European breakdown cover for car and caravan
Looking for advice about best European breakdown cover for my car and caravan. Planning first trip to France on the ferry. Have seen various companies offering deals online however caravan over 7m long so limits options. Looked at caravan club red pennant
and breakdown assist for comparison. Anyone with any feedback on choice or first hand experience of service would be appreciated.
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Red Pennant quote for Annual Multi Trip up to 45 days each trip for 2016/17 just received - £228. ADAC no trip duration limit at 109 euros approx £91, and you do not need AA or Mayday etc for UK driving. Lots of discussion on this in the Overseas Section. Mod not sure why this is not in the Overseas Section!
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RP go us used it for years motoring answer personal.had to use them few years ago when our car broke down,got a replacement car and ours was waiting for us at home on our return.rather have peace of mind then quibble over a few pounds.
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I'm a youngster in overseas touring compared to some but I use Red Pennant each year, probably more costly but it gives peace of mind for car, caravan, personal and pet all under one roof. No matter what breaks down be it mechanical or ourselves, it/we will be repaired, recovered and/or brought home, purchase and forget.
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I went for the RAC today. Family emergency requires me to sail out tomorrow. Both clubs were closed and websites were crashing so often I gave up and phoned the RAC! (After wasting about 3 hours at it!). True I don't have pet cover but they aren't insured
at home. If money were no object I might go for the expensive but hopefully covered for breakdown at least and all those other things covered elsewhere. £92 for a year of trips no longer than 45 days I think.0 -
I'm a youngster in overseas touring compared to some but I use Red Pennant each year, probably more costly but it gives peace of mind for car, caravan, personal and pet all under one roof. No matter what breaks down be it mechanical or ourselves, it/we will
be repaired, recovered and/or brought home, purchase and forget.Write your comments here...Not quite true Dave if TammyG's problem with RP is anything to go by. See her thread in Club Products.
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Red Pennant has a formidable reputation for helping club members who have problems abroad and I cannot remember anyon criticising them. On that basis I would always take that option rather than risk the cheaper options. Always remember you get what you pay
for and this can be true for cheaper policies.i0 -
Couldn't agree more WW, which is why we are confused by this latest problem. It would appear from a post on another thread from the club, that last year the club extended their RP to include a M/H towing a car, they don't say if its a car on a trailer (I would think trailer) or A frame. If the former then my question on Monday will be is the trailer covered if it breaks down? (think wheel bearing) I will be very interested in their reply.
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Morning Tammy, Would you not go motorhoming for a few days while the wheel bearing on the trailer is repaired?
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have used red pennant once before thankfully never needed to make a claim i do find it rather expensive for one trip and it also seems to cover things that you would never need, we also have mayday rescue and cant beleive there is only a couple of pounds
difference between having it and not,we have deceided to go with LV breakdown cover top tier which includes european cover vans up to 8m costs are £138 a year a good saving of over £100 against red pennant and mayday.0 -
RAC Arrivals booked through Camping and Caravanning Club have no limit on size or weight of caravan for recovery. We used them whilst in France last year (not for recovery thankfully) and the service was excellent through their French contact centre.
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Morning Tammy, Would you not go motorhoming for a few days while the wheel bearing on the trailer is repaired?
Sorry for the delay ET just come back to this thread, yes we would/could but they won't recover the trailer to a garage to get it repaired. The agent says that the trailer has to be 'towable' I give up, why would you want recovery if its towable? turns out when I spoke to them again today, neither the scooter or trailer is covered unless its the motorhome that breaks down. If its the trailer that has a problem then we would have no cover, the bike however has its own breakdown cover through its bike insurance so that's not an issue. The issue is we pay the same RP as a car/caravan combination but don't get the same level of cover. (just like the ferries offer)
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Couldn't agree more WW, which is why we are confused by this latest problem. It would appear from a post on another thread from the club, that last year the club extended their RP to include a M/H towing a car, they don't say if its a car on a trailer (I
would think trailer) or A frame. If the former then my question on Monday will be is the trailer covered if it breaks down? (think wheel bearing) I will be very interested in their reply.Write your comments here...So no advise regarding the question asked in the OP, just hijack another thread me me me.
