European Breakdown Cover - 2013 update
Posted: Fri Apr 12, 2013 1:10 pm
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.
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.
