Breakdown Guides

Cheap breakdown cover – top tips

By Victoria Hartley news@consumerchoices.co.uk

Follow these tips to ensure you get the right level of cover when choosing a breakdown policy, so you don’t end up paying for features you don’t need (6/8/09)

Breakdown insurance offers you peace of mind that you won’t be left stranded if you car breaks down, or you are involved in an accident.

There are plenty of options for cover whether you become a member of a club like the AA or RAC, or just sign-up on a “per-claim” basis with a service like Green Flag.

Nowadays, breakdown cover can be offered as an add-on to car insurance, or as an extra with premium or "packaged" bank accounts. But neither of these options is actually cheap if you’re not likely to use the benefits of the particular policy you get.

Our top tips for the cheapest breakdown cover:

Don’t pay for breakdown features you don’t need

Most policies are offered with graduated levels of service, from basic up to gold or premium.

Most basic packages offer UK roadside assistance, vehicle recovery to a local garage, onward transport (to take you where you were going) and a messaging service.

Extras like home start, personal cover or protection for multiple vehicles will generally cost more and you should weigh up whether you feel they are necessary for your circumstances.

Pay and claim

With pay-per-incident insurance, you have to pay the repair costs upfront and then claim them back from your breakdown provider. Average repair costs have been estimated at £390. This may suit you if you are fairly well organised, but if you think you may forget to claim your bills back, it’s a false economy.

And be realistic too. If your car is over 15 years old, paying for an automatic all-singing, all-dancing recovery service like the RAC and AA might suit you better than a pay-per-breakdown insurance policy like Green Flag.

However, if you only drive locally you could find that a simple roadside assistance deal and a local garage would work just as well.

Insure you car, not yourself

You can also just insure the car, instead of yourself, which is marginally cheaper depending on your circumstances. Whether this will suit you depends on whether you need to cover yourself if you regularly drive other cars.

“Personal cover is slightly more expensive, but you can cover more than one car and it offers flexibility for people who car pool,” says Erica Nelson of pay-per-incident recovery service, Green Flag.

Current account perks

Many current account providers, including Barclays, Yorkshire Bank, and Royal Bank of Scotland, offer breakdown cover with their packaged bank accounts. If the cover suits you, they could work out well.

However, the terms and conditions vary and if you need premium breakdown cover, it’s probably worth casting your net wider.

An RAC spokesperson says: “It’s both important that you understand the cover you have and get it to a level that’s right for you.”

Save on European breakdown cover

Don’t fall for the trap of choosing annual European cover unless you’re going to be making multiple trips. If you only plan to holiday there once, buy single trip insurance instead.

Buy a new car

Many new car deals come with free or optional discounted breakdown cover for a year or maybe two. So make sure you ask in the showroom if this type of extra is on the menu.

Insurance deals

Many car insurers will give you a discount on breakdown cover as an additional perk.

As long as you will get or can choose breakdown cover suitable for your needs, special packages like this can work out well.

Buy breakdown cover online

If you compare breakdown cover online, you can find out the range of what’s on offer, weigh up the benefits you need and access online discounts which could slash your costs.

There are plenty of providers including supermarkets like Tesco, traditional insurers like Churchill, Aviva and Saga or specialists like the RAC, the AA and Green Flag.

Recommendations

If price is your main decider when getting breakdown cover, then you should run a breakdown comparison and then look at what you get for your money.

It’s easy enough to add further benefits of your choosing and keep control of the cost.