In a highly anticipated decision regarding the treatment of Guaranteed Asset Protection (“GAP”) under the Military Lending Act (“MLA”), a federal appellate court has ruled that a hybrid loan that finances GAP coverage along with a motor vehicle purchase is exempt from the MLA’s restrictions. The 2-1 decision on April 12, 2023 by the U.S.… Continue Reading
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Credit unions settle GAP fee refund cases with Colorado Attorney General
On January 4, 2023, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser announced settlements with two state-chartered credit unions, Bellco Credit Union (“Bellco”) and Canvas Credit Union (“Canvas”), over Guaranteed Automobile Protection (commonly referred to as Guaranteed Asset Protection, or “GAP”) refunds. An investigation conducted by the Consumer Protection Section of the Colorado Department of Law found that the credit unions were not refunding GAP fees owed to consumers under state law. … Continue Reading
New California laws place limits on GAP insurance
Two recently-passed bills in California, Assembly Bill 2311 (“AB 2311”) and Senate Bill 1311 (”SB 1311”), were signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom on September 13 and September 27, respectively, placing new restrictions on the sale of Guaranteed Asset Protection (“GAP”) waivers in California. The new laws limit the price of GAP waivers, add new disclosure requirements, ban GAP waiver sales in certain instances, and prohibit financing of GAP insurance in auto loans to servicemembers.… Continue Reading
Industry continues efforts seeking withdrawal of Department of Defense MLA interpretation on GAP insurance financing
Early last year, several trade groups, including the National Automotive Dealers Association (NADA), sent letters petitioning the Department of Defense (DoD) to rescind or withdraw Question and Answer #2 (Q&A 2) from its 2016 interpretative rule for the Military Lending Act (MLA) final rule and its December 2017 amendments. Q&A 2 has generated much uncertainty regarding application of the MLA’s exemption for purchase money transactions that also finance the purchase of GAP insurance. … Continue Reading
Scrutiny of campus financial products grows
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has joined the CFPB’s call for more transparency in the area of campus financial products. Last week, the GAO issued a report on college debit cards in which the GAO recommended that Congress consider requiring financial institutions that provide debit and prepaid card services to colleges to publicly disclose their agreements. … Continue Reading