Has anyone ever had to utilise their breakdown cover in EU - if so how good were they?

[Sidders]

Hello fellow funsters,
It’s that insurance renewal time of year again and I was happily going to renew with Caravan Guard again despite it having gone up a few ££.
I picked them last year as we were thinking of going A class at the time and they had no limit on windscreen cover, and also unlike Comfort - if memory serves me right they weren’t a broker and had a more favourable charges structure in event of policy movement/change/cancellation etc.
I’ve just read some abysmal reviews of their breakdown cover on the Burnster Forum
Does anyone here have experience or can point me in the direction of another I’m perhaps missing.
Many thanks

 

[Davecrawf]

Hello fellow funsters,
It’s that insurance renewal time of year again and I was happily going to renew with Caravan Guard again despite it having gone up a few ££.
I picked them last year as we were thinking of going A class at the time and they had no limit on windscreen cover, and also unlike Comfort - if memory serves me right they weren’t a broker and had a more favourable charges structure in event of policy movement/change/cancellation etc.
I’ve just read some abysmal reviews of their breakdown cover on the Burnster Forum
Does anyone here have experience or can point me in the direction of another I’m perhaps missing.
Many thanks

I have used the AA via the Nationwide flexplus twice in the UK and once in Spain. Excellent service each time. However, we did have one misunderstanding regarding size of vehicle, and they compensated me £50.
So no issues with Nationwide.

 

[ontheroadagain]

The most alarming thing about this thread is how many people have broken down abroad!

 

[meanders]

I have only broken down once abroad since having a motorhome and that was a puncture. I have had to call breakdown I think four times to the three motorhomes here (terrible noise from front suspension, it was a stone trapped between pads and disk, headlight went out whenever engine started - ECU failure, a puncture and failure to start) but only twice to cars in the same timescale (blown head gasket on a new Rover 75, and failed battery on a Yeti) and I do significantly more miles in the car.

 

[Landy Andy]

The most alarming thing about this thread is how many people have broken down abroad!

Why. It must be where the most miles are done. It is for me.

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[ontheroadagain]

Why. It must be where the most miles are done. It is for me.

Up until a few years ago I was driving 20 to 25k miles per year in my company car. The last time any car left me stranded was over 30 years ago. But then again I wouldn’t have chosen a Fiat or Ford as a company car lol.

 

[meanders]

Well we are constantly told these vehicles are designed as delivery vehicles being hammered for 500,000 miles. I have rarely observed a broken down white van.... in fact I cannot remember ever seeing one. A good few that have been pranged though!

 

[Landy Andy]

Up until a few years ago I was driving 20 to 25k miles per year in my company car. The last time any car left me stranded was over 30 years ago. But then again I wouldn’t have chosen a Fiat or Ford as a company car lol.

Yes. I bet you never left your company car sat around for a few months doing nothing, then start it a drive several thousand miles.

 

[meanders]

Up until a few years ago I was driving 20 to 25k miles per year in my company car. The last time any car left me stranded was over 30 years ago. But then again I wouldn’t have chosen a Fiat or Ford as a company car lol.

I only had two of thirteen company cars let me down on the road. A Toyota Camry starting emitting lots of smoke from under the bonnet on the A329M within a couple of miles from just being serviced at a main dealer. They had managed to reroute one of the nylon high pressure oil lines so it was laying across the exhaust manifold! Then a brand new Ford Cougar 2.5 S that went into limp mode on the M1 just south of Sheffield. I don't remember what the problem was but it was fixed by Ford Roadside Assist and never recurred in the 70K+ miles that followed. I had a hire Previa that I had to ring for support when taking it to a filling station to refuel as I could not find the fuel cap release despite me, the forecourt staff and another Toyota driver crawling all over it. It was a tiny lever hidden under the drivers seat! Funny how we remember those painful things!

 

[Blaydon]

The most alarming thing about this thread is how many people have broken down abroad!

mmmmm, we have maybe a dozen stories from more than one year responding to a request about breakdowns when in Europe. I for one have had one call out over 25 years going at least twice a year. me thinks the alarm is not ringing quite as loud as you fear.

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[ontheroadagain]

mmmmm, we have maybe a dozen stories from more than one year responding to a request about breakdowns when in Europe. I for one have had one call out over 25 years going at least twice a year. me thinks the alarm is not ringing quite as loud as you fear.

I hope you are correct. It just feels like there are a lot of breakdowns but then Fiat and Ford have always scored badly in reliability surveys. Our current motorhome (Fiat) has never left us stranded but has been back to the garage more times than any car I have owned in recent years. It is only 3 years old. My wife's Suzuki Vitara is 7 years old but apart from its annual service has never been to a garage.

 

[Divertrev]

We broke down 60 miles out from the Tunnel on a D Road, horrible noise from under the bonnet!

I took out a combined recovery and travel health policy with Red Pennant through the Caravan & Motorhome Club. Absolutely brilliant can't speak too highly.

A tip for everyone, I used my Google map app to get the coordinates etc in both formats, but that didn't seem to be clearly understood so I then used "What Three Words", easily understood by all concerned. 40 minutes later on the back of recovery truck.

I can't speak too highly because the Red Pennant Duty Officers were extremely supportive, calling me several times to check on our recovery progress, finding accommodation etc., arranging hire car and taxis to and from. The problem was diagnosed as an alternator, we opted for a local repair (1 week) rather than a repatriation.

Our allowance was, £75 pppn plus £15 pppd. The repair cost was down to me of course although the insurance would cover courier costs for a part. All the taxis and car hire expenditure was covered. What was not covered was any averaging out of the daily allowances, it was not allowed to gross up the allowance to seven days worth, it was £75 + £15 per day, an over spend on a day could not be offset by an underspend on another.

Apart from the superb support during the week which when you have two dogs and your 'home' is in a garage compound it is very comforting to feel you are being looked out for. I would receive at least a call every day maybe three checking on us. The Travel Health cover was particularly good because it was included in the policy. My wife has had health issues which under many Travel Policies incurs premium loading. All health questions were honestly and comprehensively answered but no issues for the cover.

The cost?
CAMC - Red Pennant
2006 (18yrs) Burstner
70 & 77 OAPs, health issues declared.
2 dogs included in recovery cover
66 days

£431.35

 

[Rapido925M]

Rip Off Britain has just featured two campervan drivers with repatriation problems: one RAC, other Green Flag. Basically: a long time getting diagnosis and thereby exceeding the cost limit on one policy and the other getting so much damage done that it was written off after it was eventually returned.

If things were as per usual, the complainers will outnumber the praise givers but this thread seems quite positive.

 

[TinaLes]

It would break most peoples hearts if their perfectly good aesthetically at least van was repatriated to them with so much substantial body damage front & rear that it was an insurance write off.
Answers are needed from what happened with the haulage/recover company the insurer used in that case, I hope the eventual insurance pay out reflected the full value plus the trauma incurred by the family.
LES

 

[scoobytawazara]

Last summer, we used the AA through the Nationwide Flexplus account while sitting on a site near St Malo. They were excellent, while arranging a mechanic, they were concerned about our well being making sure we were safe. The mechanic came from a mercedes dealership, fixed the problem and was all done very quickly. The AA rang the next day to confirm all was ok, the service was just what you would hope for.

Was there any time limit on length of stay and cover and do they include travel insurance.