Breakdown cover

Many people are paying three or four times over the odds for breakdown cover. Whether through loopholes, like getting basic RAC breakdown cover for £15 with Tesco Vouchers or little known, but reliable, companies who offer full service policies for two for £37, this step-by-step guide will slash your costs.

Roadside recovery is no longer about joining some motorist's club. The AA’s owned by venture capitalists and the RAC’s part of Norwich Union. So forget loyalty to big beast corporations and focus on the best deal.

• The Two Types Of Policy
• Best Buys
• Pay & Reclaim: £37 full service
• Cheapest Standard: Basic £21, Full £34
• Cheapest European Cover: £59
• Loopholes: Play the system
• RAC Cover for £15 of Tesco points
• Use cashback sites to slash the cost
• Discuss/Other Articles

Don't overpay for roadside recovery

Don't want to switch provider? Try haggling down your existing provider to slash the cost. For tips and tricks read the How To Haggle Successfully guide.

There are two types of policy

There are two types of breakdown cover, and it's the one most haven't heard of that really saves you cash.

• Automatic service

  Here, when there's a problem you call them and they send their patrols and sort it out. Both the RAC and the AA work this way.

• Pay and Claim

  When there's a problem, call them and rather than send their own patrols, they utilise a local recovery firm (either selected by you or them). You then pay for the repairs, and later send in receipts to claim the money back. And don't worry, if you haven't got cash, inform them and they'll ensure the recovery firm sent offers a credit or debit card payment service, or can invoice later.

Which is better?

Of course, automatic service companies are more convenient, yet pay and claim tend to be cheaper. In terms of the 'call out time' there's little difference; this depends far more on the specific company than the type of policy.

Therefore there are two key points to help you decide which is suitable...

• How often will you use it?

  If you're driving a car which is in need of constant care and attention, it's probably best to head towards an autoservice policy to save hassle. Yet if you've a reliable car, and this is really an insurance policy against a worst case scenario, pay and claim is the winner.

• Will you send in your receipts?

  Pay and claim's major drawback is many people forget to send their receipts to claim the cash. In fact, this is what allows the policies to be cheap and it actually results in the companies needing to pay out less. Therefore if you're the forgetful type, or simply wouldn't bother after the fact, avoid pay and claims.

The Best Buys

There are a host of cheap policies out there, depending on your needs. All of them, including the European cover, are available for under £60

Cheapest Pay and Claim: AutoAid's £37 full cover

UK-only pay and claim service AutoAid is the overall winner. It's a little known subsidiary of large insurer Boncaster, which also runs the AutoNational breakdown recovery service. In fact nothing really comes close for price, except for those who have a stockpile of Tesco clubcard vouchers (more later). For thirty seven pounds a year it includes the following:

• It insures the person not the car. Thus vehicle age, mileage and reliability are irrelevant, plus caravans & trailers are included.

• Free cover for a spouse. It also includes free cover for a married partner or someone in a certificated civil partnership. Sadly, if you're just co-habiting you're not included.

• Onward transport. Most budget policies only fix the car at the roadside or tow it to a garage. AutoAid provides transport for up to 6 people to the required destination.

• Home breakdown cover (limited to £65). It only pays for labour and recovery, but not parts.

Autoaid's stated average call out time is 40 minutes (roughly on a par with others) and it pays you back the money within 14 days. It's now been my top pick for a couple of years and the MoneySavers who took it out almost universally report good feedback (add your experiences).

Cheapest Standard Cover: £24 for basic, £43 for full service

If you're just looking for a standard policy; where when you've got a problem someone comes out and sorts it, then you want an 'autoservice deal'. The cheapest are...

• Basic Cover: Green Insurance £21.
  
  Eco friendly company Green Insurance offers basic cover for £20.95 for cars five years and younger for breakdowns further than 1 mile away from your house.
  
  Alternatively if your car's older Autonational is cheapest. Its standard price is £40, yet it's possible to cut this substantially. First, it gives a no-claims discount of 25%, the only way it checks is by asking you (don't lie though, that would be fraud), so if you haven't had a claim it's much cheaper. Plus Autonational* has a promotion offering 15 months for the price of 12, making it £24 for a year.
  
  
  
• Full Cover: Green Insurance £34

  Again Green Insurance comes top here, but only for cars five years or younger. Its Green Assist Recovery policy costs £33.95 and and includes homestart plus onward recovery for you and passengers.
  
  Next best is First Call which offers a policy including home start cover and onward travel for up to four people if you break down, which covers spouses as well. It's also possible to get this same policy for £32, if you're willing to pay a £40 excess on home start (in other words you'll pay the first £40 of any repairs). It's worth noting though that First Call's feedback is patchy.

• Full Cover incl. Europe: Quoteline Direct £59

  Phone and web broker Quotelinedirect* has an exclusive deal with Europ Assistance for a £59 annual 'AutoService' policy covering any individual vehicle (less than 20 years old) for a year. This includes home-start, and onward travel for passengers, plus up to 90 days a year cover in Europe. However bear in mind you won't be covered within Europe for the first ten days of the policy.

• Special Needs: Covering more than one car/person

  Price comparison website Moneysupermarket* offers a roadside recovery price comparison service. It misses many of the very best deals above, so its results aren't cutting edge best price, yet for special use it produces a reasonably competitive result quickly.

Loophole! Play the system for massive discounts

There are many tricks out there to lower the cost of roadside recovery even further. Anyone with Tesco clubcard vouchers can slash the price of RAC membership; alternatively using cashback sites can result in dirt cheap policies.

Tesco shoppers use Clubcard Deals

Tesco shoppers who've stored up their Clubcard points or vouchers have a way to get ultra cheap breakdown cover. Spend Tesco Clubcard vouchers on goods or services listed in its Deals brochure and you get back four times their face value.

One of the deals currently offered in the brochure is an RAC roadside recovery policy, meaning you can get it at a quarter of the cost. However it should be noted, not all the usual packages are available, instead refer to the table below. For more info read Loyalty Points Boosting.

Get massive cashback on roadside costs.

It's possible to get disproportionate cashback when you get a roadside policy that can slash your policy price. Using this technique has occassionally meant some people getting policies for as little as six pounds.

How it works?

Cashback sites are simply special advertising sites that list product providers and retailers, and when you click through them, they get paid for 'providing leads'. Yet providing you're registered and logged in, they will give you a cut of the cash. As roadside recovery policies are heavily promoted, advertising budgets tend to be big, so the cashback could be as much as £20 on a £30 policy.

It is worth remembering that cashback is never guaranteed. If huge swathes of people try to take advantage, then the payouts can get disputed and mean you end up paying full price. Always bear this in mind when going for a cashback deal. If you're new to cashback sites, first read Top Cashback Sites article. To find the highest paying cashback sites for a specific product use the free Cashback Sites Maximer.

A couple wanting recovery & tow, relay cover and home-start from the AA would normally pay around £150. Yet AutoAid provides the same for just £37 a year, around half the price even of the AAs' basic cover.