JAM Posted May 16, 2012 Share Posted May 16, 2012 Do you know of a breakdown insurer that does not have the restriction (ridiculous restriction, I would say) that I have discovered that RAC cover seems to have? I have travelled in France for many years, first with car and tent, and more recently in our delightful T5 campervan. We have always bought RAC breakdown (annual, because we hope to go several times a year) but have never needed to call on it. Last year there was a mess at renewal time and my call was "kicked upstairs" at their end to sort out the mess of paying for it that the more junior person had made. This senior person told me conversationally that of course it only covered on call out per trip (but on an annual policy you were covered for one call out on each trip). She went on cheerily to say that she always advised people that if they had a "small" problem (needed to change a tyre, for example) they should do that themselves to "save" their one call out in case they had a more serious problem. I was gobsmacked. As it happens my husband could, if need be, change the tyre on a T5, but many drivers couldn't, and what about a slightly larger van ...? It had simply never occurred to me that my breakdown insurance wouldn't cover me for more than one call, if I was unlucky enough to have more than one thing go wrong. Last year it was too late to do anything other than accept this and travel with everything crossed, but I don't want to do that again. Can other forum members suggest alternative breakdown insurers who don't impose this unrealistic (and hardly widely advertised) restriction? Thanks in advance for all those helpful replies I hope will come flooding in! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted May 16, 2012 Share Posted May 16, 2012 We haven't had to call for a few years but Safeguard never USED to have such conditions......probably worth checking! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barryd999 Posted May 16, 2012 Share Posted May 16, 2012 JudgeMental - 2012-05-16 1:50 PM We haven't had to call for a few years but Safeguard never USED to have such conditions......probably worth checking! I just emailed them having seen this thread asking if there was a limit to the number of call outs per single trip and here is the answer Hi there, > > There are no restrictions to the number of call outs for breakdown in > any 1 trip. > > However the AA reserves the right to refuse service where it is > requested to deal with the same or a similar fault or cause of > breakdown to that attended to in regard to the same vehicle within the > preceding 28 days. > So Safeguard is the way to go then. 365 cover as well. I have used their breakdown service about four times now in the past four years. Twice abroad and twice at home. The two times abroad were three months apart on the same trip. No problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OurTour.co.uk Posted May 16, 2012 Share Posted May 16, 2012 We're touring Europe for over a year and couldn't get cover from any of the uk breakdown companies for such a long trip - our insurance doesn't offer it either. So we've gone with ADAC - the German version of the AA. They're brilliant. We've used them twice already and are covered across Europe including the uk. For around £100 they were cheaper than the uk offerings, even if they would cover us. Julie OurTour - a mid life European wander in a motorhome Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bulletguy Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 Barryd999 - 2012-05-16 2:50 PM So Safeguard is the way to go then. 365 cover as well. I have used their breakdown service about four times now in the past four years. Twice abroad and twice at home. The two times abroad were three months apart on the same trip. No problems. Worth mentioning here that after receiving my renewal off Safeguard for £297.29, I began checking around to see if I could improve on that. I eventually got a quote of £281.64 with Comfort Insurance. OK so £15.65 isn't a huge drop....but better than no drop at all. So I phoned Safeguard to tell them I had a better quote elsewhere and gave them the opportunity to match or improve on it. Guess what? They weren't even bothered! Here are the facts 'n figures; SAFEGUARD Premium £297.29 Vol. + Comp Excess £250.00 Windscreen Excess £100.00 365 days UK & Europe Breakdown cover. Premium does not cover any personal items inside van. COMFORT Premium £281.64 Vol + Comp Excess £200.00 Windscreen Excess £75.00 365 days UK & Europe Breakdown cover. Premium does cover any personal items which are in or on the van up to a total value of £3000 with any one single item value of £400. So though Comforts premium was only £15.65 less than Safeguard......all in Comfort offer a heck of a lot more than Safeguard. Unfortunately when I was robbed in Spain last year I was with Safeguard. Though it looked like my policy didn't cover personal effects I did phone and ask. It only covered vehicle damage and nothing else. Pity I wasn't with Comfort. