Phoenix woman wants company to fill the ‘GAP’

PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) -- Graciela Jacquez looks at pictures of her vehicle and remembers the very day she bought it. “It was a beautiful car. It was black. It had tinted windows and it had a sunroof,” she told On Your Side. But she also has pictures from the day she ran off the road and wrecked it. “We went to the side and went on to the sidewalk, hit a stump and that’s where the crash came from,” she said.

Graciela’s insurance company deemed her truck a total loss. After inspecting the truck, they booked it out for $27,530.69 and paid that amount to her finance company. Unfortunately, though, Graciela says she owes a lot more than just $27,530.69. In fact, she says she owes around $14,000 over what was paid. “The problem is you owe more for the truck than what the value of the truck is,” On Your Side’s Gary Harper asked. “Isn’t that where GAP coverage is supposed to get involved and take over?” Graciela replied, “Yes, that is what we were informed.”

GAP coverage is short for Guaranteed Asset Protection, and Graciela’s GAP policy was issued by a company called Dealer Loyalty Protection. But after filing her GAP claim, Graciela says she’s been waiting six months for Dealer Loyalty Protection to pay off the $14,000 difference she owes for the truck. So, she contacted On Your Side. “I was a little nervous. I was told by a few people to contact you guys. So, I finally emailed you, and you called me,” she said.

On Your Side got a hold of Dealer Loyalty Protection which referred us to their attorney, who said Graciela failed to provide documents, such as a police report to finalize the GAP claim. In an email, he says, “the (insured) did not comply or cooperate with providing all required documents under the policy, and DLP encouraged and contacted her to do so...” It goes on to say they even extended the deadline and “... delayed sending a notice of denial of the claim to afford the insured additional time to meet her obligations.”

However, Graciela maintains that she was never asked for additional paperwork and would have provided it had she been asked. Both Graciela and Dealer Loyalty Protection blame each other for poor and lack of communication with one another.

To avoid pitfalls with your GAP claim, On Your Side recommends handing over your settlement statement, police report and loan contract as soon as you can to your GAP carrier.

As for Graciela, she is now on the hook for paying her finance company the remaining $14,000 and says she’ll never get GAP insurance again. “I don’t know if it’s worth it. When it was explained to me, it sounded really good. But it’s been a real headache,” she explained. Graciela says she has no idea what to do next or how she will pay that $14,000 balance she still owes her finance company. As for the company, their attorney’s entire statement is below.

My client, Dealer Loyalty Protection (“DLP”), offers the following statement for inclusion in your article should you proceed with it:
“DLP has a written policy or contract of insurance with our insured and each party has its respective rights and obligations to follow under such policy. To assist our insureds, DLP sends a welcome letter explaining certain of the insured’s responsibilities and timelines. In addition, DLP also sends weekly follow ups alerting the insured of what has been provided and what remains outstanding from the insured.
Some insured’s lien holders contract with outside entities in order to assist their clients in gathering the required documents required to process a claim under the insurance policy in order to expedite the process. In this instance, DLP’s insured’s lien holder, Ally Financial, contracted with a third party company, Goldfein, who attempted to assist the insured with no success.
DLP’s insured did not comply or cooperate with providing all required documents under the policy and DLP encouraged and contacted her to do so reminding the insured of the obligations she had under the policy. DLP’s contract with the insured clearly states that within 90 days of the incident giving rise to the claim she had to provide DLP with the documentation required under the policy. In good faith, DLP delayed sending a notice of denial of the claim to afford the insured additional time to meet her obligations under the policy, but she failed or refused to provide DLP with the required documentation within the timeframe required under the policy.
As a result, the insured’s claim was denied by DLP.
DLP encourages all of its insureds to cooperate and comply with their required obligations under the policy, and to work cooperatively with DLP’s administrators in an effort to process the insured’s claims timely and efficiently.
DLP’s goal is to achieve excellent customer service which is why DLP afforded the insured additional time to comply with her obligations under the policy before sending the notice denying the claim.”
Thank you for permitting Dealer Loyalty Protection the opportunity to explain what factually occurred in this particular situation.
I am available if you have any further questions and would appreciate you providing me with a copy of any article that you choose to print or air relating to the foregoing.
Thank you.
Dealer Loyalty Protection

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