European Breakdown for Motorhome

hitchglitch
hitchglitch Forum Participant Posts: 3,007
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edited January 2016 in Caravan & Motorhome Chat #1

Our new Motorhome comes with a European warranty for the base vehicle (Peugeot) which includes breakdown cover. I am undecided as to whether I also need Red Pennant or similar, particularly in France where there should be a lot of Peugeot garages. Any thoughts?

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  • DavidKlyne
    DavidKlyne Club Member Posts: 13,867 ✭✭✭
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    edited January 2016 #2

    I would read the T&C's of that service carefully as it might only offer roadside assistance or recovery to the nearest garage. What if you need recovery back to the UK for either mechanical or medical reasons will it cover that? 

    David

  • hitchglitch
    hitchglitch Forum Participant Posts: 3,007
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    edited January 2016 #3

    Medical would be a separate cover anyway and mechanical problems can be fixed locally, I guess the only problem would be recovery to UK after an accident. 

  • eurortraveller
    eurortraveller Club Member Posts: 6,830 ✭✭✭
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    edited January 2016 #4

    Recovery to a repair shop after an accident is down to your annual motor insurance. Breakdown insurance is for breakdowns. 

  • peedee
    peedee Club Member Posts: 9,394 ✭✭✭
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    edited January 2016 #5

    Medical would be a separate cover anyway and mechanical problems can be fixed locally, I guess the only problem would be recovery to UK after an accident. 

    or a puncture which you cannot deal with yourself. Breakdown under a guarantee doesn't usually cover anything other than mechanical failure.

    peedee

  • dunelm
    dunelm Forum Participant Posts: 373
    edited January 2016 #6

    When we bought a new Peugeot van eight year ago I noticed that the Peugeot cover did not include assistance regarding tyres/punctures.  We were not happy about the possibility of having  to change a wheel ourselves (getting the spare from under the vehicle
    would be difficult) so we kept with Green Flag for UK breakdown cover and we always take out European breakdown cover through the Camping and Caravanning Club (same level of cover  and reputation as Red Pennant but at a lower cost). We feel that the cost is
    worth it to know that we are covered for every eventuality.

    The choice is yours but I do recommend that you check  exactly what  is coveed by the Peugeot package.

    I recommend you

  • BlueVanMan
    BlueVanMan Forum Participant Posts: 382
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    edited January 2016 #7

    Personally I would not rely on a manufacturers package. I had a problem with a warranty claim on my vehicle in its early life and the manufacturers did not play with a straight bat (although the converter/retailer was superb). Consequently the danger is
    that manufacturer would try to slip through any gaps in the warranty and in my case quoted and sought to rely on exclusions which were non existent but were said to be "policy". There are various options to package European Rescue and recovery cover  with
    your annual insurance or purchase separately. What you buy may also depend on what medical cover you have/need for travelling and how many days you want to travel in Europe.

    Red Pennant is relatively expensive. I have no experience of using them except once in 2009 when they totally failed to address the problem a smashed mirror following a relatively minor hit and run on the Czech motorway . However for fairness and balance
    I should say that they subsequently explained the communicational and logistic reasons for non attendance. On the other hand for my trips last year I used Red Pennant because they offered (for me at the time) the best combination of value and content in the
    package. As always the key is to look very carefully at what the various options are and look carefully at what you are getting. Obtain policy documents and actually
    read them. With a bit of effort you can understand in detail what is and is not covered.

    Summary

    Think carefully about what you need (medical, breakdown, recovery, annual, trip by trip, how many days in total )

    Obtain various quotes RP,  Comfort, Safeguard standalone medical standalone recovery)

    Analyse quotes carefully looking at detail.

    Make a decision based on best offering cost being a factor but sufficiency of cover being the most important.

  • GeordieBiker
    GeordieBiker Forum Participant Posts: 45
    edited January 2016 #8

    Medical would be a separate cover anyway and mechanical problems can be fixed locally, I guess the only problem would be recovery to UK after an accident. 

    Some breakdown policies also cover for the eventuality that a sole driver cannot drive for medical reasons e.g. the following is an extract from the Brittania Rescue UK & European Breakdown policy:



    Section G5 – Relief Driver

    If the only available driver cannot continue a journey because of illness or injury, we will:

    Provide a qualified driver to drive your vehicle and up to 7 passengers back to your home address in the UK; or

    Pay any extra costs to transport your vehicle, up to 7 passengers and luggage back to the UK as long as these costs are not higher than the market value of your vehicle. 



