Ever wondered whether you need car breakdown cover? Ensuring you have reliable, professional car breakdown cover is hugely important, and we’ve summarised some of the key things you need to know as follows to help inform your decision. After all, while breakdown cover can be expensive, it’s a good option to consider if you need a solution to help keep your vehicle securely on the road.
What is Car Breakdown Cover?
Simply put, car breakdown cover is a specialist form of insurance plan designed to help when your car needs emergency breakdown support – for example, if your engine is playing up. Use our car check tool to reveal the MOT history to reveal if a vehicle had advisory or failures in the recent tests.
The plan will usually – but not always – get your car directly to a nearby station. Some will even go as far as paying for the cost of repairs; still, the extent of this will naturally depend on the package you’ve chosen. Make sure to discuss this carefully with your provider before agreeing to a contract for the best results.
Some of the common car breakdown cover contracts include:
- At-home assistance for when your car breaks down or won’t start while on your property
- Roadside assistance in scenarios where your car breaks down on the road but can potentially be repaired at the side of the road by a skilled mechanic (if not, don’t panic; they’ll usually still take the car to a local garage for further repairs if needed)
- National recovery applies in cases where the car can’t be fixed on the roadside easily
- Onward travel helps keep you on the move with alternate transport if your vehicle is irreparably damaged and cannot be gotten back on the road safely
It’s also possible to arrange European breakdown cover with some providers, though this may be limited to certain countries across the continent.
Do I Need Car Breakdown Cover?
Car breakdown cover isn’t a necessary expense, and if you’d rather not pay out, it’s always possible to call in assistance privately. However, this can be pretty costly, and there’s no guarantee that a recovery team will be on hand quickly to help – which is where car breakdown cover comes into its own in many cases.
You’ll usually enjoy faster service than you would if you called out a private team, and you may also be able to cover some of the costs. With this thought in mind, car breakdown cover can often be a helpful tool to reduce the risk of getting caught out unexpectedly.
Generally speaking, this is most crucial if you suspect your car could be at risk of breaking down – for example, if it’s old, has a lot of mileage on it, or has been in an accident recently.
If any of these are the case for your vehicle, cover may be a very good idea, as the chances of breaking down become much higher. Nevertheless, if you get a good plan, it doesn’t hurt to have this as a backup for newer vehicles, too; after all, you never know when a fault might develop.
Final Thoughts
If you’ve been looking for the most effective breakdown cover solutions for your vehicle, it’s important to start by considering which plans might be right for you. Nevertheless, while there’s no requirement to take out car breakdown cover, these excellent plans can often prove hugely important for your own needs, so considering the value they can deliver is crucial.