Anyone who travels by car regularly sould decide to seriously consider a breakdown cover policy. Unless a driver is a mechanic themselves with tools in the boot, they are unlikely to be able to deal with a major breakdown. Suffering a mechanical failure in the middle of the night on a deserted road is never a pleasant proposition. Without breakdown cover it’s a potential nightmare, so a policy can at the very worst provide peace of mind while driving.
Cover now goes far beyond the likes of well-known firms such as the Automobile Association and a wide range of recovery and repair specialists are offering breakdown services. As with insurance, what someone gets for their money varies from one provider to another. Many car insurance firms will also offer breakdown as an extra on a policy, for an additional fee on top of the premium, although these will not always necessarily provide the best value.
Working out how a company prices their cover system can help someone save money – some will cover the person regardless of what vehicle they are in and some will only apply if the person in question is driving a particular car. A few breakdown firms will provide prices which are just based on the type of car while others will provide a more insurance-type fee scheme, judging a vehicle’s age, mileage and frequency of use.
Most breakdown firms run a network system where their on-call patrols simply attend to a problem by the roadside and then, if necessary, tow the car to a nearby garage. This means a minimum of fuss but can be a little more expensive than some alternatives. Some firms operate policies which see customers call out local recovery experts to be towed to a garage – they then claim back the cost from their breakdown provider. This involves a little more trouble and perhaps a little less peace of mind, but can involve cheaper membership costs.
As with insurance firms, some breakdown companies will offer no claims discounts, cutting the cost of membership for people who have not had to make a call out. Some companies will also offer very cheap membership deals to people driving very new cars. As with insurance policies, potential customers should look carefully at what is included in their breakdown cover. Cheaper membership fees usually give a basic level of cover involving any roadside repairs and recovery to the nearest garage. Pricier memberships will involve home assistance, which will see a mechanic come out to help if a vehicle fails to start at home, while others will recover a vehicle and take its occupants to a location anywhere in the UK – useful for anyone travelling far away from home regularly.
What type of breakdown cover is relevant to a person depends very much on their circumstances – someone who usually drives only a short distance to work, not far from home, is unlikely to need the level of cover a travelling salesman might need, for example. Pay and claim policies can be a good bet for those looking to save money rather than get the most comprehensive level of cover.