European Breakdown Cover
Discussion
over_the_hill said:
Planning a trip for a week.
Any recommendations ?
The main players seem to be quoting about £90. Is this the going rate. (That's almost as much as my full year here in the UK)
Thanks
I was due to travel to the French Alps and had purchased European Breakdown cover. 1 week before travel my car was written off and had to take an insurance hire car. The hire car co. refused to accept anything other than AA European Cover, they said it was by far the most comprehensive - my memory is hazy, but possibly something to do with returning a crashed car or that they will recover to the UK home address. They absolutely refused to deviate and I had to buy new cover.Any recommendations ?
The main players seem to be quoting about £90. Is this the going rate. (That's almost as much as my full year here in the UK)
Thanks
Possibly worth investigating the variances in cover provided by the companies, as their opinion was that they are definitely not all the same.
Worth looking at the type of cover you will get, not just the cost. Repatriation times can far exceed stated timeframes in busy periods of the year with a lot of suppliers. Depends how quickly you need your car back in the event it all goes wrong, or if they'll supply you with a hire car in the meantime.
I am currently in Europe and used Green Flag. Good reviews and for some reason they were a fraction of the price of others for a two week trip. In fact, they were so cheap that I bought an annual policy for £80.
I haven't broken down so far, so can't comment on that but the terms met what I wanted and the price was a bargain.
I haven't broken down so far, so can't comment on that but the terms met what I wanted and the price was a bargain.
911Spanker said:
Is cheap the right way to go? It's only £90 so barely a dinner.
For me, they offered the same terms I wanted (especially repatriation if the car couldn't be fixed) as the more expensive options. And the reviews I found were positive, including people who had broken down. I wouldn't choose just based on price but there seemed to be nothing that AA / RAC offered that justified the significant difference. I'm also aware of somebody who did need repatriation from one of them recently (although I can't remember which of them it was) and it was not a good experience, so they are definitely not guaranteed to be great.
I’d second the nationwide account- I have one solely for this and the included phone and travel insurance- £18 a month is £216 a year and if you have a small amount in the account you get a share of their profits every year- as a joint account my wife and I get £100 a year, so £16 a year for all the benefits!
I’d second the nationwide account- I have one solely for this and the included phone and travel insurance- £18 a month is £216 a year and if you have a small amount in the account you get a share of their profits every year- as a joint account my wife and I get £100 a year, so £16 a year for all the benefits!
I also use the Nationwide account for this cover but so far never had to use it in Europe.
As I have a separate Hire Car Excess policy through Bettersafe I decline the expensive insurance at the car hire desk which usually means the Recovery is not included if the hire car breaks down. According to google my AA policy through Nationwide would cover the recovery of a hire car in Europe but just wondered if anyone has had real experience of this scenario?
As I have a separate Hire Car Excess policy through Bettersafe I decline the expensive insurance at the car hire desk which usually means the Recovery is not included if the hire car breaks down. According to google my AA policy through Nationwide would cover the recovery of a hire car in Europe but just wondered if anyone has had real experience of this scenario?
I'd third the nationwide account - I also opened one just for the breakdown 
They recently had an offer of £175 for new accounts so almost paid for the first year for free!
My car recently tipped over the 10 year mark which either excludes it from euro breakdown policies or increases the price a lot. I had quotes near £200 for a one off trip so the nationwide at £18x12 for all year breakdown was a no brainer.. Especially as it's a JLR product
They recently had an offer of £175 for new accounts so almost paid for the first year for free!My car recently tipped over the 10 year mark which either excludes it from euro breakdown policies or increases the price a lot. I had quotes near £200 for a one off trip so the nationwide at £18x12 for all year breakdown was a no brainer.. Especially as it's a JLR product
I fifth the Nationwide FlexPlus account!
Whilst I've not had to use the breakdown cover on the Continent, I've had them out to four separate issues (burst brake pipe, van fail to start, detached driveshaft and seized handbrake) with no issues at all. The lack of restrictions on the cover is a win for me. They have no issues with driving tuition or modified cars.
We've got it as a joint account, so for £18 a month it is a bargain
And we've had over £300 back from them in the 4.5 years we've had the account
Whilst I've not had to use the breakdown cover on the Continent, I've had them out to four separate issues (burst brake pipe, van fail to start, detached driveshaft and seized handbrake) with no issues at all. The lack of restrictions on the cover is a win for me. They have no issues with driving tuition or modified cars.
We've got it as a joint account, so for £18 a month it is a bargain
And we've had over £300 back from them in the 4.5 years we've had the account
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