European Breakdown Cover - 2013 update

[924racing]

First post on the forum, being a relatively recent Bongo owner, but after a somewhat frustrating search for breakdown cover for our upcoming trip through France, Switzerland and Italy in the summer, I thought it might be useful.

Like most of us, I was looking for comprehensive and reliable breakdown cover, including roadside repair, transport to garage, parts delivery, hire car, hotel costs, repatriation, and return of vehicle to UK. And all at a reasonable cost.

After trawling through various forums, review sites, websites, making interminable telephone calls, getting sample quotes, and reading the full wording of more policies than is good for a man's mental health, it seems that in many cases they don't always do what it says on the tin......

For what its worth, here are a few high and low points of my research:

1. It's true. You get what you pay for. There are no bargains... (almost, I'll get to that later)

2. Your choices narrow significantly when the vehicle is more than 15 years old (not a problem for me this year, but come 2014....). Generally speaking the cost of the most expensive policies (AA and RAC) increase significantly over 15 years due to increased risk of breakdown, whilst costs from the budget providers increase only marginally, which makes them attractive, but makes me wonder whether there is an associated risk of being refused service or compensation on a technicality.

3. It is possible to find reliable and comprehensive cover from providers with a good track record, but you're going to have to pay for it. The big boys including AA and RAC are expensive but their policies are comprehensive with fewer exclusions, and I found far fewer reports of them trying to wheedle out of providing the advertised service. Based on reviews it seems you stand a better chance of benefiting from hotel and hire car provision, or heaven forbid repatriation back to the UK for passengers, luggage and vehicle if you buy your policy from them. Did I mention they were expensive?

4. If the level of cover seems comprehensive but the cost is low, there's probably a catch. I found policies which had low unrealistic limits for benefits under various headings, no repatriation to UK for passengers or vehicles, and various getout clauses which seemed to give the providers carte blanche to do so. And based on reviews, it seems that many of the cheaper providers take the opportunity to refuse service or financial compensation for all manner of apparently trivial reasons. FirstCall's breakdown policy had no repatriation cover, limited benefits, and they had the worst reviews of any provider I saw, scoring 1.3 out of 5 on one review site, with many examples of poor and refused service. 2Gether had fantastic reviews (4.6/5) but I read all 360 reviews and over 90% of them (mainly 5*) were from people who had never had a breakdown and were praising the price and sales staff (I'm guessing from post sales surveys....) When I looked at reviews from the less than 10% who had actually experienced a breakdown, the most common score for european breakdown service was 1* with reports of being left stranded. UK breakdowns scored a little better. Quoteline Direct provided no detailed policy information unless you opted to buy the cover, but there was no mention of any repatriation coverage in the features list. It seems that you get what you pay for, or in some cases you don't.

5. Feeling depressed? As I said earlier, there are almost no bargains, however.......

For single trip, 2 websites provide European cover in conjunction with Green Flag which appears to be as comprehensive as the AA and RAC, although limited to vehicles up to 15 years old. They have sensible compensation limits and the exclusions are specifically rather than vaguely worded, with reasonable prices. I was quoted £72.99 by european-breakdown-cover.com and £79.33 by europeanbreakdowncover.com for what appeared to be identical policies for a single 22 day trip in a '99 V6. This compares to over £200 from the AA and RAC. Reviews for Green Flag are mixed but I found few horror stories, and Green Flag are the largest UK breakdown provider after the AA and RAC. This is my current preference for this year, so if anyone has claimed on one of their European policies and knows anything different, let me know before I spend the money.......

For annual multi-trip, Britannia have no vehicle age limit with policy cost based on driver/vehicle risk. Apparently I already fall into the highest risk category (61 year old ex racing driver, dodgy knees, driving a '99 Bongo V6 with dodgy handling) so the cost wouldn't increase in subsequent years as a result of further age, only per the dreade inflation. They quoted a little over £130 for a 12 month UK and European policy which included car hire, hotels, and repatriation. Reviews very mixed with poor service and long wait times mentioned, and some suggestions that policy exclusions were open to interpretation and rigidly enforced. This looks like my preferred option for next year so again, if you've had experience with Britannia in Europe......

I would welcome comments from anyone who has actual European breakdown experience.

[TerryG]

Great research there!
I have a 1996 V6 Bongo, and a UK breakdown policy with the RAC. They have just quoted me, as an addition to my existing policy:

Single trip breakdown cover for 22 days: £90.
One year breakdown cover: £116.
One year breakdown cover plus 1 year travel insurance for me and my wife: £168.

The breakdown cover includes repatriation up to the value of the vehicle.

[g8dhe]

Camping and Caravan Club got an excellent review here http://www.igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/forum/ ... 01#p565501

[nerald]

I am a member of several motorcycle forums and they have had the same debate around European breakdown cover. One of the providers which constantly rears its head as a good provider is ADAC.

http://www.adac.de/mitgliedschaft/adac_ ... fault.aspx

Link above for info in English.