     

  • royandsharont
    royandsharont Forum Participant Posts: 735
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    edited January 2016 #9

    My Fiat Ducato Camper Assist for a new Swift covered everything you would expect or need for all areas for the first 3 years so I only needed to get a separate policy this year and did so via my insurers, Comfort, which was also very good value and
    covered everything too. Regards, Roy

  • hitchglitch
    hitchglitch Forum Participant Posts: 3,007
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    edited January 2016 #10

    Thanks for all the comments above. I am clear on what to look for in terms of breakdown cover but confused about what happens in the event of an accident and the vehicle cannot be driven? Presumably European Breakdown does not include recovery after an accident,
    or does it?

  • ValDa
    ValDa Forum Participant Posts: 3,004
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    edited January 2016 #11

    As I understand it, after an accident, resulting in a car which can't be driven, it would be generally up to your car insurance company to arrange recovery - by whatever means they generally use.  

  • hitchglitch
    hitchglitch Forum Participant Posts: 3,007
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    edited January 2016 #12

    Thanks Val. I just checked RP booklet and it does cover accidents as well as breakdown. Should have checked before blogging! I also need to check insurance policy.

  • Wildwood
    Wildwood Club Member Posts: 3,585
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    edited January 2016 #13

    Val is correct, your motor insurance will cover you for repatriation of the vehicle after an accident but do remember you have to get back too so depending on the cover the insurer gives additional cover might still be wise.

    There is also the point that the manufacturers cover might leave you short in the event of a serious mechanical failure which cannot be fixed within your time scale and you either have to leave it there uintil it is fixed  and go out to collect it later
    or bring it back to be fixed at home.You may need to check to see what cover you have.

    A lot depends on where you are going, if it is near the port then may be the cost is bearable, but if it was the South of France then the whole thing gets very expensive.

  • hitchglitch
    hitchglitch Forum Participant Posts: 3,007
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    edited January 2016 #14

    I have just checked my standard car insurance and, indeed, it covers getting occupants back home and the vehicle to a suitable repairer. This extends to the main European countries. It also covers overnight accommodation if needed. I am assuming that motorhome
    insurance is much the same and given that there is a one year free European breakdown cover and that we have separate multi trip medical insurance I can see  little point in taking out RP. In fact, I suspect that after the first year's warranrty I can probably
    get very competitive breakdown insurance through the main insurer.

    Now that we are retired, time is not so important and we can afford to hang around a few days getting things fixed.

  • DavidKlyne
    DavidKlyne Club Member Posts: 13,867 ✭✭✭
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    edited January 2016 #15

    How are you covered if one of you have an accident or are taken seriously ill when you might want to be together it being repatriated to the UK and travel in the motorhome was not possible. How would the motohome get back to the UK under your arrangements?

    David

  • hitchglitch
    hitchglitch Forum Participant Posts: 3,007
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    edited January 2016 #16

    Fair point. I would leave it somewhere and go back and collect when able.  The problem is that you are paying a lot for insurancing an event with a small probablility. The other features of the insurance are covered elsewhere and already paid for, of which
    the major risk is repatriation of the vehicle which can cost several thousand pounds.

    In general our view on insurance is that we cover for major problems only.  For example, we have medical insurance but with £500 excess because it is there to cover for serious illnesses not routine consultations. We never insure domestic appliances - just
    pay to have them fixed or replace. It all depends on your view of risk.

  • BlueVanMan
    BlueVanMan Forum Participant Posts: 382
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    edited January 2016 #17

    A point to watch is which drivers are permitted drivers on your policy. This may become important  in the context of repatriation when the (main) driver is ill. My wife does not drive my van but used to be  on the policy so that in an emergency she had the
    potential to drive. In 2103 I was suddenly ill 1850 mile from home. In the event I managed to drive home but if I had not been able to the insurers would NOT have repatriated the vehicle because so as far as they were concerned a driver was available. Realistically
    she could not have made the return journey on her own due to inexperience of European driving. So now she is not on the policy

  • peedee
    peedee Club Member Posts: 9,394 ✭✭✭
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    edited January 2016 #18

    How do insurers decide who will pay if an incident is covered by two separate policies? Is there some kind of priority one should be aware of?

    peedee

  • DavidKlyne
    DavidKlyne Club Member Posts: 13,867 ✭✭✭
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    edited January 2016 #19

