The GAP insurance market was upended in 2024, when the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) began tackling concerns over how Guaranteed Asset Protection (GAP) was being sold by car dealers.
As a result, almost every showroom in the UK had to stop selling GAP insurance in February 2024, and their return to the market was fairly slow. Before this time, there were around 2.4 million GAP policies in force in the UK.
The FCA began granting permission for companies to recommence sales in May that year and more followed later, but with lower levels of commission charged, giving consumers a better deal.
GAP insurance covers the shortfall between the original price of your car and the insurance pay-out if your vehicle was totally written off by your insurer – or in other words, the vehicle’s current market value versus the cost of a replacement car. The difference between these two figures can often be quite large.
Research has shown that a third of UK motorists has written off a car at least once, illustrating how important this kind of insurance can be to some drivers, especially those with newer cars. However, if you have bought your car outright and have no finance outstanding, you might not need the cover.
Online providers were not the target of the FCA actions, although some were affected as they used the same insurance underwriters as the dealer groups. Other online GAP providers were able to continue trading as normal.
The Car Expert has long recommended that you don’t buy GAP insurance from a car dealer anyway, since you can usually get the same policy (or better) from online providers for much less money.
Specialist GAP insurers have also always offered a far wider range of GAP products than car dealers, so you can tailor the cover to meet your precise needs.
For more information, have a read of our guide to GAP insurance terminology.
The Car Expert has rounded up some of the UK’s top GAP providers here.
ALA Insurance*
ALA is one of the best-known GAP insurers around. They have a very good reputation across both Vehicle Replacement and Return-to-Invoice policy types (for more info, read our guide to GAP insurance terminology).
Go to the ALA landing page and you will see GAP Insurance listed first across the top. The drop down menu gives you the chance to discover the different kinds of GAP insurance, including Agreed Value, Fleet, and Commercial arrangements.
There’s an interesting ‘shortfall calculator’ offering you the chance to enter your car’s value and age and ‘see how much you could be short’.
Though not always the cheapest, their coverage is fair, with no mileage restrictions, a claim period of 120 days and a free-of-charge transfer option to place your previous policy against a new set of wheels if you change cars during your policy term.
The site is full of interesting and useful advice on GAP, its value and what is and isn’t covered. An easy ‘retrieve a quote’ tab will get you some costings.
MotorEasy*
URL: motoreasy.com/gap-insurance
GAP insurance is just one of the motoring services that MotorEasy offers its customers, with the company aiming to be a one-stop-shop for all your car ownership needs – ‘the easy way to manage, protect and maintain your car’ it says.
It even supports commercial vehicles, provided they’re not over 3,500kg. And cars must be less than eight years old and with fewer than 100,000 miles on the clock.
MotorEasy has found itself a loyal customer base with a simple quote feature on its website: you select which service you want from the drop down box, in this case ‘GAP Insurance’, type in your car’s registration number and press ‘Get a quote’.
There’s no transfer option on the policy, meaning that the cover ends if you sell the car. But you do get a refund if you cancel outside the first 30 days.
The website offers an honest appraisal of GAP insurance with its plusses and minuses so that you can make a balanced judgement on whether you need it. There’s also lots of useful tips and advice.
Direct GAP
URL: directgap.co.uk
Direct GAP offers a full range of GAP insurance products and has a few add-ons too, such as scratch and dent cover and alloy wheel insurance. They also promise to settle all claims within 10 days.
It’s an attractive, simple to navigate website with lots of helpful advice including an insurance calculator. A 30 day money back guarantee is offered along with unlimited claims on vehicles up to 50,000 miles on the odometer. All named drivers can be covered and there’s no mileage restrictions once you have started the policy.
On Return-to-Invoice and Vehicle Replacement GAP policies, you can transfer your cover to another vehicle or claim a refund on any unused portion of the policy if you sell the car.
More than 100,000 customers have taken GAP insurance with Direct Gap – a simple ‘Get a quote’ tab will get you started.
Sura
URL: sura.co.uk
Sura is the new name that has brought Platinum GAP and Direct Car Warranty into one brand. It’s part of the same overall company that includes Direct GAP. It offers a wide range of GAP insurance products and similar conditions to the former Platinum set up.
The move was made to offer a wider range of products and a ‘simpler experience’. Anyone who had GAP insurance under Platinum can carry on with their policy as before.
On Return-to-Invoice and Vehicle Replacement GAP policies, you can transfer your cover to another vehicle or claim a refund on any unused portion of the policy if you sell the car. There are no mileage limits and no ceiling on claims on vehicles up to £50,000 in value.
The simple site explains GAP insurance well, and has a section comparing the different types of policy available.
Total Loss GAP
URL: totallossgap.co.uk
Total Loss GAP offers a range of insurance products, beyond just GAP. There’s scratch and dent cover, alloy wheel insurance, tyre insurance and more.
But the company is well known for GAP cover, and its site offers a full suite of policies, so you should be able to find something that fits your needs. Your car needs to be less than 10 years old and covered fewer than 100,000 miles to qualify.
Everything you need to know about GAP in its various forms, including a section asking whether you actually need the cover or not, is there all featured on a simple and effective website.
Prices start at £77.89 and there’s a ‘Get a quote’ tab to find out more for your particular vehicle.
GAP Insurance 123
GAP Insurance 123 is a sister company to Total Loss GAP and consequently, it’s starting price for cover is the same: £77.89. It offers a similar range of GAP policies as its sibling, along with other insurance products including tyre, alloy wheel and scratch and dent cover. The terms and conditions are much the same.
It’s ‘Combined Return to Invoice’ insurance is for cars up to eight years old and priced under £100,000. They must have been bought in the previous 180 days.
The site is not as slick as some but there are plenty of lengthy explanations about the insurance cover offered and what their benefits are. You should be able to find answers to any questions you might have.
There are some real life examples of pay outs and testimonials from customers to consider.
Gapinsurance.co.uk
URL: gapinsurance.co.uk
As the name suggests, GAPInsurance.co.uk is a company completely devoted to providing every kind of GAP to customers.
It must be pleased with its customer service as the first thing you see on the landing page is ‘Reviews’ from clients. Other drop down sections include Contract Hire GAP, Invoice GAP and Replacement Gap – with all of these come lengthy explanations and advice.
There’s lots to read and even downloadable files, but the idea is to educate visitors to the site, and it certainly does that. GAPinsurance has set out to be a dedicated online provider of GAP insurance and concentrates on best-selling and family vehicles.
Maximum value of a vehicle to be covered is £100,000 and the maximum claim limit is £75,000. Cars must be less than 10 years old.
More GAP insurance information
*The Car Expert has commercial partnerships with ALA Insurance and MotorEasy. If you click through to their websites and proceed to purchase a used car warranty, we may receive a small commission. This does not affect the price you pay.
Additional reporting by Cat Dow. This list was originally compiled in 2022, and was comprehensively updated in April 2026 to reflect the changes in the GAP insurance market.
