{"id":2419,"date":"2025-12-20T07:28:17","date_gmt":"2025-12-20T07:28:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.way.com\/ask\/?p=2419"},"modified":"2026-04-21T03:21:24","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T03:21:24","slug":"what-is-gap-insurance-on-a-car","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.way.com\/ask\/what-is-gap-insurance-on-a-car\/","title":{"rendered":"What is gap insurance on a car?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The\u00a0difference between your car\u2019s actual cash value and the remaining balance on your loan or lease will be covered, so\u00a0you\u2019re\u00a0not stuck paying out of pocket for a vehicle you no longer have.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559738&quot;:120,&quot;335559739&quot;:120}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 aria-level=\"2\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">How does gap insurance work?<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245418&quot;:true,&quot;134245529&quot;:true,&quot;335559738&quot;:160,&quot;335559739&quot;:80}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Standard insurance covers the actual cash value of your car after the deductible.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559738&quot;:120,&quot;335559739&quot;:120}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Gap insurance kicks in if you still owe money on your vehicle. It pays the remaining loan or lease balance that your regular policy doesn\u2019t cover.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559738&quot;:120,&quot;335559739&quot;:120}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 aria-level=\"2\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">When do you need gap insurance?<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245418&quot;:true,&quot;134245529&quot;:true,&quot;335559738&quot;:160,&quot;335559739&quot;:80}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Gap insurance makes the most sense if your car depreciates fast, you\u2019re on a long-term loan or a lease, or you made a small down payment. It helps you escape from ending up owing thousands on a car that you can\u2019t drive anymore.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559738&quot;:120,&quot;335559739&quot;:120}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Here are some instances where gap insurance\u00a0doesn\u2019t\u00a0cover:<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559738&quot;:120,&quot;335559739&quot;:120}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Rental cars<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559738&quot;:120,&quot;335559739&quot;:120}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Repairs<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559738&quot;:120,&quot;335559739&quot;:120}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Down payments<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559738&quot;:120,&quot;335559739&quot;:120}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Interest or late fees<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559738&quot;:120,&quot;335559739&quot;:120}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The\u00a0difference between your car\u2019s actual cash value and the remaining balance on your loan or lease will be covered, so\u00a0you\u2019re\u00a0not stuck paying out of pocket for a vehicle you no longer have.\u00a0 How does gap insurance work?\u00a0 Standard insurance covers the actual cash value of your car after the deductible.\u00a0 Gap insurance kicks in if&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.way.com\/ask\/what-is-gap-insurance-on-a-car\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">What is gap insurance on a car?<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2419","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-auto-insurance","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>What is gap insurance on a car?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Gap insurance covers the difference between your car\u2019s value and the remaining loan after a total loss. 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