Here’s an example from Fox Business
For instance: You buy a car that stickers for $24,000 and rolls out the door with taxes and fees for $26,500. You put down only $1,000, sign your financing papers, get a car insurance policy and drive off the lot.
Nearly a year later, your “new car” is totaled out. You file a collision claim with your insurer and find out that the actual cash value of your vehicle is only $19,200. This means after your $500 deductible is taken out, your car insurance company will pay out $18,700 to your lienholder.
You still owe $23,500 on the car, so you’re left with a “gap” of $4,800.
With a gap insurance policy that includes coverage for your deductible, this whole amount would be covered. If you didn’t get gap insurance, you’re left paying the difference out of your own pocket for a car you no longer have – and that hurts, because you’ve got to buy another car, too.
http://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/2011/06/24/what-gap-insurance-does-and-does-not-cover/

- Article on NOLO, Gap Insurance for Your Car: Do You Need It?
- Wikipedia article on GAP Insurance
- Find a local insurance agency
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