Breakdown cover: what your car insurance provides (or not)

“I have breakdown cover in my policy.” Often, yes. But between two policies, what that cover provides can vary enormously. Better to know before the breakdown than on the phone, at night, at the side of the road.

What breakdown cover is

It is the part of your car insurance that organises and pays for help after a breakdown, an accident or a theft: roadside repair, towing, sometimes a replacement vehicle or a hotel night. It is very often included, even in third-party policies, and sometimes offered as an option or in several levels. It is run by an assistance platform, reachable on a dedicated number printed on your insurance certificate, your policy or your insurer’s app.

The four points to check in your policy

1. The distance-from-home exclusion. Some policies cover you from your own doorstep (“0 km”); others only beyond a certain distance from home, often 25 or 50 km. With such an exclusion, the flat battery in front of your house is not covered.
2. Where the vehicle is towed. Nearest garage, garage of your choice, or within a certain number of kilometres: it is written in black and white, and it changes everything if you want your own mechanic.
3. Replacement vehicle and getting home. How many days, for which events (breakdown, accident, theft), and how you get home if the car stays at the garage.
4. Repatriation. Beyond a certain distance from home, many policies bring the vehicle back to you or to your mechanic if it cannot be repaired quickly on the spot.

How it works on the day

Two scenarios, depending on your policy:

• The platform triggers the call-out: you call the assistance number, which sends a recovery company from its network. The recovery company bills the assistance directly; you pay nothing upfront, within the limits of your policy.
• You call the recovery company: if it is approved by your insurer, it can attend under your policy and handle the paperwork with the insurer. Ask the recovery company on the phone whether it works with your insurer.

In both cases, have your policy number, your registration and your exact location to hand.

Without cover, or outside the policy’s limits

You can still call a recovery company. Ask for the price before the intervention: a serious professional gives it to you on the phone, according to the type of intervention and the distance. That is what we do, for every call.

Our advice

Save two numbers in your phone now: your policy’s assistance number, and a recovery company near you. In the Pays de Gex, ours is on the contact page. Our roadside assistance page explains how a call-out works.