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GAP Insurance 123 - Gone Bust ....... Grrrrrr

1.2K views 16 replies 9 participants last post by  Mark Griffiths_95314  
#1 ·
Just had a letter that Gap Insurance 123 who I had a policy with for my car has gone bust.......... Had a letter from the liquidator that there is zero chance of any money back ....

Not the end of the world but £149 wasted....... If I have paid for it by VISA which I probably would have done , can I get a charge back through VISA ?

Never happened to me before and obviously I would like to re cover the car

?????
 
#4 ·
Yes I had that letter to mate about a week and Half ago!!!
The only blessing for me is it was due to run out in April 2017 any way.
Let me know how you get on with visa as I am sure I paid mine that way.
Think I will look into a guaranteed value in insurance next as I have a fair few expensive mods on the car now.
 
#6 ·
Looks like it has affected a couple of companies and I`m sure I wont be the last to get the letter. Obviously nothing is open today so I`ll deal with it tomorrow.

First I`ll see if the broker can swap me onto a new policy

Look at whether I can get another policy despite having owned the car for some time now

If the above is a no go then VISA for a refund or FSA for compo ( which apparently I`m entitled too but wont hold my breath )

@Mr Angry This was not the Ford GAP sold with the car
 
#8 · (Edited by Moderator)
#9 ·
Yep, got the good news yesterday. Paid mine with Credit Card so going to pursue that option plus the FCSC although I'm sure there'll be some small print that they can avoid doing something.

Edited

Also just looked at gapinsurance123 website and would seem things may be ok.

https://gapinsurance123.co.uk/1315/important-information---enterprise-insurance/
This must be new as I didnt see it before today when I checked their website..... Copied and pasted for info :

STATEMENT FROM AEQUITAS AUTOMOTIVE LTD T/A GAPINSURANCE123 REGARDING ENTERPRISE INSURANCE COMPANY PLC

You may have seen details in the press or received a letter in the post from Grant Thornton regarding the liquidation of Enterprise Insurance Company PLC. Enterprise Insurance Company PLC was the underwriting insurer for the GapInsurance123 policies until 22nd July 2016. From that date, any new GapInsurance123 policy has been underwritten by AM Trust International Underwriters Ltd.

Before we explain in more detail, we would like to make the following clear:

  • Your GAP Insurance policy has not been cancelled; it remains live and in place. Claims are currently being processed via Financial Services Compensation Scheme

  • Aequitas Automotive Ltd t/a GapInsurance123 has not gone into liquidation. There is no tie to Enterprise Insurance Company PLC other than they were the original underwriting insurer for GapInsurance123

  • There is a mechanism to transfer the remaining Enterprise underwritten policies automatically to AM Trust International Underwriters (who carry an 'A' credit rating) should the liquidator (as we expect) cancel the Enterprise policies in the coming weeks

Before we provide more details on how this may affect your policy going forward, we would firstly like to stress that your GapInsurance123 policy has not been cancelled at this time. Indeed claims are currently being paid via the same claims administrators at Motorway Direct PLC in Sheffield on behalf of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. The FSCS is the standard protection provided by your insurance policy if the insurer cannot meet their obligations to you. Full details of the FSCS can be found at FSCS.org.uk

Since the FSCS has taken over the claims Motorway Direct PLC, have paid out over £500,000 for the Gap and Warranty schemes they administer on behalf of the FSCS.

The letter that was sent out by Grant Thornton on 11th November was a legal notice to inform you that Enterprise has been placed into liquidation. However what may not have been clear was the situation for your current Gap Insurance policy. The letter does state however that Grant Thornton had only disclaimed policies were those for motor insurance 'road risk' policies and teacher absentee cover. All other policies remain in force and under review at this time. The Financial Services Compensation Scheme continues to process valid claims until further notice.

What happens next?

While we have to stress we cannot speak on behalf of Grant Thornton we can provide details of what has been discussed with ourselves and the options available at this time as we understand them.

