
Cheap Breakdown Cover
Basic cover from £30/year, full cover from £57/year
With more cars back on the road, breakdown call-outs have shot up. But many of us are paying over the odds as we auto-renew our breakdown cover year after year. If you know where to look, you can usually get a cheap basic AA or RAC policy without paying full price, or comprehensive cover for under £60/year. This guide reveals the best ways to cut the cost of breakdown cover, including tips on how haggling can help.
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Top-pick breakdown cover
We've split the deals into comprehensive and basic policies, plus we've a section that covers you for European travel, with options for each level of cover. Use our best buys below to find the policy for you.
Important – please read first: Cashback and these policies. Breakdown insurance is one of the markets where you can get a decent saving if you go via a cashback site, so where it's available, we include the best cashback offer for each of these policies (or at least a closely comparable policy from the same provider).
Where we quote a cashback price, this is the equivalent price assuming the cashback's paid. However, you should budget to pay slightly more upfront, as cashback can take a few weeks or months to be paid out. Always treat cashback as a POTENTIAL saving rather than an actual saving until the money's in your account, as things can go wrong.

Top-pick deals with comprehensive cover
We're classifying policies as 'comprehensive' if they cover breakdowns at your home, plus have roadside assistance and onward travel (which usually includes a hire car, overnight accommodation or public transport costs).
Yet as we say in the need-to-knows above, always put a diary alert in for one month before your cover auto-renews, to benchmark the cheapest prices out there. Then, switch providers or use the benchmarked prices to haggle with your existing provider.
Let us know your experiences with these providers in the forum discussion.
PROVIDER | HOW GOOD IS IT? + COVER COSTS | |
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Fully comp cover for any car up to 16 years old costs £57.50/yr via this Eversure Gold* link. This policy gives fully comp cover in any car you or your partner drive, or are passengers in. It also gives mis-fuelling cover. But Eversure doesn't have its own recovery fleet – it notifies local recovery operators. As Eversure is a new addition to MSE, do tell us your experiences. | |
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Get fully comp cover for £59.99/yr with AutoAid* (or £74.99/yr if your car's more than 15 years old). The policy covers you and your partner in any car you drive. It also gives mis-fuelling cover and help if you're stuck, eg, in snow/mud. Like Eversure, AutoAid doesn't have its own recovery fleet – it notifies local recovery operators. | |
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Breakdown recovery from a big brand for £140/yr + get 3 extra months free, or get it for £81/yr through a cashback site, though remember this sort of cashback's never guaranteed. Prices below are for vehicle cover, but you can usually add personal cover (covering you in any car) for £10/yr. You can also pay extra to get a joint policy to cover you and your partner. RAC has its own recovery fleet. | |
Buy it direct from RAC (before 7am, 29 Jan) and get 15mths for the price of 12 for £140*. |
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Breakdown recovery from the AA for £169/yr, or get it for £98 through a cashback site, though remember this sort of cashback's never guaranteed. Prices below are for vehicle cover, but you can add personal cover (covering you in any car) for £10/yr. You can also pay extra to get a joint policy. AA has its own recovery fleet. | |
Buy it direct from the AA for £169/yr* | Buy it via Topcashback for £97.60/yr* (2) |
(1) You can also get RAC fully comp cover for £50's worth of Tesco Clubcard vouchers. (2) For the cashback price, we've assumed that you get the cashback, so this is an equivalent price. You'll pay more upfront. But remember cashback is never guaranteed. Do read our Top Cashback Sites guide before doing this.
Top-pick deals with basic cover
Basic policies are typically a lot cheaper, but do have exclusions. You usually won't be covered if you break down at home or close by, and your provider has no obligation to get you to where you were going. However, you are covered for roadside assistance, or if it can't be fixed there, you'll usually be towed to a garage near to where you broke down.
But as we say in the need-to-knows above, always put a diary alert in for one month before your cover auto-renews, to benchmark the cheapest prices out there. Then, switch providers or use the benchmarked prices to haggle with your existing provider.
Let us know your experiences with these providers in the forum discussion.
PROVIDER | HOW GOOD IS IT? + COVER COSTS (1) | |
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Cheapest RAC cover for £30/yr, though you'll need to go via a cashback site (and remember cashback's never guaranteed). The RAC only sells its most basic cover via cashback sites, not direct. Vehicle-only cover costs £30/yr through Topcashback*, once the cashback's factored in. Personal cover's £32.76/yr. The policy allows a max of five call-outs/yr and you'll get a 10-mile tow (to a garage or other destination). | |
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Get the AA's cheapest policy direct for £59, or through a cashback site for £32, though remember cashback's never guaranteed. The AA's most basic 'vehicle-only' policy costs £59/yr (£69/yr for personal cover) and covers breakdowns more than 1/4 of a mile from your home. But cashback can reduce this to £31.70/yr (£41.70/yr for personal cover). | |
Buy it direct from the AA for £59/yr* | Buy it via Topcashback for £31.70/yr* (2) |
(1) You can also get basic RAC cover for £24's worth of Tesco Clubcard points. (2) For the cashback price, we've assumed that you get the cashback, so this is an equivalent price. You'll pay more upfront. But remember cashback is never guaranteed. Do read our Top Cashback Sites guide before doing this.
Top-pick deals with European cover
While many of us won't be driving to Europe this year due to the coronavirus crisis, if you do still need this cover, it is available. If your vehicle breaks down when you're driving on the Continent, it'll be repaired at the roadside, or perhaps at a local garage.
We've done the prices below for a trip of three weeks in France in a five-year-old Audi A3 to give you an idea of how the providers compare. If you're going for longer, or to more countries, the price will tend to be higher. You'll also pay more if you have an older car.
If you're going two or more times, or you regularly drive to Europe (eg, if you live in Northern Ireland and regularly visit the Republic) then it's worth getting an annual European breakdown policy (or checking if cover via a packaged bank account is worth it).
However, as we say in the need-to-knows above, always put a diary alert in for one month before your cover auto-renews, to benchmark the cheapest prices out there. Then, switch providers or use the benchmarked prices to haggle with your existing provider.
Let us know your experiences in the forum discussion.
PROVIDER | HOW GOOD IS IT? + COVER COSTS |
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This comparison site zips your car's details off to a few breakdown providers to help you get the best price. Cover starts from £24.18* for three weeks in France, once the 15% off code MSE108 is used (1). However, as we don't vet the companies it features, we don't know what their service will be like. Let us know how it went if you use this option. |
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Gives roadside assistance and pays for a hire car or hotel if needed. The AA* wanted £100.33 to cover our example three weeks in France. This policy gives you 24/7 access to an English-speaking helpline, plus you can pay extra to get a contribution towards the costs of getting the car fixed at a garage. |
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Gives roadside assistance and will pay for a hire car or hotel if it can't be fixed there. The RAC* charged £101.81 for our example three weeks in France. The policy gives you 24/7 access to an English-speaking helpline, and a contribution towards costs if it needs to be fixed at a garage (the amount depends on which level of cover you go for). |
(1) We have little feedback to share on Compare Breakdown Cover. Offer available till 11.59pm on 30 April 2021. (2) You can also get RAC Europe cover using Tesco Clubcard vouchers worth £55+, depending on the level of cover you want.

