Breakdown cover offers protection if your vehicle suffers a mechanical breakdown. Let’s have a look at the different types of breakdown cover available to you…
Home Start
Home start breakdown cover helps you if you break down at home or very nearby (usually within a mile or a quarter of a mile, depending on your policy). This type of cover is particularly useful if you have an older car which has done a lot of miles, as these are more likely to experience issues starting up.
Which? 2021 car survey found that 47% of recorded breakdowns happen at home.
Breakdowns can often take place at home because your car is sat idle for longer periods of time, such as overnight.
You can usually add home start breakdown cover as an optional extra to most basic policies. However, it may be unnecessary if you live close to a garage or can tow your own car to one.
Roadside Assistance
Roadside assistance covers car repair at the roadside if it has broken down during a journey. It usually covers towing costs to a local garage if it cannot be fixed there and then.
It may not offer cover if you breakdown at home or close to home, in which case you may wish to consider adding home start breakdown cover to your policy.
National Recovery
This covers the cost of a call out, roadside repair, and towing to any location in the UK. It’s more useful to those who travel a lot for work or who regularly drive long distances.
The average vehicle towing cost in the UK is between £1 and £3 a mile, so being towed a long distance could otherwise be very expensive, especially when factoring in the cost of any repairs on top.
Onward Journey
This type of cover gets you to your intended destination. It may cover a hire car, alternative transportation and even overnight accommodation depended on what’s needed.
This may be very useful if you travel frequently for important work meetings, as it means you can still make it to your meetings and appointments if you breakdown.
European Cover
With European cover, the amount of cover you get depends on what policy you take out with your provider.
If you are just going on holiday to Europe, a single trip policy will likely best suit you. However, if you regularly travel to Europe with your car, it’s certainly worth taking out an annual policy instead.
Optional Extras
Most providers also allow you to add on optional extras to your breakdown cover. These may include things like:
- Key replacement for lost, stolen or broken keys
- Battery replacement
- Tyre replacement for punctured or damaged tyres