With a growing number of car insurance write-offs, Robert Sleat, Head of Leasing Brokers and Telesales at Premia Solutions, believes more brokers need to make GAP insurance available to their customers, with products such as Look After My Car.
Why is there a need for GAP insurance?
THE number of cars getting written-off in the UK each year has risen dramatically. In 2017 there were about 380,000 write-offs a year but in 2024 more than 500,000 vehicles were written off, according to the latest DVLA data. That means a car is being written off every 60 seconds.
Separate data from the Office for National Statistics shows that close to 130,000 vehicles are stolen in the UK each year. Cars are getting stolen to order and shipped to different countries. And cars are getting written off after thieves have damaged them while stealing parts like headlights. The image below from X (formerly Twitter) illustrates the point rather too well:
We’re also hearing a lot of customers have had their electric vehicle (EV) written-off even when it’s been in a medium speed accident because there’s a chance the battery has been compromised and the battery is so expensive to replace, and more electric cars are getting written off due to the resale values. So GAP insurance is so needed.
People don’t always appreciate that when their lease car is written off they are still liable for the remaining lease payments and they’ll need to find themselves a new car. They think their insurance will cover the cost but what about the initial rentals they put down? If they have GAP insurance which covers initial rentals, like ours does, they can get that money back.
Tell us about Look After My Car (LAMC)
Look After My Car is an online platform that gives leasing broker customers exclusive offers on a range of insurance products and services specifically designed for drivers of leased vehicles.
Look After My Car launched with the goal of providing access to a menu of products not normally available through leasing brokers, providing a host of supporting benefits to everyone involved.
Membership is free for a broker’s customers and that gives them GAP insurance free for three months, which they can then extend to full cover to include things like a refund of the initial rental, a hire car for up to 30 days and £500 towards their insurance excess in the event of a write-off, and an additional £500 annually towards their insurance excess even for non-write off incidents. In addition, they receive a £500 inconvenience payment if their leased vehicle is written off.
What are the benefits of Look After My Car for brokers?
Firstly, it’s exclusive. Leasing brokers act as passive introducers so aren’t involved in the sale of insurances, they are merely making these products available to their customers.
Secondly, we financially incentivise brokers for providing leads to Look After My Car. They can do that manually with each individual vehicle, or we can supply a spreadsheet for them to complete once a week or they can use an API.
Thirdly, we can potentially reduce the amount of money brokers are spending on trying to get new customers by helping them retain existing customers. For example, we can help prevent customers complaining to brokers about charges from the leasing company at end of contract through our SMART Plus product, which means damage is repaired during the lease. We cover end users for up to 48 months for bodywork damage and 10 alloy wheel refurbishments, and the repairs can be done at their home or workplace.
All the brokers that use Look After My Car are really pleased with it. We’ve had some brokers tell us that their customers who have written off cars have returned to them specifically because they wanted to get GAP insurance again through Look After My Car.
What take-up do you get with your insurance products through Look After My Car?
About 35% of customers tend to take SMART and about 30% take GAP insurance, which are good take-up rates so we know it works. The activation rate is high too – about 79% of customers from different brokers that get asked to activate their Look After My Car Membership do so.
What are your growth aspirations for Look After My Car?
Since we launched, we’ve had about 100 brokers using it and we’d like every car leasing broker in the UK who doesn’t currently make insurance products available to their customers, available through Look After My Car.
We believe that’s achievable as our years of business and regulatory expertise, as well as our excellent customer satisfaction reputation on TrustPilot, means we are a trusted choice for consumers and partners.
How can leasing brokers make Look After My Car available to their customers?
It’s really easy, simply give me a call on 07708 480899 or email robert.sleat@premiasolutions.com. I’m happy to have a chat to discuss any queries a broker may have and whether it would work for them.
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Sarah Tooze has been an automotive journalist for more than 15 years, specialising in the fleet and transport sectors. She has held senior positions at industry-leading B2B titles Fleet News and Smart Transport, and led campaigns championing motorists as consumer editor for online used car marketplace Heycar and motoring advice website HonestJohn.co.uk. In 2017 she won the Newspress Automotive Business Journalist award.
