Breakdown Cover:
What does it cover?
Breakdown insurance usually comes on a sliding scale, with organisations offering a type of bronze, silver, or gold cover.
As you would expect, bronze membership gives you basic cover, which would typically include assistance if you are more than a quarter of a mile from your home, and towing you to the nearest garage.
This may well be worth looking at if you have a reliable car, that you can garage and that you only use for local journeys.
If your car is parked outside and could be prone to getting damp or if you make frequent long journeys where it would cost a lot to get you and your passengers to your destination if the mechanic cannot fix the car at the roadside, then it is worth looking at a higher type of cover. Costs for this can vary dramatically.
What's not covered?
Not everything is included in breakdown insurance cover so you need to go through the small print carefully.
Things to look out for are how many free call-outs you are entitled to a year. Some organisations limit this to around six. Also be aware that you may only get free labour of up to one hour from the mechanic at the roadside and you will have to pay for any parts that the car needs.
Some organisations will also charge for one of the most common reasons for calling out a mechanic, leaving your keys in the car.