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike B. Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 Bulletguy - 2012-05-17 1:43 AM Barryd999 - 2012-05-16 2:50 PM So Safeguard is the way to go then. 365 cover as well. I have used their breakdown service about four times now in the past four years. Twice abroad and twice at home. The two times abroad were three months apart on the same trip. No problems. Worth mentioning here that after receiving my renewal off Safeguard for £297.29, I began checking around to see if I could improve on that. I eventually got a quote of £281.64 with Comfort Insurance. OK so £15.65 isn't a huge drop....but better than no drop at all. So I phoned Safeguard to tell them I had a better quote elsewhere and gave them the opportunity to match or improve on it. Guess what? They weren't even bothered! Here are the facts 'n figures; SAFEGUARD Premium £297.29 Vol. + Comp Excess £250.00 Windscreen Excess £100.00 365 days UK & Europe Breakdown cover. Premium does not cover any personal items inside van. COMFORT Premium £281.64 Vol + Comp Excess £200.00 Windscreen Excess £75.00 365 days UK & Europe Breakdown cover. Premium does cover any personal items which are in or on the van up to a total value of £3000 with any one single item value of £400. So though Comforts premium was only £15.65 less than Safeguard......all in Comfort offer a heck of a lot more than Safeguard. Unfortunately when I was robbed in Spain last year I was with Safeguard. Though it looked like my policy didn't cover personal effects I did phone and ask. It only covered vehicle damage and nothing else. Pity I wasn't with Comfort. Hi That surprises me as I was in exactly the same situation last month and Safeguard discounted mine down by almost £60 to beat Comfort. One thing that swung it for me though was that because I keep my van on a compound (Even though it is fenced, gated, CCTV & security lights etc) Comfort would not insure it for break ins whilst parked there-even though they approved the compound. They would cover it if it was on my drive though!! (Open plan with no gate) I stayed with Safeguard and have the breakdown cover included. Unlimited breakdown call-out. The policy states I am covered up to £3,000 for personal effects inside the van plus at extra cost things like Sat dish, reversing camera, air con unit-ie anything that can be stolen from outside the van. Also covered, which I actually queried, was if I had an accident of any description, there was an element of personal injury included-ie if I fell over and broke my leg & couldn't drive they would organise a chauffeur to drive the van home I've been insured with Safeguard for about 7 years now and never knew I had this cover! However, if your wife/husband is on the policy and there with you, they would be expected to drive it home-needless to say, my Mrs is no longer on the policy. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barryd999 Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 Mike B. - 2012-05-17 3:33 PM Bulletguy - 2012-05-17 1:43 AM Barryd999 - 2012-05-16 2:50 PM So Safeguard is the way to go then. 365 cover as well. I have used their breakdown service about four times now in the past four years. Twice abroad and twice at home. The two times abroad were three months apart on the same trip. No problems. Worth mentioning here that after receiving my renewal off Safeguard for £297.29, I began checking around to see if I could improve on that. I eventually got a quote of £281.64 with Comfort Insurance. OK so £15.65 isn't a huge drop....but better than no drop at all. So I phoned Safeguard to tell them I had a better quote elsewhere and gave them the opportunity to match or improve on it. Guess what? They weren't even bothered! Here are the facts 'n figures; SAFEGUARD Premium £297.29 Vol. + Comp Excess £250.00 Windscreen Excess £100.00 365 days UK & Europe Breakdown cover. Premium does not cover any personal items inside van. COMFORT Premium £281.64 Vol + Comp Excess £200.00 Windscreen Excess £75.00 365 days UK & Europe Breakdown cover. Premium does cover any personal items which are in or on the van up to a total value of £3000 with any one single item value of £400. So though Comforts premium was only £15.65 less than Safeguard......all in Comfort offer a heck of a lot more than Safeguard. Unfortunately when I was robbed in Spain last year I was with Safeguard. Though it looked