With Car Thefts on the Rise, can you afford not to get GAP insurance?

Car theft is becoming a big problem in the UK.

Figures releas

ed just prior to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic suggest that around three-hundred vehicles a day were being taken in England and Wales – which represents a rise of around fifty per cent over six years.

Just 0.6% of these cases ended up in a conviction, of which less than half result in jail time. Clearly, the odds are in favour of the would-be car thief, and it’s incumbent upon motorists to take steps to protect their property.

While the pandemic has seen rates of vehicle crime decline, and some of this decline has been most marked in particular areas, it’s reasonable to assume that the rate of crime will rebound to previous levels once the lockdown restrictions have been fully eased. We might, in fact, see a minor boom in incidents. 

The burden is not shared equally among all motorists. Certain kinds of vehicle make for far more appealing targets. These aren’t necessarily the most expensive models, but the ones that can be sold quickly on the black market. The longer it takes for the vehicle to be sold on, the greater the risk that the thief is assuming.

Among the most targeted cars, according to data fr

om

the DVLA

, are the

Ford Fiesta, the Land Rover Discovery, the Audi A6 and the Audi A3.

What is GAP Insurance?

So how does insurance figure into this? If you buy a new car and it happens to be stolen during the first few weeks, then you stand to lose substantially, as your policy may only pay out for the value of the vehicle when it was stolen, rather than the value of the vehicle when you first purchased it. So, if you were to buy a new Audi, and it was stolen in the first week, you’d end up losing out on thousands of pounds – since the car would have depreciated during the period between purchase and theft.

Specialised Audi GAP insurance would fix this.

GAP insurance, or Guaranteed Asset Protection, ensures that you’re covered for the price you paid for the vehicle, rather than for its estimated value at the time you lost it. As such, it protects you against the effects of depreciation, and makes sure that you’re not left in debt to your lender without an asset to back you up. 

GAP insurance is especially valuable to owners of certain vehicles, as they’re more likely to end up stolen. You might lower your insurance premium significantly by ensuring that your vehicle is protected during the night – for example by keeping it in a secure garage rather than out on the street.