Breakdown cover can be a lifeline if your vehicle runs into problems while you’re on the road. Available for cars, van and motorbikes, you’ll usually have to buy it in addition to your car insurance or other vehicle insurance.
How much breakdown cover costs will depend on the type of cover you get and how comprehensive it is, but on average, you’ll pay £7 per month, or £84 per year.
Let’s go through the cost of breakdown cover, what it includes and what factors affect the cost.
What is breakdown cover and how does it work?
Breakdown cover does exactly what it sounds like – covers you when you break down! Most policies cover roadside assistance as their minimum standard. That means that if you break down, you can call your insurance provider who will arrange for a mechanic to come and fix your car or other vehicle at the side of the road, or tow you to a local garage if they can’t repair it.
Some enhanced policies also include ‘home start’, which means that if you find that your car won’t start when you try to leave home, or are only around a mile from home, a mechanic will come out to help you get started again.
Breakdown cover usually lasts for 12 months and can cover you (known as personal breakdown cover) or a specific vehicle.
What does breakdown cover include?
There are a few different things that breakdown cover can include, depending on the level of cover you choose:
Roadside assistance: If you break down on the roadside, your insurer will send a mechanic to get you back on your journey. If they can’t repair your vehicle, they will usually tow you to a local garage
Home start: If you’re rarely far from home, home start cover is a good idea. It’ll insure you against breakdowns that happen at home, or within around 1 mile of home, so you’re never without your car for long
Onward travel: This feature helps you to continue your journey, even if you break down and your car can’t be repaired by the roadside. You may be able to get overnight accommodation, train or bus tickets, or even a courtesy car included in your policy
National recovery: If your car can’t be fixed at the side of the road, the mechanic can tow you to any location in the UK. This is a good option if you travel away from home a lot, whether for work or leisure
European cover: If you take your own car with you when you go on holiday in Europe, you can get roadside assistance there too. This is usually an optional extra and may include a limited number of countries, so check your policy before you take it out.
What affects the cost of breakdown cover?
Vehicle age
How old your vehicle is will affect the cost of your breakdown cover, as the older it is, the more likely it is to break down.
Vehicle type
Whether you drive a car, van, motorbike, caravan or motorhome, the type of vehicle you want to insure can affect the cost. While a car or van might take around the same time to repair, a caravan may take longer, so the policy may cost more.
Number of vehicles
Your breakdown cover will cost more if you’re insuring more than one vehicle, but a multi-car policy may work out cheaper per car than buying separate properties.
Whether you insure a person or a vehicle
You can choose to insure yourself or a vehicle when it comes to breakdown cover. If you choose personal breakdown cover, you will be eligible to call for assistance if you break down in any car you’re driving, as long as you’re insured to drive it.
With vehicle breakdown cover, it’s the vehicle you’re insuring – so anyone who drives the car can get roadside assistance, as long as they’re legally allowed to drive it.
Type of cover
The type of cover you choose will impact the cost. The most basic policies have roadside assistance included, but you’ll usually have to pay more for home start, European cover or onward travel support.
Add-ons
Most breakdown cover plans won’t include replacement services as standard, but you may be able to add them on. For example, you may be able to buy cover for replacement tyres, batteries or keys, and may be able to add windscreen cover too.
How long after buying breakdown cover can you use it?
Unlike other types of insurance like pet insurance or home insurance, there’s not usually a waiting period before you can use it. That means that you’re covered by your breakdown insurance as soon as you buy it – as long as you’ve not broken down already.
However, many roadside assistance providers will allow you to make a call-out and sign up for their breakdown cover over the phone. You’ll have to pay emergency call-out fees, however, so it’s not the cheapest way to get breakdown cover. You also won’t be able to compare quotes or haggle on price, so it’s always best to arrange cover in advance to protect against breakdowns.
Is it worth getting breakdown insurance?
