I am planning a driving holiday with my family but do not have any breakdown insurance. Am I tempting fate by driving without breakdown cover?
Fate is not the issue; arithmetic is. A roadside call-out paid on the day from an independent recovery operator costs more than a year of basic cover, and a recovery from 200 miles away costs several times that. With a family in the car you would also be paying for a hotel or a train. One incident on one holiday costs more than years of cover.
For a long trip the level that matters is national recovery — roadside-only cover leaves the car at a garage near the breakdown and leaves you to get home. If you want the holiday to continue regardless, add onward travel for a hire car and overnight accommodation.
Buy it at least 24 hours before you leave, because every policy has a waiting period and some apply a longer one to recovery. Then spend ten minutes on our long-journey checklist, which deals with the faults that cause most holiday breakdowns before they happen.
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