As a uk resident you will need to have single plus membership at 79.5 euros.

Call them to join and pay over the phone, following years is via transfer.

[downward dog]

I am covering our extended trip this year by taking a Smilemore current account. At £13 a month you get benefits including RAC european recovery cover (any trip up to 45 days at one go) Plus travel insurance from AXA. When you do the sums its a good deal, and you can complain via smile if it goes wrong. We have used smile for years, excellent fuss free, free banking too!

[924racing]

Thanks for the helpful info which I'll follow up. Have any of you guys suffered a breakdown and had to use the policy in anger?

[briwy]

We have used Quoteline Direct for the last two years and found them to be fine, under a £100 for a years UK/European cover.
I stupidly flattened both batteries in the middle of France and because they took a long time to come out (not their fault but the local French garage) we missed our ferry they paid for the tunnel at a cost for over £200 as they promise to sort out alternative transport or hotel accommodation.
Last month we had a hose leak and had to brought back home by flatbed, again no problems.

For info, their European cover does include for repatriation if the vehicle can't be repaired locally.
Unfortunately I can't copy the policy as it's password protected but the wording at least is comparable to the big boys. AA/RAC etc

The policy is actually with AXA.

[924racing]

Thanks for the information about Quoteline Direct - I've used AXA based policies previously on other vehicles when touring in Europe, so I'll follow it up and get a quote and copy of the policy.

[umbongocat]

As G8dhe has said I highly recommend Camping and Caravaning and as you'll see if you look at the thread, they paid out for everything and got us and the van home and I paid for nothing.

You have to be listed a a motorhome on the V6 documents though for them to insure you in addition to being a member, but membership really isn't that expensive and worth it as they have some good sites.

[afws]

I have travelled through Europe a few times and have been covered by SafeGuard Insurance for the last 3 years. The policy includes UK & European breakdown cover. Maybe not the cheapest annual cover at £310 but has given me the piece of mind while in Europe. I had my rear matrix disconnected by something on the autobahn near Cologne last September. Hit something on the road while passing a lorry which snapped both inlet and outlet pipes. Recovery service took me to a garage who bypassed the matrix, connected the pipes, refilled and bled the system. Carried on through Czech Republic to Italy and back to Scotland without any problem with overheating and have covered around 5500 miles since the incident. German recovery company picked me up within 20/25 minutes of reporting the problem to the UK and I was back on the road in just over 2 hours.

Used the recovery service twice in the UK when the radiator welds cracked and when I stupidly put petrol in the tank instead of diesel. Still maintain the garage had the wrong fuel in the pumps!!

Breakdown cover is restricted to for vehicles under 20 years of age.

[BongoExplorer]

Hi,
I'm also on the look-out for reasonable European breakdown cover. Tricky, as the Bongo is now over 15 years old, ruling out a lot of policies.
As I understand it, the Axa cover isn't an option, as the Bongo is too tall.
Has anyone got direct experience of / views on Drive 24-7? They look like the most likely option right now...

[BongoExplorer]

Just a quick update on what I've been able to find.
The best European breakdown cover I can find seems to be with Britannia Road Rescue. So far as I can tell, it is one of the very few that covers older vehicles and large sized ones.
The best way to get the cover seems to be to get it as part of a bank account package from Nationwide The bank account costs £10/month. The package includes the Britannia UK & Europe breakdown cover, travel insurance, mobile phone insurance and a some other benefits. Seems a good deal to me....

[helen&tony]

Hi
As with all European Breakdown Cover, check the Country / Countries that you are going to is on the company's list of co-operating rescue services, and the names of the rescue services and contact numbers in the event of breakdown. Not every foreign rescue service will recognise all the UK services, and you may find yourself forking out, and not getting the money back!
Cheers
Helen

[eppiblue]

I checked the NationWide Current account that offers EU breakdown cover for 180 days but it excludes vans and motorhomes... doh!

http://www.nationwide.co.uk/current_acc ... kdownCover

"Vans, motorcycles, motor homes and commercial or hire vehicles (for example taxis) are not covered."

At this stage looks like Im going for Britannia Rescue http://www.britanniarescue.com/cover_op ... an-assist/ as I need 180 days single trip, 17 year old vehicle. £175 !!

[nerald]

I checked the NationWide Current account that offers EU breakdown cover for 180 days but it excludes vans and motorhomes... doh!

http://www.nationwide.co.uk/current_acc ... kdownCover

"Vans, motorcycles, motor homes and commercial or hire vehicles (for example taxis) are not covered."

At this stage looks like Im going for Britannia Rescue http://www.britanniarescue.com/cover_op ... an-assist/ as I need 180 days single trip, 17 year old vehicle. £175 !!

Our Bongo is registered as an MPV. So it may be worth checking with the Nationwide any how.