European Breakdown Cover

With more and more of us looking for cheaper ways to holiday this year, you may be considering driving to your destination in Europe. If you are thinking of using your car abroad, then one of the first things you need to do is purchase breakdown cover for your trip.

If you already have breakdown cover insurance in the UK, then it might be possible to upgrade to European breakdown cover for up to 90 days on your policy. If you don't have a breakdown cover policy in the UK, then you can either purchase UK breakdown cover with cover if you travel abroad in Europe, or you can buy a single trip policy for the time you are in Europe.

What are you covered for?

European breakdown cover policy details will vary between providers, but you will normally be covered for the following assistance if you find yourself stuck in Europe.

Recovery to a local garage,
Vehicle recovery to the UK,
English speaking assistance,
Emergency accommodation or the cost of alternative transport,
Roadside assistance in a number of European countries,
Legal protection.

Single Trip or Annual Cover?

When you are considering all the European breakdown cover policies make sure you choose the most suitable cover for your trip. Most providers will offer two options, to add European breakdown cover to your UK policy annually, or buy a single trip policy which will cover you in Europe for your specified dates.

Annual Cover

If you decide to go with an annual policy you should consider whether you will use it often enough to get your money's worth. You will normally be given up to 90 days European breakdown cover for your vehicle in addition to your cover in the UK. This can vary between providers so it's worth checking before you buy.

Single Trip Cover

If you are only going on a trip to Europe for a short time, then you might be better off buying a single trip European breakdown cover. This means that you tell the breakdown provider when you are travelling to Europe, and they will cover you for that time only. This normally includes cover from when you leave your home address until you return home at the end of your holiday.

Which providers offer European Breakdown Cover?

European breakdown cover is offered by many different providers. If they don't have their own recovery vehicles abroad then they will arrange cover with a local recovery firm and liaise with them to make sure you don't have to pay for anything you are covered for. Parts may not be covered by your policy. It is important to check what you are covered for, and whether you may have to pay any extra costs whilst your abroad.

Compare European Breakdown Cover


	£10.40	£126
	£9.05	£92.19
	£9.90	£103.50
19 EU countries	n/a	£69
	£10.60	£85
	£12.45	£99
	n/a	£96.01
	8 days £36	22 days £52
	n/a	£58

Which countries are covered?

Remember: Not all countries in Europe will be covered on your policy, and the covered countries will differ between providers, so it is essential to check that your destination is covered before you buy. If you don't find your destination is covered with the first provider you check, try some others. Below is a list of all the countries that you can get European breakdown cover for:

UK*, Isle of Man*, Channel Islands*, Republic of Ireland*, Andorra, Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Austria, Belgium, Belarus, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Monaco, Moldova, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia mainland, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine.

*For your home country you may only be covered for a direct journey to or from your home or to and from a seaport or Eurotunnel terminal.

Driving in Europe Checklist

Driving license - When driving in Europe you may need to hire a car, especially if you have broken down. In order to hire a car, you will need your original driving license. Therefore if you hold a photo license then you will need the paper counterpart as well.
Vehicle registration document - If you should get pulled over by the police then you need to be able to prove that you are the owner of the vehicle you are driving. For this you should carry the vehicle registration document (V5). If you are not the owner of the car then you will need to have a letter of authority from the owner, and a Vehicle on Hire certificate (VE103).
Credit card - It is always a good idea to carry a credit card when you are in a foreign country. If you were to break down, and you needed to claim for car hire, then the car hire company would need to swipe the credit card as security.
Mobile phone - It is always a good idea to carry your mobile phone when travelling in foreign countries. You may need to use it to call your breakdown cover provider to let them know you have broken down. However, you should remember that calls made from outside the UK will cost more, and the cost of these calls won't be covered by your policy. To avoid huge mobile bills use a landline if it is possible.
European motorways and autoroutes - In the event that you break down on a motorway or autoroute, then you should use the emergency telephones at the roadside to call for recovery. Be aware that these phones may be answered by the police, who will send out a recovery vehicle for you.

Tips for driving in Europe

When you are travelling abroad this year, there are many things that you have to consider. We know how difficult it can be to organise yourself, your children, your luggage and your holiday, so to make things a little bit easier for you we have put together a few tips about what you need to remember when travelling in your car.

Car Travel Games

If you are embarking on a long journey with children, the key to keeping them happy is to be prepared. If you have a list of games you can play easily in the car, then you are bound to keep them entertained, and avoid the dreaded question, 'Are we nearly there yet?'

It's true, travelling with children can be hard work, especially if it's a long journey abroad - Car-travel-games.co.uk is dedicated to making your family trip easier, and more enjoyable. They have plenty of advice (including a pre-journey check list), free games to print out, and a travel shop with numerous essential travel items.

Here are a few things we would suggest to try:

I-Spy, is a fantastic game to play with children. You can find thing both inside and outside the car, and the children will feel great if they can outsmart you.
Who Am I? - Take it in turns to think of a famous person, past or present. Everyone has to take it in turns to ask questions to try and find out who you are. You are only allowed to answer yes or no to the questions. As soon as you answer no, the next person gets to ask a question. This continues until they guess who you are.
Car Pool - Like a game of pool you have to pot the coloured balls, except this time you have to spot different coloured cars. Playing with other passengers you each pick a colour, you have to spot and point out 7 cars of your colour, then followed by a black car to win. However, if another player spots a white car then they have their chance to spot their colour cars, and you have to wait until you can spot a white car to get back in the game.
Audio Books - If you are on your own with your child in the car, then a good way to keep them entertained whilst you concentrate on driving is to buy their favourite book in an audiobook. They can listen to it on their MP3 or portable CD player, failing that, pop it into the car stereo and you can enjoy it as well.