Breakdown Cover
Breakdown is a major inconvenience to
anyone, and without adequate breakdown
insurance it can be very costly. Today,
there are a whole host of breakdown and
recovery companies offering varying levels
of cover. To help you, we have compiled a
complete breakdown and recovery comparison
guide, giving you all the information you
need to make an informed choice.
Compare all the leading UK breakdown
providers, to ensure you are covered if you
breakdown. The table above allows you to
compare the various covers levels available,
so that you can get the most suitable policy
for you.
Cheapest Breakdown Cover
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Guide to Breakdown Cover
You might not realise how much you rely on
your car until it breaks down, and not
having cover can mean missing important
meetings, being stranded on the hard
shoulder far from home and hefty recovery
and repair costs.
Automatic service
This is the traditional, better known type
of cover where you pay a set fee and if you
have a problem then they will send out one
of their own fleet to provide assistance.
This type of service is the most common, but
it is also the more expensive of the two.
People often want to stick to what they know
and opt for a trusted supplier such as the
AA, but this can be costlier.
Pay and Claim
Most people haven’t heard of this type of
cover. Pay and Claim companies – such as GEM
– don’t have their own patrols so when
there’s a problem they use a local company
to provide you with assistance.
This is a cheaper option and you can get
full cover too. The only real drawback is
that you have to pay for the pickup and
repairs yourself – you then invoice your
provider who will refund the money.
You or the car
Another crucial difference in breakdown
cover is whether you want to be insured or
if you want to insure the car itself. If you
take out breakdown cover on a car (offered
by The AA, Green Flag, Breakdown Direct, RAC),
whoever is insured to drive the car will be
able to get roadside assistance.
If you get yourself covered instead (offered
by GEM, RAC, The AA), then you will be able
to get assistance in any car that you’re
insured to drive – so if you have more than
one car it might be cheaper to get yourself
covered.
On the other hand, if you have two cars but
more than one person drives them, then
covering each car could be cheaper.
Old and trusty?
If you’ve had your old Rover for a good few
years you might find that it’s more
difficult or more expensive to get breakdown
cover. Breakdown cover is not designed to
work as maintenance for your car and because
older cars are more likely to break down,
the majority of providers will issue a
surcharge for an older car – usually 10
years and over.
Call out limits
Some providers have limits on how many times
you can claim in a year – from as few as
four times – so check the details of your
policy before you sign up, especially if you
have an older car that’s more likely to
break down. The AA and RAC have call out
limits of up to 6 and 7 times per year
respectively.
Most will also offer a “no claims bonus” of
the type given with insurance, where you can
save on the following year’s cover if you
haven’t made a claim, see below:
The AA
Green Flag
RAC
Recovery
While even the most Basic Breakdown Packages
will try to fix your car roadside, and take
it to a garage for fixing if they can’t get
it started, where they take it will depend
on the level of cover that you have. Basic
Package prices below:
Green Flag - From £25
The AA - From £32.50
RAC - From £33
Compare Basic Breakdown Cover
A cheaper package will mean that your
vehicle will be towed to a garage usually
within around 10-15 miles of where you broke
down which can be a real problem if you’ve
broken down far from home as you’ll then
have to stay in the area or return to
retrieve your car.
As you get to the more Comprehensive
Packages, you’ll find that they will tow
your car to a destination of your choice
(within reason). And while this might be the
more expensive option, it could save you a
lot of hassle at an already stressful time.
Compare Comprehensive Breakdown Packages.
Courtesy car
You should check whether or not you will be
provided with a courtesy car if yours breaks
down. Policies today tend to have numerous
“tiers” and add-ons, so if yours doesn’t
offer this, you might be able to pay a
little extra if it’s something that you
think you’ll need. Some companies will also
provide a relief driver with a courtesy car
if you’re unable to drive for any reason.
Onward travel
There’s never a convenient time to break
down, but if you absolutely have to be
somewhere then you want a policy that will
get you there. The more expensive packages
will offer you either a courtesy car to
continue your journey, will provide train
tickets or even cover the cost of
accommodation if necessary.
Close to home
The type of cover you purchase will also
affect where you will get support. Many
providers will only assist you a certain
distance from your home – usually further
than between a ¼ of a mile and five miles.
Others will provide assistance at your home
so if your car won’t start in the morning,
they’ll still come out to get you started.
Make sure you know the details of your
policy before signing up in case this isn’t
included but you think you’ll need it.
Excess
Make sure that you know exactly what you’re
covered for and whether you’ll have to pay
an excess on anything. Breakdown policies
don’t tend to cover any garage work so make
sure that you’re aware of this before you
agree to costs.
European cover
If you need to drive on the continent then
you should think about being covered there
too – you don’t want to breakdown in a
country where you don’t speak the language.
If you travel to Europe regularly then you
could take out cover that includes Europe,
otherwise, some providers offer European
Cover as an add-on when you need it.
Other ways to save
As well as shopping around for the best
value, you might be able to save more money
by buying online – some providers offer
discounts of as much as 25 per cent. You
should also check to see if your car
insurance provider offers breakdown cover
too as you might be able to get a discount
from them.
New cars often come with a year’s free
breakdown cover so if you’ve just bought a
car, check before buying cover as you could
end up paying for something you already
have.
When you take out your cover, do look into
both pay & claim and automatic policies
since shopping around is the best way to
find the right deal for you. If you see a
deal that looks great but is from a company
you haven’t heard of, look them up on the
internet – you might be able to find
customer reviews or parent companies that
you’re familiar with.
You shouldn’t feel that going for the most
expensive policy is the way to get the best
cover – taking out a package that provides
European cover and accommodation when you
only ever drive close to home is just a
waste of money.