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Can you renew Gap Insurance as you can with car insurance?

Often we are asked if Gap Insurance can be renewed just like you may do with your car insurance. Here we explain the possibilities of that and what you should be aware of when comparing the two types of insurance.

Car Insurance is an annual policy. Car Insurance policies, at the end of the year, will lapse and you have to renew your car insurance to make sure your vehicle remains legal to drive. As motor insurance is a legal requirement you can find that many will auto renew as the old cover lapses. This is to make sure there is no break in cover. Can you renew Gap Insurance

What is auto renewal with a car insurance policy?

When you get towards the end of a car insurance policy your current insurer will normally send you a renewal notice. As part of this process, your current insurer will also provide you with a renewal premium to take out a further years cover with that provider.

By providing a renewal notice, plus the cost of a further years cover, this allows you to shop around and make sure that the policy and premium offered is the most suitable for your needs.

Often also part of this process is a mechanism to auto renew with your current insurer if you do not notify them, within a set time frame of your current policy expiring, that you do not wish to take up their offer of further cover. If you do not provide notification that you do not wish to remain with your current car insurer then your policy will auto renew at the expiry of the current cover.

Even if a policy does auto renew you should still have your statutory cooling off period, during which time you can cancel the policy. However, you may face some fee deduction if you do so. You may find a 14 day cooling off period in place with the car insurance, shorter than the 30 day cooling off period provided with many Gap Insurance products.

Does Gap Insurance auto renew at the end of the policy term?

Gap Insurance usually differs from car insurance in one clear way - whilst car insurance policies are annual (ie they last for one year at a time) Gap Insurance is set for a multiyear term. This could be anywhere between 2 and 5 years.

When your Gap Insurance policy expires there is normally no option to extend or renew the same level of cover you had before. Therefore, your Gap Insurance cover does not have a need to automatically renew at the end of the term. This means that autorenewals are not a feature of Gap Insurance cover.

Further to this, do not expect to get a renewal notice from your Gap Insurance provider either. Your Gap cover will simply expire at the end of your period of cover.