Gap Insurance

Gap insurance may be offered to consumers who finance the cost of their vehicle through a dealership. Gap insurance is designed to cover the difference between what your insurance carrier will pay and what you actually owe on the car if you have an accident and the car is totaled. Car dealers will offer to bundle the cost of the Gap insurance into the total cost of the vehicle’s financing.

Consumers should be cautious when considering this product. If you read the fine print you will learn that Gap insurance covers only the market value of the car. This amount is likely much less than the amount you still owe on the car. If this is the case, you will still have a “gap.”

Gap insurance is usually very expensive and often not worth what you pay for it. Much of the cost goes to the car dealer as a sales commission and not to the insurance company.

You may be asked to purchase other credit insurance products. Just like Gap, these products are often not worth the cost.

Tips

• Refuse Gap insurance and related products. If the dealer says that you must buy Gap or that you should consider Gap in order to get financing, shop for financing and a car elsewhere.
• Check to make sure Gap or others products have not been added to your sales contract before you sign.

When it comes to buying a vehicle, we’ve got your back, Arkansas.