Car Insurance With Breakdown Cover

Car insurance with breakdown cover

Most drivers know that they’ll have three levels of cover to choose from when they’re taking out a new car insurance policy: third party only, third party, fire and theft or fully comprehensive.

But even if you opt for a fully-comprehensive policy you may not be covered in the event of a vehicle breakdown, since the “comprehensive” nature of a fully-comp insurance policy relates to the fact the policy will cover any damage to your own vehicle, damage to a third party’s vehicle or property, as well as any injuries people in other vehicles might suffer. As such this type of policy doesn’t necessarily cover mechanical faults, electrical faults or other types breakdowns.

Still, the vast majority of car insurance providers will let you add breakdown cover to your car insurance policy for a nominal fee, and some may even include it for free as an incentive to buy their particular policy.

Compare car insurance with breakdown now

Do I have to take out breakdown cover?

No, while car insurance is a legal requirement in the UK, it isn’t mandatory that you opt for a car insurance policy with breakdown cover.

In fact, the only type of car insurance that is mandatory is third party cover, because the legal requirement is intended to protect third parties when you get behind the wheel.

Do I need breakdown cover with my car insurance though?

Well, although it isn’t a legal requirement in the UK, it’s still worth considering this policy ‘add-on’ if it doesn’t come as standard with your car insurance policy.

Breakdown cover is usually a relatively inexpensive add-on to bundle with your car insurance policy, but could come in very handy if your suffers a mechanical or electrical fault.

How will I know if my car insurance includes breakdown cover?

Your policy documents should outline all of the policy features and add-ons you have as part of your car insurance policy, so begin by checking those documents. Failing that, you could contact your insurance provider to double check with them.

Is it too late to add breakdown cover to my car insurance policy if I didn’t add it on when I was signing up for my policy?

No, most car insurance providers will let you add the breakdown cover add-on to your policy at a later stage, although it probably goes without saying that you’ll have to pay an additional fee since it wasn’t included as standard.

It’s also possible to take out breakdown cover as a standalone policy, and we have a separate comparison system you can use to compare these standalone policies: Compare Breakdown Cover.