[accordRE]

Hi guys, has anyone gone for Gap insurance not provided by BMW? I heard you can get as good coverage from £150 from other companies and are there any that you would recommend?

[Balster]

ALA seem to be highly rated, felow forum members have gone through them.

[psyxologos]

I used Gap Insurance 123 and were very reasonable, and with a very good cover.

[xenon]

ALA for me too - offered the best policy for me at the best price. BMW Finance's offer is daft money.

[Beancounter_74]

I transferred a policy that I had on my previous car (two years left).
Think it is with GAPInsuranceUK.net (they're a sponsor over on the RRSport forum). Think I paid £180 for 4 years, up to £30k cover.

As xenon says, there are a far better deals out there compared to main dealers.

[Balster]

BMW £343 for 3 years at £25000.
Ala £199 for 3 years at £25000.

Has anyone here claimed with ala?

[Piers]

Excuse my ignorance....am I not correct that in the event of a total loss in the first year of a new car, the car is replaced new and to exact spec? Therefore the risk is from year 1-3 when the finance maybe higher than the purchase price of a new one?

[dippo]

Some insurance companies operate a new for old policy on fully comprehensive, but have riders such as the availability of a replacement vehicle within a certain period.

GAP insurance providers also offer a deferred start if required, so you can buy a policy on a new car today, with cover starting in one year's time when your cover from your normal policy stops providing a replacement. I don't think the BMW version offers that facility.

[accordRE]

Just checked ALA, given a quote of £249 for 4 years, not bad considering BMW wants £800 for Gap over 3 years

[Beancounter_74]

I laughed when the finance guy at BMW told me the price for the GAP insurance. He took offence, but I was so amazed at their pricing.
He then said "well we could move on the price", to which I responded that if he did it for £150 I'd write a cheque there and then........he didn't even respond and walked off - twat!

[Balster]

I was offered it at £343 from BMW.
Is it any good compared to ALA?

[gspannu]

I have always taken Gap insurance on my last 4 cars. All were BMW cars and each time I took Gap insurance from an independent provider.

Whether the 1st year is covered or not by your insurance company is worth checking. I got mine to send this to me in writing. I then took the Gap for 4 years, but effectively with a deferred start date - so get the same deal but for 5 years.

I have never (thankfully !) had the opportunity to use the Gap insurance; so cannot really comment on the provider.

A good check is to see if the underwriter is a UK based bank or company.

Last time I checked (Sep 2013), BMW were using RBS as their underwriters; and my independent Gap insurers were using the same underwriter - so in a way, your risk with being an independent is as good (or as bad) as BMW's.

I too have off a few finance guys at BMW - when I tell them the prices I am getting compared to what they are selling; they usually walk off !

Companies I have used are Click2Protect, Ala and DirectGap...

[Balster]

Are ALA uk based? Any thought on them chaps? I'm still sat the fence - BMW or ALA?
Are ALA a safebet?

[accordRE]

Originally Posted by Balster

Are ALA uk based? Any thought on them chaps? I'm still sat the fence - BMW or ALA?
Are ALA a safebet?

ALA are apparently recommended by Which and seem to have a lot of positive reviews.

[gspannu]

Originally Posted by Balster

Are ALA uk based? Any thought on them chaps? I'm still sat the fence - BMW or ALA?
Are ALA a safebet?

I doubt anyone can 'really' answer this question (unless they have actually made a claim with ALA) and even then, each situation is different.

ALA has been voted by Which as a good Gap insurance company - a good sign.

They are underwritten by Lloyds (which is UK based).
Check out the FAQ page of ALA and around middle of the page, there is a question "Is my GAP insurance policy protected if the insurer goes bust?"

[nordberg]

ALA and get the VRI policy....

[Balster]

So this is the one to go for:
http://www.ala.co.uk/vehicle-replacement-insurance.html

[nordberg]

Originally Posted by Balster

So this is the one to go for:
http://www.ala.co.uk/vehicle-replacement-insurance.html

[accordRE]

Forgive me if I'm wrong, but if you're on a PCP isn't return to invoice a better idea?

[Balster]

Originally Posted by accordRE

Forgive me if I'm wrong, but if you're on a PCP isn't return to invoice a better idea?

Good point, I want back what I paid for it.

[nordberg]

Originally Posted by accordRE

Forgive me if I'm wrong, but if you're on a PCP isn't return to invoice a better idea?

Why? I quote myself from the F30 forum:

Originally Posted by nordberg

For me, return to invoice leaves too much to the unknown.

You buy a car at 15% discount as it's year end and dealer contributions are doubled. 18 months later, the car is stolen and declared a total loss. Now, your insurers will pay what they claim is the market value of the car. Chances are, this will not be enough to get you into the car you would like so you will invoke your gap insurance. With Return To Invoice insurance, your shortfall will be the difference between the invoice price and the insurer's offer. Problem is, now the dealer contribution is halved, it's not year end and prices have gone up. You're stuck with a 320d ED rather than the 335d you got nicked.

Now, if you'd had Vehicle Replacement Insurance, your shortfall would be the difference between the exact same spec replacement vehicle and the insurer's offer. Net result, a shiny new 335d - or another vehicle of the equivalent value as most gap insurers just write you a cheque and you can pick whatever car you like...

[accordRE]

Originally Posted by nordberg

Why? I quote myself from the F30 forum:

I'm wrong, forgive me!


I was under the impression that VRI would just pay for the difference between an exact replacement for your car, so if the car was a year old they'd just pay the difference between the insurers offer and the price of a 1 year old car.