How to Find Out If You Have Gap Insurance
Review your car insurance documents from your insurer and financing paperwork from your dealership or lender to check if you have gap insurance.
Written by Cameron Thiessen
Reviewed by Kathleen Flear
If you need to know if you have
gap insurance
, the best way to find out is to check with your car insurance company or your auto lender. Before calling, review any insurance documents or financing paperwork that you have on file.You can get gap insurance through your car insurance company,
car loan
provider, or the dealership you’re buying or leasing your car from, so it’s a great idea to check with all three to make sure that you’re not purchasing duplicate coverage.Luckily for you, helping you find an affordable rate on the insurance coverage you need is
Jerry’s
specialty as the top-rated car insurance
app and broker Read on for answers to the question, “How do I know if I have gap insurance?” Plus, learn exactly what gap insurance is and why it’s often a good idea to have.Compare insurance quotes from 50+ carriers with Jerry in under 45 seconds (Title in payload)
4.7/5 rating on the App Store | Trusted by 5+ million customers and 7 million cars4.7/5 app rating | Trusted by 5M+ driversHow do I know if I have gap insurance?
1. Check your records
Best-case scenario, you should file all your car-related records in one safe place. If you’ve already been doing so, you should easily be able to find your car insurance documents that detail your plan (look for your declarations page or proof of insurance) and your financing paperwork with specifics surrounding your car loan or lease.
You may also have access to electronic copies of these documents through online accounts with your dealership and/or insurance company.
2. Contact your insurance company
If you’re struggling to find information regarding gap insurance in your records, don’t hesitate to call your insurer. They should be able to tell you which
types of car insurance coverage
you have with your current insurance plan, including whether or not you purchased gap insurance.You may also be able to email or chat with an insurance agent online via your insurance company’s website. Most insurers will be able to verify your identity and securely provide information to you about your coverage.
3. Contact your dealership
Even if it’s not included with your insurance policy, you may still have gap insurance. Dealerships and lenders often offer it along with leasing plans and car loans.
Just like you called (or emailed or chatted) your insurance provider, you can reach out to the dealership where you got your car or the lender that financed your car purchase. They will have records regarding whether or not you have gap insurance through them.
Pro Tip It’s possible to accidentally double up on gap insurance. So if you realize that both your insurance company and your dealership are charging you for it, ask if you can get rid of one of those plans to save money!
What is gap insurance?
Now that we know where to get gap insurance, let’s discuss a bit about what it actually is and what it’s for.
Gap insurance is designed to benefit you if the car you’re financing or leasing ends up being worth less than what you still owe on it in the event of an accident—also known as being
upside-down on a car loan
.For example, let’s say you bought a car with a loan for $40,000, have only paid off $10,000, and wind up totaling your car. If an appraiser determines that your car was only worth $20,000 at the time of the accident, you could be cut a check for $20,000 upon filing an insurance claim.
The $10,000 remaining on your loan balance is the “gap” that would be covered by gap insurance.
In sum, if you had gap insurance, you’d be reimbursed for $30,000, rather than the vehicle’s current value of $20,000, saving you from losing $10,000 in the wake of your misfortune.
How to find affordable gap insurance
Whether you need gap insurance or any other form of coverage,
Jerry
specializes in finding you the best policies for the best prices by streamlining the shopping process.Jerry asks you a few questions to build your profile and then will present you with a list of customized
car insurance
quotes for the coverage you need, saving you a ton of time you’d otherwise be spending calling companies individually to collect quotes.Plus, Jerry will save you money. The average user pays over $800 less a year on car insurance!
“I have been with the same insurance provider for over 10 years.Jerryfound me a new policy with Travelers that is $107/month cheaper. The pandemic has made finances tight, but Jerry helped me out.” —Gabriel T.
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