It’s up to you to decide whether it’s worth getting breakdown insurance. There are a couple of things that can help you decide whether it’s worth getting covered:
Your vehicle’s age: If you’ve got a brand new car or other vehicle, you might decide that the risk of breaking down is small so you don’t need a comprehensive policy. You might want to get just a basic level of cover, or you may be happy without any until the vehicle is older. Plus, when you buy a new car from a dealership, sometimes they include basic roadside assistance – so check your paperwork.
How much you travel: If you travel around the country or even in other countries in your vehicle a lot, it makes sense to get breakdown insurance. But if you don’t use your vehicle very much, you might decide cover isn’t worth it. However, it’s worth remembering that most breakdowns happen close to home.
It’s also worth considering the benefits of breakdown cover to help you weigh it up:
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No call-out fees
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Fast recovery or repair time
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You’ll know exactly who to contact if you do break down
How to get cheap breakdown cover
Breakdown cover doesn’t have to be expensive. Simply follow our tips for getting cheap breakdown cover to make sure you’re getting the best deal for you:
1. Never auto-renew
Many breakdown policies have automatic renewal turned on as standard. Make sure you keep note of when your policy expires and haggle with your current provider instead of accepting their standard renewal price.
2. Check whether you’re already covered by a packaged bank account
If you pay a fee for your bank account, you may have breakdown cover included in a package. There’s no point in paying twice for the same cover, but most packages will only include basic roadside assistance, so if you need additional cover consider getting another plan.
3. Consider whether you need full cover
If you’ve got a relatively new vehicle, you might only need basic cover as the chances of you breaking down are slim. Basic roadside assistance cover can be as much as £30 cheaper than full cover.
4. Check the price of a joint or multi-vehicle policy
Insuring two people on a joint policy rather than taking out two single breakdown policies may be cheaper, and it could be the same if you insure more than one vehicle on the same policy. Always check both single and joint or multiple policies though to be sure.
5. Compare quotes
The best thing to do to save money on your breakdown cover is to compare quotes. We’ve partnered with Quotezone.co.uk to help you compare breakdown insurance providers – get quotes now and see how much you could save.
Disclaimer: This information is intended for editorial purposes only and not intended as a recommendation or financial advice.
Estimates for other insurance policies
| Job | Estimate |
| Volkswagen Transporter van insurance | £84.45 per month |
| Vauxhall Vivaro van insurance | £67.76 per month |
| Travel insurance | £16.00 per trip |
| Pet insurance | £27.00 per month |
| Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van insurance | £111.80 per month |
| Life insurance | £38.00 per month |
| Landlord insurance | £17.50 per month |
| Cheap van insurance | £45.00 per month |
| Cost of public liability insurance for plumbers | £6.00 per month |
| Cost of public liability insurance for electricians | £5.00 per month |
| Cheap motorbike insurance | £8.00 per month |
| Cheap home insurance | £20.00 per month |
| Cheap contents insurance | £12.00 per month |
| Cheap building insurance | £10.00 per month |
| Cheap boiler insurance | £10.00 per month |
| Income protection insurance | £25.00 per month |
| Cheap Ford transit custom van insurance | £76.18 per month |
| Critical illness cover | £26.00 per month |
| Citroen Relay van insurance | £77.02 per month |
| Breakdown cover | £7.00 per month |
| Bicycle insurance | £14.00 per month |
Cheap car insurance renewal
| Job | Estimate |
| Cheap car insurance | £40.00 per month |
| Ford Fiesta car insurance | £45.00 per month |
| Ford Focus car insurance | £53.06 per month |
| Ford Mondeo car insurance | £62.95 per month |
| Ford Kuga car insurance | £75.00 per month |
| VW Golf car insurance | £52.75 per month |
| Vauxhall Corsa car Insurance | £51.39 per month |
| Nissan Qashqai car insurance | £52.79 per month |
| BMW 3 Series car insurance | £44.22 per month |
| Vauxhall Astra car insurance | £49.46 per month |
| Nissan Juke car insurance | £57.14 per month |
| Volkswagen Polo car insurance | £50.29 per month |
| Black Box Insurance | £80.73 per month |
| Young driver insurance | £104.27 per month |
| Convicted Driver Insurance | £48.50 per month |
| Over 50's car insurance | £20.69 per month |