    A point to watch is which drivers are permitted drivers on your policy. This may become important  in the context of repatriation when the (main) driver is ill. My wife does not drive my van but used to be  on the policy so that in an emergency she had the
    potential to drive. In 2103 I was suddenly ill 1850 mile from home. In the event I managed to drive home but if I had not been able to the insurers would NOT have repatriated the vehicle because so as far as they were concerned a driver was available. Realistically
    she could not have made the return journey on her own due to inexperience of European driving. So now she is not on the policy

    This is a very good point. I am in a similar position where Margaret would not feel comfortable to drive the motorhome. She is insured to drive it as insurance companies don't like single driver policies. Because I was concerned she would be put  in an untenable
    position I contacted Red Pennant and they assured me that she would not be put in that position. Whether that would be the same for other breakdown insurances I don't know.

    David

  • KjellNN
    KjellNN Club Member Posts: 8,671 ✭✭✭
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    edited January 2016 #20

    That would be the same for us with the caravan.  OH is a good driver, has driven abroad, but has never towed, and certainly would not want to do so abroad.

    Glad to hear RP would be OK with that!

  • Tammygirl
    Tammygirl Club Member Posts: 7,957 ✭✭✭
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    edited January 2016 #21

    I don't know how other European breakdwon cover works, but RP cover you from home - home,  last year this proved to be very good for us as we broke down on the way to the ferry. We didn't make the ferry, in fact we had to wait out the weekend until the garages
    opened on the Monday, the van it turned out needed a computer update, but it did go into limp mode and couldn't be driven. How would other European brake down cover deal with this kind of breakdown. RP dealt with everything, including booking us another much
    more expensive ferry crossing, other than the RP policy cost we had no other expense.

  • BlueVanMan
    BlueVanMan Forum Participant Posts: 382
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    edited January 2016 #22

    I haven't read the RP cover in detail for a while but i will next time I use it although the scenario I described in academic with only one driver on the policy. . It is however clear (because I had a specific conversation with the underwriters) that Comfort
    (Aviva) will not provide a driver is one is "available" i.e. on the policy. It is likely that other mainstream insurers will have similar policy terms but as always read your policy thoroughly.

  • hitchglitch
    hitchglitch Forum Participant Posts: 3,007
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    edited January 2016 #23

    I don't know how other European breakdwon cover works, but RP cover you from home - home,  last year this proved to be very good for us as we broke down on the way to the ferry. We didn't make the ferry, in fact we had to wait out the weekend until the garages opened on the Monday, the van it turned out needed a computer update, but it did go into limp mode and couldn't be driven. How would other European brake down cover deal with this kind of breakdown. RP dealt with everything, including booking us another much more expensive ferry crossing, other than the RP policy cost we had no other expense.

    We broke down at Dover dockside whilst waiting to board and the AA came out under our Saga European Breakdown cover. The ferry company were very sympathetic and said we could just rebook at no extra charge. Due to the confusion there was a misunderstanding and we turned up on the wrong day. No problem; we just drove on.

  • Tammygirl
    Tammygirl Club Member Posts: 7,957 ✭✭✭
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    edited January 2016 #24

    I don't know how other European breakdwon cover works, but RP cover you from home - home,  last year this proved to be very good for us as we broke down on the way to the ferry. We didn't make the ferry, in fact we had to wait out the weekend until the garages
    opened on the Monday, the van it turned out needed a computer update, but it did go into limp mode and couldn't be driven. How would other European brake down cover deal with this kind of breakdown. RP dealt with everything, including booking us another much
    more expensive ferry crossing, other than the RP policy cost we had no other expense.

    We broke down at Dover dockside whilst waiting to board and the AA came out under our Saga European Breakdown cover. The ferry company were very sympathetic and said we could just rebook at no extra charge. Due to the confusion there was a misunderstanding
    and we turned up on the wrong day. No problem; we just drove on.

    That's good to know Hitch, I would think Dover wouldn't be a problem getting another ferry however Hull and Portsmouth/Santander could mean a long wait. It was very annoying that it happened on a Friday afternoon and no garage would look at until Monday
    (we were on a Sat night ferry) what was even more annoying it was just a computer software update requiredSurprised an expensive delay
    for a 20 minute update.