While Grant Thornton have already cancelled some motor insurance policies, the same solution is not ideal for all classes of insurance. The mechanism to cancel insurance such as motor insurance is quite simple. It is an annual policy that when a pro rata refund is provided then, you are free to simply buy a new insurance policy.

Gap Insurance is quite different as you normally must buy the policy within a set period of buying the vehicle. If you have had a GapInsurance123 policy for say two years, then you would be unable to buy the equivalent type of cover again in the market today in most cases. For this reason, it would not be ideal for Gap Insurance customers to simply take the route of issuing a refund for the remainder of cover, leaving them with little prospect of replacing that policy.

For that reason, a mechanism has been worked out that would provide an 'en bloc' transfer of all GapInsurance123 policyholders to our new underwriter, AM Trust International, should the liquidator take the step to cancel the Enterprise Insurance cover.

  • This process will be automatic with nothing for you to do
  • The cover will be for a 'like for like' basis matching your original policy terms and remaining period of cover
  • There will be no cost to yourself

Key points of the transfer option

If the liquidator takes this route, then he will go back to court to disclaim the policies, and you will receive a letter detailing this along with a letter confirming your new cover at the same time, as we understand it.

You will also have the option to opt out of the transfer process if you inform Motorway Direct PLC within 14 day period of receipt. A refund will be issued via the FSCS for the remaining premium on a pro rata basis less 10% deducted by the FSCS.

This mechanism has been worked out by the Liquidator of Enterprise (Grant Thornton), the FSCS and Motorway Direct on behalf of GapInsurance123 and would extend to include all Gap policies administered by Motorway Direct in the UK dealer and broker market.

What is the alternative to en bloc transfer?

The alternative route is that the liquidator decides they have sufficient funds to continue to pay any expected claims for the remainder of our policyholders cover and therefore your current policy will remain in place with claims handled by available funds. It is our understanding that, while we cannot confirm for certain, that this second route is highly unlikely.

We do not believe any further options are being considered to the best of our knowledge.

What timescales are involved?

We have not had confirmation when the liquidator may ask the court to cancel the Enterprise policies, but we are lead to believe that the end of the second week of December 2016 is the strongest possible date.

To reiterate if Grant Thornton do cancel the policies then your current GapInsurance123 policy will transfer automatically to AM Trust International under the same policy terms subject to all parties agreement. There will be no change in policy cover, claims procedure and this will come at no cost to our policyholders.

Please accept our apologies for any concerns caused by the letter from Grant Thornton, as we were unaware it was to be sent nor had any prior knowledge of its contents. Please be assured that your policy is still live and that claims will continue to be processed by the FSCS at this time. We expect formal notification of the transfer of your policy will be confirmed in the coming weeks when, as we expect, Grant Thornton cancel the current Enterprise policies.

Please be assured we have been working as hard as we can to ensure a simple and secure solution for all GapInsurance123 policyholders.

We will endeavour to keep our customers updated but please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any further questions or queries.

G123.png
Kind regards

Mark Griffiths
Director

Aequitas Automotive Ltd t/a GapInsurance123
 
#10 ·
My wife spoke to them the other day as she had to update the policy with her private number plate, as we set up the gap insurance on the plate that came with her car.

They basically said that it will get transferred to the other underwriter and the policy will remain. They were trying to get the underwriter to stop sending the letters out as they were doing it in batches of 4 days for example and each time they would get a huge influx of calls from customers concerned about their policies!
 
#11 ·
My wife spoke to them the other day as she had to update the policy with her private number plate, as we set up the gap insurance on the plate that came with her car.

