that it doesn’t pay out; it’s that many people don’t know how to properly file a GAP Insurance claim or no when GAP Insurance kicks in. Contact our Atlanta car accident attorneys for more information.
What is GAP Insurance?
The insurance information Institute noted that a brand new vehicle depreciates in value by 20% within the first year of you owning it. In fact, the very moment that you drive it off the lot, it loses its value. That means that from the moment that you leave the dealership or the lender, you already owe more than your car is worth.
GAP Insurance exists to cover some of the gap between the total cash value and the outstanding loan. Many people are left upside down, or underwater, on a car note because they were in an accident, and the vehicle was declared a total loss, but there was still an open car note.
Does GAP Always Payout?
GAP Insurance does not always pay out. GAP Insurance will not cover your car payments if you’re filing because of financial hardship, disability, or even death. Additionally, GAP Insurance does not pay for repairs to the vehicle. GAP Insurance will only become available in the car is considered a total loss by your primary insurance provider.
Additionally, GAP insurance terms do not take responsibility for providing you with a rental car. But, the struggle that most people have in accessing their GAP Insurance is that many forms of GAP Insurance will claim that they do not cover the diminished value of your vehicle following an accident. That is the very reason why most people purchase GAP Insurance.
What GAP Insurance does is pay the difference between the total loss And the remainder of what you owe on the car. For example, if you took out a $25,000 car note and were in an accident with the remaining balance of 15,000 on the loan, but the car’s value was only $10,000, you could receive that remaining $5,000 from GAP.
How to File a GAP Claim
People will usually purchase GAP Insurance when they’ve made little or No Down Payment, when they are already upside down on a vehicle when they’ve purchased a card they know has bad results value, or they’ve taken out a long term car loan. But the truth is that anyone could benefit from GAP Insurance because there is the possibility of getting into an accident every time you get into your vehicle. That’s as true the first day you own the car as it is 10 or 15 years down the road.
Filing a GAP claim should cover the amount owed on the vehicle after your insurance company determines that it’s a total loss. Essentially GAP Insurance prevents you from going upside down or underwater on a car loan After you’re the victim of an accident.
Will You Still Need to File a Regular Claim? – Atlanta Auto Collision Attorneys
You will certainly still need to file a regular car accident claim with your insurance provider. You may also need to pursue a lawsuit against the at-fault driver. A GAP claim can help supplement or cover the losses that your insurance provider wants but only in relation to the total loss of the vehicle. Additionally, they make their clients go through unexpected and sometimes unrealistic efforts to make a claim.
As part of your car accident claim, you may need to pursue some compensation from your collision or comprehensive coverage before you can make your gap claim. Additionally, if you’re any percent at fault, the GAP Insurance may attempt to avoid providing coverage. To help skew the demand on your GAP Insurance payout, you should seek full compensation for the total damages you’ve experienced in your accident with the local Atlanta auto collision lawyer. Contacted the Weinstein Firm to get support today and to start resolving your crash.
