Following the partial collapse of the British car industry during this recession, second hand car values have fallen dramatically meaning the market value of your vehicle if its older than 1 year could be lower than you think.
As far as most insurance companies are concerned the market value of a vehicle is whatever a claims assessor thinks the vehicle is worth if it written off in an accident or stolen and never recovered. Therefore, in some cases car insurance claim payouts maybe less than the finance owed on the car or what was initially paid for the vehicle. This has led to the rise in recent years of gap insurance which covers the difference between what the car insurer values the vehicle at and what was paid out.
There are of course many different types of gap insurance products including Return to Value, Agreed value and so on. The message is clear, however, insurers ultimately decide what your vehicle is worth based on the market value. To determine what your car is worth, look up the value of your car is Glasses Guide or other publications. There are also plenty of online websites which also value your vehicle free of charge.
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