They basically said that it will get transferred to the other underwriter and the policy will remain. They were trying to get the underwriter to stop sending the letters out as they were doing it in batches of 4 days for example and each time they would get a huge influx of calls from customers concerned about their policies!
Yes that makes sense..... Knee jerk reaction on my part as never happened before but it would seem now the weekend is over and some more information has come to light that they want a smooth transfer as much as us ! Just have to wait and see :nice:
 
#12 · (Edited by Moderator)
Just spotted this and to let you know the Gap Insurance 123 website has been updated. The policies are being transferred to a new insurer on 14th December and a letter is going out to confirm this next week. All policies remain covered by the FSCS in the meantime.

Please check the updated information at:

https://gapinsurance123.co.uk/1315/important-information---enterprise-insurance/

To be clear I am the same person you see listed at the bottom of the letter above from the Gap123 website. We don't normally jump into forum threads because we would not want to influence but it is clear the Enterprise situation has caused understandable concern and some confusion. If you have any questions at all please contact our office.
 
#13 ·
Just spotted this and to let you know the Gap Insurance 123 website has been updated. The policies are being transferred to a new insurer on 14th December and a letter is going out to confirm this next week. All policies remain covered by the FSCS in the meantime.

Please check the updated information at:

https://gapinsurance123.co.uk/1315/important-information---enterprise-insurance/

To be clear I am the same person you see listed at the bottom of the letter above from the Gap123 website. We don't normally jump into forum threads because we would not want to influence but it is clear the Enterprise situation has caused understandable concern and some confusion. If you have any questions at all please contact our office.
Well done mate and thanks for the update....... Glad to hear the contingencies work if the wheel falls off and the punters are still covered :nice:
 
#16 ·
Just to confirm what has been listed on our website the policies were all transferred on 14th December. Letters have been sent out all policyholders confirming this and we have attempted to email all our customers too (spam filters permitting). All policy terms remain the same and there is nothing for you to do.

Anyone with any queries at all please contact our office and we will be more than happy to clarify.
 
#17 ·
Buy from a dealer for a reason!!
Of course, it is something we get thrown at us all the time but you may be interested to know that of the 200,000 Enterprise policyholders transferred the majority were for dealer provided products under the AA Warranty brand. Enterprise underwrote a huge amount of Gap Insurance, Warranty and other products in the field through motor dealers and a smaller proportion through online providers as far as I have been told.

As part of our business model we use a number of brands that have policies underwritten by a number of different insurers. We have underwriting with Ageas. AM Trust, Mapfre and more. Having a range gives us flexibility policy terms and premiums (different insurers will have different views on types of vehicle and vehicle use etc) . If you check your dealer policies you will often find they use exactly the same insurers, same claims teams etc as the independent providers they just may be rebranded as 'manuafacturer' or 'dealer' approved.

Of course, people question the price difference but in my view, the question should always be why are dealer products so expensive, not why are online providers so cheap. Gap Insurance claim rates are low and therefore the risk you are covering should not come at a high premium. Because of the volume of customers we have we see claims everyday. Like all insurance, it is a balance of premium against risk. You do pay higher IPT when you buy the policy from the dealer but £400 for Invoice protection on say a £20k car for 3 years? On a 2-3% claim rate that is just too much in my view. Typical online premiums will be £70-£100 for (at least) an equivalent product. That is not just for our brands but also other independent brands in the field. You could also easily find those policies underwritten by the same insurers you find on dealer provided products.

The Enterprise situation has not been great for anyone but the bottom line is that everyone remained on cover and the system provided for a solution to move everyone to a new insurer for a long term solution. The FSCS protection works and this Enterprise situation has proved it. It bought time for the brokers, administrators and insurers to find a new route with as little disruption to policyholders as possible.

I am going to bow out now as I said in my first post I do not get involved in forum debates because I do not want to be seen to influence towards something we may provide. I hope you understand I have jumped in hear to try to bring the correct information to a confusing situation. I just wanted to make the point that Enterprise provided far more policies through motor dealers than they did through online providers from what I have been told so the whole 'dealer/online provider' debate played no part in it in my humble opinion.
 
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