What Does Car Breakdown Cover Include?

Few things bring peace of mind like car breakdown cover. Get the right cover in place and you will have one less thing to worry about if you ever breakdown. You’ll just have to make one call – or one click – and help will be on the way in no time.

But what does car breakdown cover include? In this post we’ll discuss the sort of things breakdown insurance might cover, and the sort of optional extras you could choose for even greater protection.

What are the Different Levels of Breakdown Cover?

We offer a number of levels of breakdown cover from roadside, home start and recovery to onward travel and European cover. All of our breakdown services are provided by the RAC.

RAC Roadside

This covers you for roadside assistance for anywhere that’s a quarter of a mile away or more from your home. If your vehicle can’t be fixed at the roadside, the cover also includes towing for up to 10 miles from your breakdown point. This way, we can take your car to an approved garage, and you can arrange for alternative travel.

Home Start Breakdown Cover

As well as roadside assistance, you can get breakdown assistance from your home address. This means you can get help if, for example, your car won’t start on a cold winter’s morning.

This policy will also cover towing for up to 10 miles from the breakdown point. We’ll either take you and your car to an approved garage, or back home if it’s close enough.

Recovery Cover

As well as RAC Roadside assistance, and as well as Home Start Breakdown Cover, this will provide cover for you, your vehicle, and up to seven passengers to be taken to any single destination in the UK. This could mean we take you home, or it could mean we take you to an onward point of travel.

This form of cover will provide essential support in the event of a breakdown. But it will also come in useful if you, as the driver, are injured or taken ill. If there are no passengers who can drive your vehicle, Recovery Cover can ensure you can all get to where you need to be.

Onward Travel Cover

This will give you the same level of Roadside, Home Start, and Recovery cover as the above three options. But you will also get some additional cover for a number of onward travel options:

A replacement car hire for up to two consecutive days, while you wait for your car to get repaired.
Reimbursement for rail, air, or other public transport fares up to a certain amount as set out in your policy wording.
One night of accommodation in an approved B&B for up to eight people.
Special medical assistance if someone in your travelling party if taken into hospital more than 20 miles from your home address.

European Breakdown Cover

You can also choose for your breakdown cover to extend to overseas driving on continental Europe. You will get all of the breakdown cover specified in the options above. But in addition, if you experience a mechanical breakdown while driving in Europe, you get cover for roadside repairs, for recovery to local garages, for repatriation, and for any additional legal fees that might be incurred.

European Breakdown Cover can also include cover for:

Temporary car replacements
Additional accommodation expenses
Journey continuations, or return journeys
Replacement drivers
Damage or loss of camping equipment
Message relay services
Customs claims

Once you get home, your European Breakdown Cover can cover the collection of your vehicle for repair, if you were forced to leave it abroad. You can also get cover for a replacement car, for any associated legal costs, and for the loss of your no claims discount.

What Sort of Breakdown Cover Do I Need?

We’d advise all drivers to get some form of breakdown cover. You never know what’s going to happen when you’re on the road. But help is there if you need it, and breakdown cover can make roadside assistance as accessible and affordable as possible. Read our full guide to why you should consider breakdown cover.

But what sort of breakdown cover is right for you? It all depends on your needs – what sort of driver you are, and how often you drive.

Obviously, European cover will only be necessary if you ever drive on the continent. But it’s a good option for families, even if you only ever drive through Europe once a year.

If you’re a commuter, or if your car’s your livelihood, then you’ll need the sort of breakdown cover that will give you assistance no matter where you breakdown – whether that’s at home, or on the road. But if you’re only an occasional driver, and if you don’t rely on your car for work, then you might get by with the standard, entry-level RAC Roadside cover.

At Go Girl, we’ve teamed up with the RAC so you can get good breakdown cover as an added extra to your existing car insurance policy.

Get in touch to get a quote in a matter of minutes for adding breakdown cover to your car insurance.