  • peedee
    peedee Club Member Posts: 9,394 ✭✭✭
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    edited January 2016 #25

    This thread and the one in Overseas sites and Touring about ADAC’s cover came at the right time for me. My Mayday breakdown policy was up for renewal and I have also to make a decision about cover for my next trip on the Continent, probably to France and Spain. I have always used Mayday and Red Pennant but the later is turning out very expensive, especially as I have to pay extra to cover the size of my motorhome. I have therefore taken a few days to seriously look at some of the alternatives in detail in conjunction with what my vehicle insurance offers which is not very much especially the European Continental cover.

    I have some mandatory requirements. I have no spare wheel and my wife cannot drive my motorhome so cover for lack of a spare must be clearly spelt out and a relief driver must be available in the event of me being unable to drive. Repatriation costs of the vehicle and ourselves must also be included in the event of a serious breakdown or an accident and preferably this should also include animals although the last point can be circumnavigated if a hire car is an option. My NFU vehicle insurance offers none of the above for continental Europe and of course it does not cover breakdown in any country.

    I eventually ruled out ADAC as suitable to provide any form of cover. Mainly because of lack of confidence in the policy due to the difficulty of fully understanding the T&C. These and the business are conducted in German and are governed by German law for which I have no knowledge. I also could not find anything about the cover for the lack of a spare wheel.

    I have had a long hard look at the C&CC.s Arrival breakdown policy for the UK provided by the RAC, all 52 pages of it. What first attracted me  to this was I noticed  there were a number of options you can insure against. The one of immediate interest is that available for travel on the continent of Europe for the additional cost of £89p.a. You can also insure for the cost of replacement tyres and the T&Cs met all my mandatory requirements. These include the repatriation of both vehicle and ourselves in the event of serious breakdown or an accident, therefore the lack of the latter in my vehicle insurance is covered.  There is no limit on vehicle size. The cost of Arrival, £90 for UK single personal coverage and lack of a spare wheel is clearly covered. Further, for £89 extra I can obtain 99 percent of the cover I require for continental Europe.

    I have taken out UK Arrival cover in preference to Mayday and will probably add on continental European cover when required and carry the risks of lack of cover for animal repatriation. RP charge extra for this anyway. I already have world wide medical insurance for up to 45 days in anyone trip. At the end of the day this will result in a 50 percent saving in travel insurance costs for no to very little risk.

    peedee

  • cyberyacht
    cyberyacht Forum Participant Posts: 10,218
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    edited January 2016 #26

    Does it provide 'take you to your destination and subsequentially home' like Mayday? Your requirements are probably slightly different to caravanners as everything is in one unit.

  • peedee
    peedee Club Member Posts: 9,394 ✭✭✭
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    edited January 2016 #27

    Yes I believe it does CY if you include the "recovery option" which I have.

    peedee

  • peedee
    peedee Club Member Posts: 9,394 ✭✭✭
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    edited January 2016 #28

    Sorry CY I had to dash off otherwise I would have provided a link to the T&Cs which are >here<  Have a look at the summary of cover on page 5 onwards. Also >here< You don't have to be a C&CC member to read them but I assume you have to be a member to take out the insurance.

    Another thing that sparked my interest was if ADAC can provide the cover they do for under £100 how come other organisations can't! The cost of "Arrival" with Euopean breakdown is not much more than that of ADAC but at least I can be more confident in that I have understood the T&Cs and you are dealing with a UK organisation.

    peedee

  • Blackdeath
    Blackdeath Forum Participant Posts: 69
    edited January 2016 #29

    For those people who, like us, travel with a dog, and worry that some breakdown policies do not include pet repatration, you can get a separate policy for this.

    For our forthcoming trip to France I have paid £19 for a policy with
    Equine & Livestock
     which covers vets fees, third party liability ie if the dog escapes and causes an accident, quarantine costs of there is an issue with the Pet passport and reptriation of the dog in the event of an accident or other event which means
    you can't bring him home yourself. They do one trip or annual policies. Well worth it for peace of mind in my view

  • peedee
    peedee Club Member Posts: 9,394 ✭✭✭
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    edited January 2016 #30

    Thanks BD, I had thought of that but having never insured a pet with a separate insurance, I had no real idea of cost or who to insure with. It is certainly worth considering.

    peedee

  • cyberyacht
    cyberyacht Forum Participant Posts: 10,218
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    edited January 2016 #31

    Is this yet another case of the CC charging top dollar for a similar offering that can be obtained elsewhere? Perhaps they see themselves as the Waitrose of the leisure market. Given the enthusiasm expressed for Aldi elsewhere on this forum, one wonders
    at the loyalty to Red Pennant or is the fear of being stuck abroad?