Guest Rita Posted June 24, 2005 Share Posted June 24, 2005 Mike C's, Forum readers may already be aware that Safeguard Motorcaravan Insurance Specialists, include the AA in their policy for all vehicles under 20 years of age.No dimensional restrictions apply to their scheme. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Mike C Posted June 24, 2005 Share Posted June 24, 2005 Hello Rita, Thanks for the information but why should anyone need to include breakdown cover on their Insurance when they should have three years free cover via Fiat/AA. The scheme is the top level of cover including Relay, Relay Plus and Accident Management. If Safeguard guarantee no restrictions that is good. Supposedly the Fiat scheme also has no restrictions as the documents do not specify them. The problem is that nobody seems to have told the AA and it took me 68 minutes worth of calls to establish that there are restrictions in the Fiat/AA scheme. Regards, Mike C. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Brian Kirby Posted June 25, 2005 Share Posted June 25, 2005 Hello Mike and Rita Mike, I'm not clear whether the AA scheme turned out to have restrictions in the end or not. Could you clarify what, if any, these were? Not all Fiats buoght within the past three years will necessarily have the AA cover, though. For example, ours was bought in France so has two years Fiat breakdown. This does not include full accident recovery, onwards travel or a number of the bells and whistles on the full AA scheme. Another source of combined breakdown cover and insurance is via Comfort Insurance who offer very comprehensive (but not unlimited) recovery within Europe via RAC. Regards Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Mike C Posted June 26, 2005 Share Posted June 26, 2005 Hello Brian, Please see previous thread on this forum which gives details of AA restrictions. The scheme I am specifically referring to is the Fiat/AA Breakdown scheme given with all new Fiat vehicles including the Ducato range. My understanding, which has not yet been confirmed by Fiat, is that the AA have restrictions that put certain Ducato models and some of the Motor Caravans built on the Ducato outside the AA restrictions and therefore these vehicles will not be recovered by the AA. All other conditions of the breakdown cover will be met (eg. Roadside repair, loan vehicle etc.). If you have AA Breakdown cover it is worth checking whether your specific vehicle(s) will or will not be recovered in the UK or elsewhere in Europe. Regards, Mike C. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Brian Kirby Posted June 26, 2005 Share Posted June 26, 2005 Hello Mike, Discovered your expanded explanation after I'd posted my query. Apologies. Since Fiat rely upon the AA for their breakdown recoveries, also authorising (at least by implication) the conversions and providing an unqualified (in terms of limitation at the point of sale) breakdown warranty, it would be interesting to know what Fiat intends to do when their breakdown sub-contractor, the AA, defaults. Seems to me Fiat offers the service and irrespective of whether the AA can perform or not, it is for Fiat to deliver on the offer. Ours is perhaps a bit more complicated since, although the 'van is within AA's size limitations, the breakdown warranty (which is for 2 years) lies with ADAC, as Burstner registered the vehicle onto Fiat's European database in Germany before delivery to France where we bought it. Theoretically, the breakdown cover is Europe wide so although the initial provision is via ADAC that would only apply in Germany. The contractor for the country you happen to break down in would respond, once the breakdown is notified. However, we took out Comfort vehicle insurance, adding their European breakdown package with RAC since the additional cost was relatively marginal and the cover much more comprehensive than the basic Fiat warranty. The reason was a lot of peace of mind for not a lot of money. I think that is probably why Rita decided to opt for the Safeguard/AA package in addition to the Fiat warranty. It does cost more that basic vehicle insurance, but not that much more, and you get extra value in return. Overall, it seems a very fair deal to me. Regards Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Terry Keane Posted June 29, 2005 Share Posted June 29, 2005 I have contacted both Fiat and the AA several time to get some confirmation that my new motorcaravan is covered, but did not get anywhere. As far as I can see I shall have to have a breakdown ( or call them out simply to test response) before I will know whether or not I am covered. Iam not sure if I want to test it in Europe though!! Regards, Terry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Mike C Posted June 29, 2005 Share Posted June 29, 2005 Hello Terry, May I suggest the following action to get an answer to whether your Motor Caravan is covered. Phone the AA Breakdown number and explain that you have contacted both Fiat and AA and cannot get a sensible reply. Ask the operator if they would be so kind as to check the status of your vehicle. They should be able to confirm cover and with the registration number whether the vehicle is within their restrictions for on vehicle recovery. I had to do this to get a sensible answer and phoned outside their busy times (Mid evening normally) and the operator was extremely helpful and understood completely my concerns. He explained in detail the recovery procedure. Regards, Mike C. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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