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Never understood why RP only covers you abroad and not the UK aswell, thought we were members of the EU (for now). I use Driver Guardian.co.uk £79 UK and Europe and any size caravan.
I contacted Driver Guardian and asked for their policy document and the usual exclusions common to most breakdown policies seem to apply.
1. Caravan breakdowns or accidents are not covered
2. Nothing is said about the situation where the car is away from the caravan on a day trip and suffers a breakdown or accident. It implies the caravan would only be covered if it was attached to the car at the time of the incident.
This is always a major concern to me. Sometimes verbal comments such as "we wouldn't see you stuck" are made when questions are asked but they KNOW caravans are not always taken everywhere on a touring holiday so why don't they make it clearer (even if they
said you would have to pay the towing mileage and time to pick up the caravan from site)?As on many threads we are often living in blissful ignorance of the teeny print or poor explanations that don't cover our specific needs as caravanners.
I just want a happy medium between "RP/Mayday Bells & Whistles We Don't Need" and other breakdown policies which have worrying exclusions or omissions.
I'm using Safeguard CARAVAN specific (also covers car) breakdown cover at the moment but When Will Our Club Produce Something (I believe lots of members would appreciate menu oriented cover?
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Hi Lee, Earlier this year I was looking for European cover and compared around 12 providers. I found that only two offered the cover I wanted and this was found by looking at the 'key facts' initially,then the more detailed policy documents and then phoning to confirm when it was unclear. Some providers did not cover caravans,even though in the key facts they indicated that they did, some had a limit of 7M, my van is longer, and the remainder would only cover the caravan if attached to the car.
When I called those who seemed suitable I asked specifically if the van was covered if I broke down away from site while on holiday in Italy and that is how I arrived at a choice between RP and the cover linked to Safeguard caravan insurance.
I have previously take, and had reason to call on, RPand have no issues in that regard but, as for many, the cost is a factor and I chose Safeguard which, as I was renewing my caravan insurance, was available and cost effective.
One point I would make is that many people mention ADAC but their brochure describing the service is clear that trailers/caravans are covered when attached which , for me, ruled them out.
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"Looking for advice about best European breakdown cover for my car and caravan."
This is what the OP said and, whilst it also mentioned Red Pennant, did not mention anything other than breakdown cover.
So far as breakdown cover ONLY is concerned the Safeguard policy is the closest to RP that I found and most, if not all,others came nowhere near RP but if your travel insurance is already covered, as mine is, RP is a very expensive preference. My breakdown
cover for Europe AND the U.K., with the same 'double trip' cover,was £65.0 -
We have Volvo Assist - we get it 'free' by having the car serviced at a Volvo dealership each year.
It covers home or away, all of Europe and includes the caravan. I guess you do have to own a Volvo though.
We have annual travel insurance with MrsH's M&S card and we have one of those EU medical cards (at least, we do until the Brexit!
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We have Volvo Assist - we get it 'free' by having the car serviced at a Volvo dealership each year.
It covers home or away, all of Europe and includes the caravan. I guess you do have to own a Volvo though.
We have annual travel insurance with MrsH's M&S card and we have one of those EU medical cards (at least, we do until the Brexit!
)We also have the Ford Assist which you get with a service. I wouldn't trust this to cover a CARAVAN breakdown or to deal with the caravan repatriation if away for the day.
My other constant nag is that RP is a mixture of cover which everyone won't need. In particular, the health and travel aspects (I think?) are only valid for caravan holidays which means you have to have extra cover if you take non-caravan trips.
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The following is in the Volvo Assist handbook:
"Please note: Immobilisation of caravans and trailers are also covered but only when being towed by your vehicle. The caravan or trailer will be recovered along with your vehicle."
I would think this gives some level of cover.
It covers up to 90 days per trip in Europe.
I guess you only find out how good it is when you have to use it.....like all insurances.
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