Euro Breakdown cover

[Freeley]

Lots of things to sort out prior to our swiss jaunt, one of which being getting some breakdown cover now our cali has passed the 3 year old stage.
Got a quote from the AA of nearly £200 i'm not a member which makes it more expensive i think.
Got a quote on one of the comparison sites, they were coming in from around the £60 mark for the year, cheapest were Green Insurance Company and Kwik Fit Insurance. Various exclusions though like no cover in the first 24 hours ??????
Green did say they get someone to you in 40 minutes which would be a vast improvement on the 2 hours+ the RAC managed when i broke down 10 miles from home in my work van last year, but i'm unsure if these companies are reliable, particularly when abroad.

I know most of you lot have got shiny new vans which breakdown cover included but can anyone make any recommendations please? Don't want to spend a fortune but don't want to cut corners either :?

Cheers.

 

[Martin]

I think most of them use the same network once you are abroad, just make sure they have a good UK switchboard, someone I know used a company called quoteline and got an AXA based service for under £60 per year, this worked out cheaper than having a 30 day policy added to their RAC cover

http://www.quotelinedirect.co.uk/breakdown/?INRN

 

[Freeley]

Thanks Martin i've followed your link and was doing a quote, but as seems to be the case with a lot of these companies it's saying that there is no cover for the first 5 days abroad, which is a bit worrying seeing as i'll be doing 2 days of travelling to start with.
Not sure why they say this?

 

[Martin]

I can't see why that would be Jason :? it defeats the whole object of the cover, however on the the AA website it says:

European breakdown cover is valid for your entire trip ie: from the moment you leave home to the moment you return home

Here are their T&C https://www.theaa.com/european-breakdow ... e-2011.pdf

It might be worth having a call round to clarify what they mean.

 

[Graham]

Look at insurance based policies. You claim back costs after the event. Much cheaper than rac etc

 

[Hubert]

Freeley
Are you sure you're not misreading the policy terms?

I know some policies don't kick in until you've held it for a period of time. They do this to prevent people taking out a policy after they've broken down.
Might be woth talking to their advisors.

Just a thought, you may have already done this.

 

[Californiaman]

I've been using http://www.autoaidbreakdown.co.uk/ for a number of years now. £38. You pay the breakdown people and claim the money back. I've done this on the basis that my cars are pretty decent, tried and tested etc!

I have just renewed the cover - I didn't look in detail at the cover for motorhomes as mine is still covered by VW. I would recommend them highly but double check the cover.

I have only had cause to call them once when my Outback died after a convert (coincidentally in a carpark in Northampton that was (unknown to me) famous as a dogging venue) the agent they sent was one that the RAC would have used and I was refunded very quickly.

I fell foul of the RAC a few years ago during an improptu European tour on a motorbike. It was very last minute. I ended up making the call to add breakdown cover from somewhere near Millau. They wouldn't cover me - despite my having been a member for 23 years and only having called them twice. No amount of common sense arguments would sway them so I canceled the cover straight away - I was very disappointed with them.

 

[Harrythecat]

We use these people:

http://www.rescuemycar.com/Breakdown/

They do a number of packages including multi vehicle, European, and home. Our current policy covers all our vehicles (Cali, car, two motor bikes) UK and Europe including home breakdown for just under £155. Obviously cheaper for single vehicle policies.

We've used them several times for the bikes, although not in Europe so far. Service has been through local agents and without any problems. They've been happy to transport the vehicle home if the dealer is closed, and then pick it up and take it on to the dealer later.

 

[Staxtoncali]

We have cover as part of our Safeguard vehicle insurance policy. During our month tour of france in August we needed recovery and had a recovery vehicle within an hour and a half. We were loaded onto the back of the large truck and trundled off 20 miles to a garage. The recovery centre kept us up to date whilst waiting and we had no problems. Vehicle was fixed within an hour and we were on our way again. Happy Customer.

 

[barry]

We have cover as part of our Safeguard vehicle insurance policy. During our month tour of france in August we needed recovery and had a recovery vehicle within an hour and a half. We were loaded onto the back of the large truck and trundled off 20 miles to a garage. The recovery centre kept us up to date whilst waiting and we had no problems. Vehicle was fixed within an hour and we were on our way again. Happy Customer.

This is good to hear for we have the same insurance cover from SafeGuard.
We took it to France for 4 months last year and we're going to Spain-Portugal in May.
We've also had it to all of the inner and outer hebrides and west coast of Scotland but not had to use it.
My son had a flat a few months back (outside his place in Glasgow) and couldn't get the wheel off so got the insurance guys in (65 mins to arrive) who had a terrible job getting it off but worked in the end.

 

[Freeley]

Freeley
Are you sure you're not misreading the policy terms?

I know some policies don't kick in until you've held it for a period of time. They do this to prevent people taking out a policy after they've broken down.
Might be woth talking to their advisors.

Just a thought, you may have already done this.

Yeah possibly puberty :smile
Been busy with work today so not had chance to ring anybody but tomorrow morning I'll be on the case need to get this sorted asap

Thanks for all the replies

 

[Freeley]

I can't see why that would be Jason :? it defeats the whole object of the cover, however on the the AA website it says:

European breakdown cover is valid for your entire trip ie: from the moment you leave home to the moment you return home

Here are their T&C https://www.theaa.com/european-breakdow ... e-2011.pdf

It might be worth having a call round to clarify what they mean.

Freeley
Are you sure you're not misreading the policy terms?

I know some policies don't kick in until you've held it for a period of time. They do this to prevent people taking out a policy after they've broken down.
Might be woth talking to their advisors.

Just a thought, you may have already done this.

Have just rung Quoteline Direct and as you suggest i was misreading the terms - what they meant was that the policy wouldn't come into effect for 5 days from taking it out as you say puberty.
So have done the business.

Cheers for the recommendation Martin

 

[Martin]

No probs, hope you dont need to use it and who us puberty ? :lol:

 

[Freeley]

Puberty is hubert
Comes up as that on the predictive text seemed funny to me!

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