Breakdown cover

[Nictrix]

It seems that even breakdown companies are hiking up renewals to try and get the last of everybody's pennies.
Got my AA renewal through with an increase of over £100 taking it to £321.
I felt last years was dear enough so phoned to cancel it.
After 2 minutes on the phone it has been reduced to £200 which is now cheaper than last years cover.
Why do all these companies insist on increasing renewals with everybody going through the rigmarole of having to threaten to leave before getting a good price?
Just give everybody your best price to begin with.

 

[darich]

They rely on customer inertia.

I ditched AA and went with car cover (not personal cover) and am now with "Start Rescue"

 

[Nictrix]

Are they any good or have you not had to find out yet?

 

[darich]

Not used it yet. But I expect it'll be like the AA - a local company on a contract will help me out so it could be that it makes no difference which recovery you pay for - it's the same local company that comes to your rescue.

 

[Scubaregs]

RAC here, covers both cars and bike for £7 a month.

 

[pvr]

I have AA European cover for "free" with my NatWest bank account.

 

[Nictrix]

The costs seem to climb if the cover is slightly out of the ordinary.
Ours is 2 people, 2 cars. If its 2 people with 1 car it's cheaper as is 1 person with 2 cars.
If you only want basic cover it can be cheap but no point having basic cover if you need recovering from somewhere or your car won't start at home.

 

[Nictrix]

I have AA European cover for "free" with my NatWest bank account.

Is it really free though?

 

[B21]

My friends who were supposed to meet us for a few days on the Dumfries and Galloway coast broke down near Penrith…after they had been towed off the motorway they phoned up their low cost recovery company…they had to get back to Mansfield, Nottinghamshire..155 miles….

The virtual recovery company had to organise 3 transfers as each sub contracted company could only go 60 miles…so 11 hours to go 155 miles…

As a by the by here are some nice pictures of our few days away… :rofl:

 

[pvr]

I have AA European cover for "free" with my NatWest bank account.

Is it really free though?

The account with Homeserve, Travel insurance, European Breakdown, Congierge service, Mobile Phone insurance costs £31 a month, but they refund that if you pay a certain amount in the account (can't remember how much). So it is actually free yes.

 

[Mr Tidy]

I have the same problem with RAC jacking the price up every year.

So now I just get a new member quote from AA and every time I call RAC and tell them what it is they either match it or beat it slightly. I suppose they just hope people won't bother looking around and just pay up!

 

[Nanu]

I have AA European cover for "free" with my NatWest bank account.

There are several banks and insurance companies include cover as part of their business. Shop around, open an account when you find one. You don't have to actually use it and still qualify for the free cover.

If you are really clever you may even find a bank that not only offers you the likes of free membership of the AA or RAC, but even pay you £200 for switching

 

[TitanTim]

Been with GEM Motoring Assist for some years now, pay £96 a year and hasn't really gone up much in that time, I have the Recovery Extra policy...........

"Recovery EXTRA – This is our premium and most popular breakdown service package. We organise everything including callout fees and labour charges.

All of our cover includes unlimited call-outs, so you don't have to worry about how many times you request our help within your annual policy year.

So, how do these stack up against our competitors? Well, compare our cover to a a similar product from the AA or the RAC and you can save around 40% on your premium.

Moreover, if you select our Recovery RECLAIM package you can reduce your up front costs, and you won’t find an equivalent product elsewhere as it’s exclusive to GEM!

Needless to say you’ll still get the great cover you’d expect including home assistance, help with onward travel and accommodation, cover for vehicles of any age and unlimited callouts".

Tim.