like my policy didn't cover personal effects I did phone and ask. It only covered vehicle damage and nothing else. Pity I wasn't with Comfort. Hi That surprises me as I was in exactly the same situation last month and Safeguard discounted mine down by almost £60 to beat Comfort. One thing that swung it for me though was that because I keep my van on a compound (Even though it is fenced, gated, CCTV & security lights etc) Comfort would not insure it for break ins whilst parked there-even though they approved the compound. They would cover it if it was on my drive though!! (Open plan with no gate) I stayed with Safeguard and have the breakdown cover included. Unlimited breakdown call-out. The policy states I am covered up to £3,000 for personal effects inside the van plus at extra cost things like Sat dish, reversing camera, air con unit-ie anything that can be stolen from outside the van. Also covered, which I actually queried, was if I had an accident of any description, there was an element of personal injury included-ie if I fell over and broke my leg & couldn't drive they would organise a chauffeur to drive the van home I've been insured with Safeguard for about 7 years now and never knew I had this cover! However, if your wife/husband is on the policy and there with you, they would be expected to drive it home-needless to say, my Mrs is no longer on the policy. Mike I queried Safeguard once about what would happen if I was unable to drive and Mrs D had to. She is on the policy but has never driven the van. They told me (over the phone I might add) that she wouldnt be forced to drive. The reason I asked is that I was going to take her off the policy for this very reason but they said there is no difference in cost and it wouldnt be a problem. Didnt get in in writing though. 8-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike B. Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 Hi No there isn't any difference at all to the premium-it's cost me £297 this year after my 'special' discount. I took the mrs off as you say for specifically her not wanting to drive the van home in an emergency. She'd struggle to drive it home from Bradford let alone Benal Madena especially with the bike on the back! :-S Mike :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bulletguy Posted May 18, 2012 Share Posted May 18, 2012 Bulletguy - 2012-05-17 1:43 AM Worth mentioning here that after receiving my renewal off Safeguard for £297.29, I began checking around to see if I could improve on that. I eventually got a quote of £281.64 with Comfort Insurance. OK so £15.65 isn't a huge drop....but better than no drop at all. So I phoned Safeguard to tell them I had a better quote elsewhere and gave them the opportunity to match or improve on it. Guess what? They weren't even bothered! Mike B. - 2012-05-17 3:33 PM That surprises me as I was in exactly the same situation last month and Safeguard discounted mine down by almost £60 to beat Comfort. I stayed with Safeguard and have the breakdown cover included. Unlimited breakdown call-out. The policy states I am covered up to £3,000 for personal effects inside the van plus at extra cost things.......... Mike Safeguards reaction to when I told them I had received a better quote certainly surprised me. It was simply a casual "oh ok then".......end of conversation! They did not even bother to see if they could price match or beat it, possibly knew they couldn't. As for the £3k personal effects cover, yes that is stated on my Safeguard policy, but when I spoke to them on the phone concerning the theft, I was told that as no damage had been caused to my van, the policy would not cover it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clementine Posted May 21, 2012 Share Posted May 21, 2012 Thanks to this thread I have just changed incurance. We are going to travel in Europe and I was worried in case we had a breakdown. When I read on here that with Safeguard you have a Breakdown Insurance included I got a quote. We are now insured, incl. Breakdown for £ 24 less than our original insurance. Thanks to everybody! (But seems we would have had an even better deal with Comfort) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteH Posted May 21, 2012 Share Posted May 21, 2012 Hi Is this a NEW thing? I have RAC cover on my American R-V via the camping club. This is because they will cover my rig @ 7.5t. I have been recovered twice in one year before now. once when the gearbox packed up. and again within months due to 2 tyres exploding on the M25 (debris in the road!!!) leaving me with no "spare". Or is the "arrival" scheme somehow different? Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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