Our GAP insurance claims data

 

The headline figures

 

Why we publish two different averages

 

You will notice two figures above that both look like averages. They are not the same thing, and the difference matters.

 

The average settlement of £6,031 is the total amount paid divided by the number of paid claims. Statisticians call this the arithmetic mean.

 

We use “typical settlement” to describe the median. Line all 1,148 settlements up from smallest to largest and it is calculated from the two settlements in the middle of the queue.

 

They differ by nearly £1,600 because GAP settlements are not evenly distributed. Most sit towards the lower end of the range, while a smaller number extend to much larger sums.

 

Only 32 of our paid claims exceeded £20,000, but those larger settlements pull the average upwards and away from where most claims land.

 

We publish both because either figure on its own could give an incomplete picture.

 

Quote only the average and you might reasonably expect a settlement of around £6,000, then feel short-changed by a perfectly normal payment of £3,200. Quote only the median and we would understate the effect of larger settlements, including 210 paid claims of £10,000 or more.

 

Neither figure tells you what your own claim would pay. That depends on your policy, your vehicle and the settlement made by your motor insurer. Together, however, they provide a clearer picture of the range.

 

How much GAP insurance claims actually pay

 

A common misconception about GAP insurance is that it may only pay out a few hundred pounds. Here is what our paid claims actually settled at.

 

Nearly nine in ten of our paid claims settled for four figures or more. Almost one in five paid £10,000 or more.

 

At the other end, roughly one paid claim in ten settled for less than £1,000.

 

These smaller payments can include early claims on cars that have depreciated very little, or policies where an excess contribution forms the main part of the settlement.

 

How often do insurers decline GAP insurance claims?

 

Of all GAP insurance claims reported under policies sold by us since 2019, 1.2% have resulted in a formal decline by the insurer.

 

A formal decline means the insurer reviewed the claim and decided that the circumstances fell outside the cover provided by the policy.

 

Reasons for declining a claim can include the claimant not owning or leasing the vehicle in their own name, or the vehicle being used for an undeclared and ineligible purpose, such as taxi, courier or driving-school work. Other policy conditions and exclusions may also apply.

 

We would rather explain this before you buy than leave you to discover it at the point of claim.

 

Read your policy documents carefully and ask us if anything is unclear. A GAP policy that does not cover your circumstances will not provide the protection you expect, and we would rather tell you that before you pay for it.

 

Typical GAP insurance claim values have almost doubled since 2019

 

This is the change that surprises people most.

 

The table below shows the average and median settlement for each completed calendar year.

 

Settlement values remained broadly stable between 2019 and 2023 before rising sharply in 2024 and remaining at the higher level in 2025.

 

The typical settlement increased from £3,240 in 2019 to £6,096 in 2025, a rise of 88%. Over the same period, the average settlement increased from £4,844 to £7,737, a rise of around 60%.

 

Much of that increase appears to reflect changes in the car market.

 

New car prices rose steeply from 2021 and remained at much higher levels, increasing the invoice values against which many GAP claims are measured. Used-car values rose sharply through 2021 and 2022 before falling back, creating the potential for some motor insurer settlements to sit further below the amount protected by the GAP policy.

 

Broadly, a GAP shortfall is the difference between the motor insurer’s settlement and the amount protected by the GAP policy, such as the original invoice price, replacement cost or lease settlement.

 

A vehicle bought in 2021 or 2022 and written off in 2024 or 2025 therefore had the potential to produce a larger shortfall. That timing coincides with the sharp rise in our settlement figures.

 

The change can also be seen among smaller claims. In 2019, around one paid claim in seven settled for less than £1,000. In 2025, it was around one in eighteen.

 

We have not included an annual figure for 2026 because the year is incomplete and a higher proportion of recently reported claims are still in progress.

 

What this data does not tell you

 

We would rather be clear about the limits of these figures than let them carry more weight than they should.

 

How we compiled these figures

 

The dataset covers every claim reported to us between 1 January 2019 and 18 July 2026. Claims are included according to the date they were reported, regardless of when the policy was purchased.

 

Settlement figures show the total amount paid on each claim. Where a claim resulted in more than one payment, those payments were added together and the claim was counted once.

 

The figures include GAP insurance policies sold through the online brands operated by Aequitas Automotive Ltd during the period, including Total Loss GAP, EasyGAP and GAPInsurance123.

 

Claims still open on 18 July 2026 are recorded in the underlying claims data but excluded from the settlement amounts, averages and payment distribution figures shown on this page.

 

The decline rate is the percentage of all claims reported during the period that resulted in a formal decline by the insurer.

 

We publish these figures because we think a company selling insurance should be willing to show what its insurance does. We update the data periodically.