Looking for one-off or specialist policies?
If you're looking to cover a one-off journey, or need something more specialist, MoneySupermarket* allows you to compare roadside recovery tariffs.
It misses some of the best deals, so it doesn't always get the very cheapest, yet if you've specific needs it can quickly find a competitive quote.
Check special deals
A few companies have special deals and some car insurers bundle free breakdown with their car insurance cover (see our Car Insurance guide). These currently include:

Halve AA/RAC renewal cost
Provided your car isn't more than 10 years old, Green Flag* promises to be 50% cheaper than your renewal quote from the AA or RAC if covering your vehicle only, whatever the price. If you want cover for yourself in any vehicle, it's 30% off.
Also, see this as a chance to haggle with the AA or RAC by quoting this deal.
Let us know your experiences and successes on it in the forum discussion.
- There are no minimum or maximum price limits but it will only offer the discount on your renewal notice price, not any special deal you negotiate after.
- It says you'll get its closest equivalent vehicle cover. So if your AA renewal includes home start, you qualify for Green Flag home start cover.
- The promise applies to UK cover ONLY.
First get a Green Flag* quote online for an equivalent policy. If it's not at least 50% or 30% cheaper than the price of your renewal, call Green Flag on 0345 246 1558 to get it reduced further. There's no end date, but as it can be pulled at any time, you may as well do it soon if you want to try it.
It'll ask you to complete the purchase over the phone and then send in your AA/RAC renewal quote for confirmation within 14 days. You could in theory set it up for immediate cover, but you could be charged more or have the policy cancelled if you fail to prove the renewal quote.
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Car breakdown Q&A
How to complain about your insurance provider
The insurance industry doesn't have the best customer-service reputation and while a provider may be good for some, it can be hell for others. Common problems include claims either not being paid out on time or at all, unfair charges, or exclusions being hidden in small print. It's always worth trying to call your provider first, but, if not, then…

Free tool to help you complain
This tool helps you draft and manage your complaint. It's totally free to use, and it's offered by Resolver, a firm we work with to help people get complaints justice.
RESOLVER – FREE COMPLAINTS TOOL*
If the company won't help, Resolver also helps you escalate your complaint to the free Financial Ombudsman Service.

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