British motorists losing £2.7bn annually due to lack of insurance

A lack of insurance is costing unwitting British motorists an average of £2.7 billion annually*. Every year in the UK, over 511,000 cars are written off, more often than not leaving the owner hundreds or even thousands of pounds out of pocket.

[ClickPress, Fri Sep 08 2006] A lack of insurance is costing unwitting British motorists an average of £2.7 billion annually*. Every year in the UK, over 511,000 cars are written off, more often than not leaving the owner hundreds or even thousands of pounds out of pocket.

Almost all motorists will believe that they have adequate insurance to cover such unforeseen events such as theft or accident, not realising that should the unthinkable happen, they will have to foot the bill for their car’s depreciation - not their insurer.

For people who have car finance and suffer a loss, this can leave them paying for a debt on a lesser car or even on nothing!

As an example, if you paid £12,000 for your car which was then written off and your motor insurance paid out £8,750 (a depreciation of 27%) you would be £3,250 out of pocket – even if the car was only five months old.

The good news is that there is a way for motorists to remove this headache. Click4gap offer Return To Invoice (RTI) Gap insurance, a low cost, hassle free way for motorists to ensure that they don’t lose out if their car is stolen or written off.

RTI Gap Insurance will refund to you the difference between what you paid for the car and your insurer’s depreciated valuation up to £25,000 if your car is stolen or declared an insurance write off.

This means that you can protect your investment and will get back what you paid for your car, and it covers new and used vehicles up to 7 years old.

Kevin Johnson, Managing Director from Click4gap says: “Most of us like to think that we are careful drivers and are confident that we have adequate insurance cover to cater for any eventuality. However, this is not the case. If your vehicle is stolen or written off then you could be exposed to a huge liability.

“Our low cost policy - which is up to 75% cheaper than traditional Gap insurance provided by car dealers and lenders - can plug the hole in your existing insurance cover.”


Visit www.click4gap.co.uk or call 020 8543 6014 for more information or a no obligation quote.


Ends


Contact: Kevin Johnson, Managing Director, Click4Gap on: 020 8543 6014 or email: kevin@click4gap.co.uk

Editors’ Notes:

* Figures based on assumed average value of car of £9,000 and 60% depreciation.

511,000 write offs annually x £9,000 = £4.6 billon total write off cost.

As cars depreciate by 60% over three years, the insurer will only cover 40% of the total write off cost (£1.84 billion). This leaves car owners with a combined loss of £2.76 billion to replace their car at the same value.

Car depreciation calculator: http://www.whatcar.com/depreciation-index.aspx

Product features:

Immediate cover
Costs are kept low as you are dealing direct with the insurer, thereby cutting out costly middlemen
Flexible claim limits
You can browse and buy the product in a no pressure environment online or over the ‘phone
Up to 5 years’ cover
£25,000 Maximum Claim Limit
21 day money back guarantee

Facts & figures: (Source: Research carried out on behalf of insurer)


The Home Office’s latest Car Theft Index stats that 282,816 cars were stolen in England, Scotland and Wales in the latest recorded year
A third of all stolen cars are never recovered
UK car crime is a third of all crime
511,000 vehicles become a total loss each year - 1400 per day 60% are not recovered and this figure is increasing year on year
Every day in the UK more than 200 vehicles are involved in serious accidents
Cars seem to be depreciating at a far greater rate than ever before
Motor Insurance valuations are less than the amount you paid for the car


About Click4gap:Click4Gap was set up Jan Smith and Kev Johnson who have over 20 years’ experience of selling insurance products - such as GAP - to dealers, brokers and lenders. They now sell direct to the public – with savings of up to 75% - and want to share their enthusiasm to help consumers understand Gap Insurance and save money.