Gap car insurance coverage through Liberty Mutual: prices and policies

If you have the need for the unique coverage provided by a GAP car insurance plan, you might be surprised at the affordability of coverage available through Liberty Mutual car insurance. The insurer does not actually offer Guaranteed Auto/Asset Protection or GAP insurance in the more traditional form offered by other insurers. They do offer two options that can act as a reasonable alternative to GAP: Liberty Mutual’s Better Car Replacement and Liberty’s New Car Replacement coverage..

Liberty Mutual's unique approach

Liberty Mutual car insurance's Better Car Replacement option was created as a way to outdo the traditional loan/lease GAP and new car replacement coverage that the many other car insurance companies offer. Considering the coverage it offers and the rates and discounts you can get through Liberty Mutual, it's no wonder this option is gaining popularity among car buyers and drivers.

When you buy a new car, truck or SUV, its market value can begin to depreciate, in some cases very quickly. This can become a problem from an insurance coverage standpoint because coverage limits and payment amounts are typically set against whatever the cash or market value of your car is at the time of any covered event. According to both the Insurance Information Institute and the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA), a new car can lose as much as 30 percent of its original “value” in just 18 months of ownership.

You can get free quotes on GAP car insurance policies

If you happen to have borrowed money for a new car, or if you have taken out a lease on a new car, depreciation can present a very sticky challenge in the even you suffer a serious accident or even a total loss of the vehicle. This is where a traditional GAP car insurance policy would protect you. GAP insurance covers the difference in price between the depreciated value of the new vehicle and whatever balances are still due on the loan or lease of the covered car.

The Better Car Replacement option

While Liberty Mutual doesn’t offer a straight-up GAP option, you may find its Better Car Replacement can do the trick…and then some. With this option, and in the event of a total loss of your car, Liberty Mutual will give you the money not just for a replacement car, but for a car that is one model year newer with 15,000 fewer miles than your covered car. For example, if you have a 2012 vehicle with 35,000 miles on it and are involved in a total-loss accident, Liberty Mutual will give you the money for a 2013 model with 20,000 miles on it.

How would this work to address the same need a more traditional GAP option would? If you happen to have a car loan on a newer car and you wind up in an accident that totals the car, the Better Car Replacement could kick in to balance out the loan when you go to get a replacement vehicle (as long as you are under the mileage requirements.)

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There are some additional considerations you’ll want to address if you want to add this option. For one, you will need to have both collision coverage and comprehensive coverage added to your Liberty Mutual car insurance policy in order to add the Better Car Replacement option. This added coverage does not apply if you are leasing your car. (In these cases, you may want to explore the options for GAP coverage offered by the leasing company.)

The new vehicle replacement option

If you’re a Liberty Mutual car insurance customer and you want GAP-like coverage for a bit less than the Better Car Replacement option, you may want to look into Liberty’s New Car Replacement feature. This is a standard feature offered on Liberty Mutual auto policies. If your car is totaled in the first year, you'll get the money for a brand new car, not just the depreciated value. As with the Better Car Replacement option, you will have to have both collision coverage and comprehensive coverage added to your. The deductibles for both of those options applies, and coverage is for:

• Cars less than one year old
• Cars that have not been previously owned
• Cars with less than 15,000 miles on them

(Leased autos and motorcycles are excluded. New car replacement coverage is not available in North Carolina and Wyoming.).

Compare your options

If you want to determine whether this program is superior to most other insurance company's GAP car insurance coverage, Liberty Mutual prices aren't the only thing you should look at. In addition to some very competitive pricing options, Liberty Mutual offers a growing number of car insurance discounts you may apply for.

Most insurance experts will tell you that if you put less than a 20 percent payment down when you buy a new vehicle, then you should add some type of GAP insurance to your car insurance policy. The cost of this coverage is small compared to how much it would cost to replace your vehicle if you were involved in a crash and you didn't have GAP car insurance or something like Liberty Mutual's Better Car Replacement coverage. You could also find yourself adding insult to injury by having a totaled car settlement that leaves you with a big gap when it comes to having anything left to put toward a new car. Or worse, you get a settlement and you still owe money on a loan or lease.

(This guide can show you all the car insurance options you'll find with Liberty Mutual)

If you are unsure of whether your particular circumstances warrant the addition of GAP car insurance, you may be well served to speak with a licensed insurance agent with access to leading companies like Liberty Mutual. An agent will be able to answer all of your questions and even show you a variety of policies and packages. Reply! can put you in touch with insurance agents in your area who will be able to help you get just the right coverage in place.