Vehicle Replacement Gap Insurance

Once you make your payment your policy documents will be forwarded to you (please allow up to 2 hours).

You will also receive a confirmation of payment. Both should be retained.

If you do not receive your policy documents and/or payment confirmation please call us on 0330 043 99 33.

Total loss is a judgement made by your insurer when your vehicle has been written off as a result of accidental damage, your own or third-party fault, vandalism, theft or fire.

Once you have made a claim under the motor insurance and your claim has been agreed, the vehicle title has been transferred to the motor insurer, and a payment has then been made as a result of the incident, then your car can be declared a total loss.

You must purchase your policy within 180 days of purchasing your vehicle.

You can either make a single payment via credit or debit card with no extra card charges.

You may also be able to spread the cost over 10 months. The latter is administered by an independent agency and a service fee will be applied by them. If this option is not available, please call our team who may be able to assist.

To be able to make a valid claim, you should ensure that the policy is in the name of the registered keeper, owner or hirer of the insured vehicle.

Our policies cover your motor insurance excess up to the specified limits below should you make a Total Loss claim:

• Contract Hire / Lease Gap Insurance: £500
• Return to Invoice: £1,000
• Vehicle Replacement: £1,000

Please read the policy terms and conditions for a full list of exclusions.

As an internet provider who specialises in gap insurance, we do not have the overheads of some of our competitors. This means that we can provide premium products at more competitive prices.

Gap insurance will include all drivers covered on your comprehensive motor insurance policy. Including "named" drivers.

This is a one-off premium for the full term of the policy you select.

Our policy will payout even if you were at fault for the incident that caused the car to be written off. A full list of exclusions is set out in the terms and conditions of your policy.

You can make one transfer during the period of insurance.

If you sell your Vehicle, provided that no claim has been made, you may transfer the remaining cover to your replacement vehicle, subject to our agreement. No fee will apply for this transfer. Although where the purchase price of the replacement vehicle is greater than the original vehicle purchase price, an additional premium may be required. Cover will not include any refinancing. 

In the event of bereavement, the remaining benefits of this insurance may be transferred to the policyholder's spouse or partner.

Following the transfer of your insurance no refund or part return of premium is available. 

If you purchased a car for £20,000, but when it is declared a Total Loss your insurer offers you £14,000, then you could be left with a £6,000. If you had taken out Vehicle Replacement gap insurance from Premium Gap, your policy would cover that £6,000 deficit. If the cost of a replacement vehicle of the same specification had increased since you made your purchase, a vehicle replacement policy would cover that shortfall. If your £20,000 vehicle now sold for £22,000 but your insurer was only paying £14,000, you would receive a shortfall payment of £8,000.

If your written off vehicle was purchased using a finance agreement your vehicle replacement policy would ensure your lender received the outstanding balance, while you would keep the difference. If the amount outstanding was greater than the initial purchase price, your policy would pay the outstanding balance.

It's possible to defer the start date for your VRI policy for a maximum of 365 days. This is typically only done in situations where your motor insrer offers "new for old" coverage in the first year.

A full list of exclusions is included in your policy document, but some of the main reasons for a policy being in default include driving while under the influence of alcohol or non-prescription drugs, the vehicle is used in illegal activity, fraud or an act of wilful negligence such as leaving the keys in the ignition while paying for fuel.

You can take out vehicle replacement gap insurance for a used car, but as cars depreciate rapidly during the first three years it may make more sense for new cars. The amount of shortfall you will be left with if your car is declared a Total Loss is likely to be greater for new cars.

Helvetia Global Solutions Ltd (UK Branch). An A-rated insurer.

Helvetia Global Solutions Ltd’s UK Branch is registered in England & Wales under UK Establishment number: BR024650.

Helvetia Global Solutions is incorporated in Liechtenstein, registration number 0002191766. Helvetia Global Solutions is authorised and regulated by the Liechtenstein Financial Market Authority, Authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority. Subject to regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and limited regulation by the Prudential Regulation Authority.

Registered on the Financial Services Register under the firm reference number 454140. 

Once your car has been declared a Total Loss by your motor insurer you can claim on your VRI gap insurance policy.

In the first instance, it's important that you do not accept any settlement figure provided by your motor insurer before speaking to our claims team as this can signficiantly delay the claims process.

For details on how to contact our claims team, please see your policy wording.

The process will usually follow these steps:

1. Contact our friendly claims team
2. FIll in the required claims form and provide requested evidence
3. Our claims team check all the details
4. If approved, your payment will be issued by way of bank transfer

Once your car has been written off (Total Loss), your remaining finance agreement will be paid and the outstanding balance and your financial commitment will come to an end.