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Original poster

Breakdown Cover Question - as part of car insurance or separate

13 replies

BodegaSushi · 05/06/2023 13:14

I feel really silly asking this, but the wording confuses me.

I'm due to renew my car insurance. First year I added RAC breakdown separate through them (and actually ended up using it once) and paid I think about £10 a month. The next year I took out a policy that had RAC cover as an add-on for an extra £30 which I thought was a bargain so did it that way. Didn't need to use it so no issues.

I'm up for renewal again and paying really close attention to wording and I'm confused. The car insurance I'm looking at has £320 compulsory excess. When I go to the page to select a policy, I've got a 'basic' one and one that is 'RAC breakdown', so essentially the same cover but with the added breakdown feature. It's again about £40 to add it on, as opposed to near £100 through the RAC.

This is where the confusions lies: both policies a clearly state the £320 excess at the top, but what I'm not sure is, if I opt for the breakdown add-on, does this mean I pay £320 if I call out for a tow with the RAC?

I'm sorry if this seems obvious to some, but when I click the 'info' button next to the excess, it just states a generic 'paid for any claims' info. So am I to assume that that would include a call to the RAC?

Because if that's the case I'm clearly better off paying the £100 directly to RAC, as it doesn't have any excess.

Thanks if you read and can help me! I'm still a fairly new car owner and sometimes find navigating T&Cs a minefield

OP posts:
confusedlots · 05/06/2023 13:22

No the excess doesn't apply to the breakdown cover, but check what the breakdown cover includes exactly. I had breakdown cover with my insurance and had to use it last year. Mine covered minor repairs at the roadside eg replacing a flat tyre, anything more complex they just towed it to a maximum of 20 miles I think. So I got it towed to a garage. I didn't pay anything for being towed and just paid the repair bill myself directly with the garage

Original poster
BodegaSushi · 05/06/2023 13:26

confusedlots · 05/06/2023 13:22

No the excess doesn't apply to the breakdown cover, but check what the breakdown cover includes exactly. I had breakdown cover with my insurance and had to use it last year. Mine covered minor repairs at the roadside eg replacing a flat tyre, anything more complex they just towed it to a maximum of 20 miles I think. So I got it towed to a garage. I didn't pay anything for being towed and just paid the repair bill myself directly with the garage

Yeah that was my experience but as an arrangement directly with RAC. It covered more than what comes with it included as an add-on, but I was left 90mins on a quiet road late at night in winter, I couldn't turn my car on at all and the Tesco I'd been taking shelter in closed at 11. I was very lucky that an amazing friend came to let me wait in her warm car while we waited a further 45 mins for them to turn up. So I wasn't impressed considering I'd paid more for it so figured might as well get shit service for half the price.

But the excess is what made me pause.

OP posts:
whatdoidonowffs · 05/06/2023 13:49

Check your cover includes recovery /relay to home or destination of your choosing
some companies will charge to upgrade and then charge up to £4.50 per mile
you don’t have to be far from home for it to start costing alot of money

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Original poster
BodegaSushi · 05/06/2023 16:54

Thanks all for advice and clarification. On looking at the wording of my current policy documents it's not clearer that the excess covers things like theft and damage.

OP posts:
LidlOrAldi · 05/06/2023 18:43

My advice is to buy breakdown cover separate from your car insurance.
Look at money saving expert for advice, you can get better cover than RAC for much less.

CantFindTheBeat · 05/06/2023 19:09

Do you have a paid bank account, OP?

You might find you get breakdown cover through that.

Original poster
BodegaSushi · 05/06/2023 22:01

BodegaSushi · 05/06/2023 16:54

Thanks all for advice and clarification. On looking at the wording of my current policy documents it's not clearer that the excess covers things like theft and damage.

Omg I meant it's now* clearer 🙄

OP posts:
Original poster
BodegaSushi · 05/06/2023 22:01

CantFindTheBeat · 05/06/2023 19:09

Do you have a paid bank account, OP?

You might find you get breakdown cover through that.

I do, and never occurred to me that I might. I'll check, thanks

OP posts:
Original poster
BodegaSushi · 05/06/2023 22:05

LidlOrAldi · 05/06/2023 18:43

My advice is to buy breakdown cover separate from your car insurance.
Look at money saving expert for advice, you can get better cover than RAC for much less.

I'll compare both carefully. 'Luckily' when I broke down that time I was within the radius to get the tow home, although I opted to send it to garage as I wasn't sure the truck would fit on the road to my flat (annoyingly just before there entrance in a parking spot and it can be very narrow when a car is parked there) and the guy took it back to his garage and brought it the following day to my mechanic.

OP posts:
CoffeeBeansGalore · 05/06/2023 23:12

Green flag is cheaper than both RAC & AA. Offers very similar cover. Worth looking at.

Thisisbollocksmark · 05/06/2023 23:24

90 minutes is a pretty ordinary time for a breakdown. There is no company that's going to guarantee they can get out to you immediately. It depends entirely on where you are, what the issue is, weather conditions, and the availability of a breakdown truck.

It really depends what kind of cover you want. If you want onward travel, if you want cover within a certain radius of your house etc.

The RAC are pretty decent in my professional experience. Same with the AA and Green Flag.

I use the AA myself. They've always been pretty decent. Attended within 10 minutes to a few hours. They gave me a very generous amount of compensation when they were late the once.

I recommend keeping a survival bag, blankets, bottled water, and hand warmers in your boot in case you get stuck out in inclement weather. Bad weather means more breakdowns which means less availablity to attend your breakdown.

Original poster
BodegaSushi · 05/06/2023 23:53

CoffeeBeansGalore · 05/06/2023 23:12

Green flag is cheaper than both RAC & AA. Offers very similar cover. Worth looking at.

Thank you, I will!

OP posts:
Original poster
BodegaSushi · 05/06/2023 23:56

Thisisbollocksmark · 05/06/2023 23:24

90 minutes is a pretty ordinary time for a breakdown. There is no company that's going to guarantee they can get out to you immediately. It depends entirely on where you are, what the issue is, weather conditions, and the availability of a breakdown truck.

It really depends what kind of cover you want. If you want onward travel, if you want cover within a certain radius of your house etc.

The RAC are pretty decent in my professional experience. Same with the AA and Green Flag.

I use the AA myself. They've always been pretty decent. Attended within 10 minutes to a few hours. They gave me a very generous amount of compensation when they were late the once.

I recommend keeping a survival bag, blankets, bottled water, and hand warmers in your boot in case you get stuck out in inclement weather. Bad weather means more breakdowns which means less availablity to attend your breakdown.

Thanks for the advice. There really isn't any protection as a woman on an isolated street late at night, luckily I was local enough that I could get a friend to wait. I felt unsafe, so if I can feel unsafe for cheaper then that's the one for me.

OP posts:
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