Industry group backs bill to regulate vehicle debt-waiver (GAP) products; committee heard consumer-protection provisions

Travis Moore, general counsel for the Guaranteed Asset Protection Alliance, asked the Joint Committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure to report House Bill 416 and Senate Bill 281 favorably. Moore said the bills would create clear statutory requirements for vehicle-debt-waiver products commonly known as GAP (guaranteed asset protection) and similar financial-protection contracts.

Moore described GAP as a product that covers the deficiency balance on a vehicle loan after a total loss or unrecovered theft when the primary insurer’s payout does not satisfy the loan balance. He said Massachusetts is among a small number of states without clear statutory rules for offering these voluntary products and that the bills would require a 30‑day free‑look period, standardized contract disclosures, and a rule that financing or sale of a vehicle cannot be conditioned on the purchase of the GAP product.

Moore said industry participants support consumer protections such as contract liability insurance or other financial assurances to back products. The committee heard the testimony but did not vote on the bills at the hearing.