Best Car Insurance for a Leased Car

A leased vehicle is owned by the leasing company, not you. Lessors universally require higher liability limits than most state minimums (typically 100/300 bodily-injury, 50/100 property-damage), collision and comprehensive with low deductibles (usually $500 maximum), and the leasing company listed as additional insured / loss payee. GAP coverage is nearly always required or implicitly embedded in the lease. The four carriers below meet typical lessor requirements out of the box and file GAP in most states.

Typical lessor requirements

• Bodily-injury liability: 100/300 split limit (sometimes 250/500 on luxury leases).
• Property-damage liability: 50/100 split limit (sometimes 100).
• Collision deductible: $500 maximum (some lessors cap at $1,000).
• Comprehensive deductible: $500 maximum.
• Lessor listed as loss payee on the auto policy declarations.
• GAP coverage: pays the difference between your car's ACV at total-loss time and the remaining lease balance.

Carriers that do NOT file GAP

State Farm, USAA, and American Family are three major mainstream carriers that do not file GAP coverage. If your lessor requires GAP, you cannot satisfy it with the auto policy at these carriers. Options: buy GAP from the dealer at lease signing (one-time flat fee rolled into the lease, non-refundable if you terminate early), or add a separate policy. See GAP coverage for the trade-off.

Insurer GAP vs dealer GAP

• Insurer GAP (via auto policy): typically $20 to $40 per year as an endorsement. Pro-rated if the lease ends. Cheaper over the lease term.
• Dealer GAP (lease-contract add-on): $500 to $700 flat, rolled into the monthly payment. Non-refundable in most states if lease is terminated early. More expensive but included at signing without a separate policy decision.

Related reading

• Leasing a car (situation walkthrough)
• GAP coverage
• Collision coverage
• How to choose coverage limits