What Breakdown Cover Actually Is

Four levels of cover, sold under a dozen different names. Here is what each one actually gets you.

We all want to drive around without any mechanical failure. But it happens, and it certainly helps if you are a member of an organisation that will come out to you wherever you break down, fix what is wrong there and then, and get you home or on your way.

The service started even before the golden age of motoring, with the creation of clubs you joined to learn more about the mechanical side of what you owned. The two oldest are still with us under similar names: the AA, the Automobile Association, and the RAC, which began as the Royal Automobile Club.

Insurance, not a motoring club

The term breakdown cover, used primarily in the UK, refers to an insurance policy that covers you should you need roadside assistance. Insurance is a financial product and is therefore regulated, so the relationship moved closer to the financial side and further away from the motoring clubs these organisations were derived from.

The Royal Automobile Club and the RAC are now two entirely different organisations. The former still survives in Pall Mall, London as an exclusive club; the RAC is a registered insurance company. The AA likewise now sells policies across several areas, including home, travel and pet cover.

The AA and the RAC remain the two largest providers of a roadside service, with Green Flag the notable third. One difference worth knowing: Green Flag operates through a network of independent garages around the country rather than running its own fleet of patrols, which is how the AA and RAC are set up.

Types of service

Basic roadside

All three offer this entry level service, where an engineer will visit your stricken vehicle, normally within an hour, and try to fix it at the roadside. Figures vary between organisations, but as a whole most faults are fixed this way and relatively few need to be towed to a local garage.

Recovery

If you have problems more than around half a mile from your home, the recovery service will first attend and attempt a fix where you are. If it cannot be repaired, then rather than towing you to a local garage, they will put the vehicle on a truck and take it, you and your passengers to any location in the UK.

Home start

None of the above will help you if the fault happens on your own drive or very close to home. Home start is an add-on, usually not sold separately, which deals with starting problems and other complications at your address.

European

Normally bought either for a specific period, such as a fortnight in France, or annually. Cover can be complicated, as terms may differ for every country on the continent based on local conditions, and it may again be a network of garages answering the call rather than the provider's own patrols.

Driver or vehicle?

Policies can be bought either against a named driver, covering everything that person drives, or against the vehicle, covering all drivers. The second is often better where a family shares a car.

Extras

To boost the average sale value there are more advanced policies covering train tickets, accommodation costs and legal bills. Whether that is peace of mind or padding depends on how you use the car.