EUROPEAN
BREAKDOWN COVER

If you have selected ‘Vehicle’ cover then the annual premium is calculated on the age of your vehicle at the time you purchase the policy. Cover will be provided for the full year.

If you have selected ‘Personal’ cover then you can call for assistance on any car or motorcycle within the age and size limit as stated on your certificate of insurance. If you vehicle exceeds the age or size limit then no cover can be provided under the policy.

The single-trip cover we sell requires that you start and finish your trip in the UK.

For Example

If you were driving to Poland from the UK on the 1st of the month, and not driving back until the 14th, you would need one policy covering the 1st to the 14th. You couldn’t buy two policies for each journey.

In the event you call for assistance outside of the UK, you will likely be asked for evidence of your outbound and return Channel crossings.

Policy documents are sent to your email address within minutes of purchase.

Please save the 24/7 emergency breakdown telephone number from your certificate of insurance, as that is the number you will need to call in the event of a breakdown.

If you don’t receive your documents within a few minutes, you should:

• Check your junk and spam folders as emails from us could be filed here in error
• Make sure you do this within the first two days. Gmail, Yahoo and some others have a tendency to delete them automatically after 48-72hrs.
• Get in touch with us. If you’ve waited an hour and you still don’t have your policy documents, please use the contact us page to request us to resend these.

Regardless as to whether or not you have kept the Automatic Renewal option, we will always email you at least 21 days in advance of your renewal date advising of your renewal price and what action is required if any. If you have opted for auto-renewal we will attempt to renew your policy 7 days before the renewal date to ensure continuous cover.

If you’ve decided that you don’t want your policy to renew, you can contact us at any time to have this removed from your policy. Send us a message with your policy number and request and we’ll do this for you. You’ll need to put this in writing rather than call. If payment has already been collected we can look to refund this to you in full as long as the renewal date has not past.

Please call the Breakdown Assistance Providers telephone number on your certificate of insurance that has been emailed to you following purchasing the policy.

It is important to call the number you have been provided with on your documentation as we work with multiple breakdown providers. To avoid any confusion and clients getting through to the wrong number for their policy, we do not display the breakdown telephone numbers on our website.

The assistance provider will not be able to assist you with policy updates, these need to be submitted via our contact form.

The process followed if you break down is explained in the policy wording for each policy, the distances will vary according to policy, but they all generally respond in the same way. It’s important to understand what happens in the event of a breakdown. If you know what to expect from your policy, it avoids confusion, stress and the potential for disappointment if you find you’re not getting what you expected.

Because all of the policies we sell behave slightly differently, you should take a look at the policy wording for the one you’re looking at. This is usually found on the comparison table, or as a link on the cover summary page before you buy. To make it as easy as possible, this information is all on the first page of the policy wording for each of the policies we sell.

Home Start

If your policy has Home Start, this will provide the facility whereby someone will attend your home address and try and get you going again. If this can’t be done, the policy may provide for recovering you to a garage nearby where you’ve broken down.

Local Recovery

Typically, this will be within around 20 miles of home, but please check this as it varies from policy to policy. If you breakdown under these circumstances and we can’t get you going at roadside, you’ll be recovered to a local garage or to your home.

National Recovery

Once you’re further away from home than local recovery allows, if you breakdown you’ll receive roadside assistance if the problem is likely to be fixable roadside. If not, you’ll be towed to a local garage to where you’ve broken down. Only if the repairs can’t be made within 48 hours of the breakdown occurring, you will either be recovered home, recovered to your destination or overnight accommodation becomes an option. We don’t sell a policy that will immediately take you home if you break down and this is not an optional upgrade.

European Recovery

This typically operates in a similar way to National Recovery, but because the amounts of cover and processes are all a bit different, you really should read the policy wording to make sure you understand what will happen in the event you breakdown. Usually these policies will include a section around repatriation which explains what happens if your vehicle can’t be repaired on the continent.

You must use the official SOS boxes provided on the Motorway/Auto Route to arrange assistance, you will need to pay for this service immediately.

Once the vehicle has been recovered from the Motorway/Auto Route you will need to contact your assistance provider who will make further arrangements for you.

You need to use the SOS boxes provided as European Auto Routes are privatised meaning the your assistance provider’s recovery vehicles are not allowed to recover you and your vehicle on these roads. Any costs incurred for recovery from the Auto Route can be claimed back from your assistance provider, please retain all receipts and invoices.

Yes, our providers will cover company vehicles that are taken abroad for personal use. The company vehicle must be registered in the UK and you must have the necessary permission and insurance to drive the vehicle abroad.

The vehicle must also meet the definition of a vehicle type that would normally be covered.

Please note we do not cover commercial vehicles that are being used for business purposes, either whilst abroad or in the UK.

No, unfortunately we can only cover trips that originate from the UK and return to the UK during the period of cover.

Yes, punctures are covered by our assistance providers for European breakdown policies. Some of our assistance providers require you to carry the following:

– a serviceable spare or an aerosol repair kit

– appropriate jack

– locking mechanisms for the wheels

Please check the policy wording which will provide you with further information.