Breakdown Cover

[Phil Hayden]

I have had cover with RAC since 1987 but having haggled the last few years an finding the premium is creeping up.

I had a chat with one of the Classic car insurers recently that offer breakdown cover as part of the package but I have a multi car policy not due for renewal until October.

I need cover for 4 cars including the Triumph ( 3 Drivers) and wonder if anyone has any recommendations / comparisons re RAC, Green Flag etc and experiences when on the continent in their Triumph....You can but hope.

 

Thank Phil.

[Nigel Clark]

I insure with Peter James and the policy includes breakdown cover. This is a multi-vehicle policy with modern and classics.

Fortunately I've onlyneeded to use it once, about 18 months ago. The service, bringing my broken GT6 home was excellent.

Nigel

[poppyman]

39 minutes ago, Phil Hayden said:

I have had cover with RAC since 1987 but having haggled the last few years an finding the premium is creeping up.

I had a chat with one of the Classic car insurers recently that offer breakdown cover as part of the package but I have a multi car policy not due for renewal until October.

I need cover for 4 cars including the Triumph ( 3 Drivers) and wonder if anyone has any recommendations / comparisons re RAC, Green Flag etc and experiences when on the continent in their Triumph....You can but hope.

 

Thank Phil.

Try a company called Auto aid Mine has just come for renewal £64 for myself and wife both covered for any car including home start, only used them once for a puncture.... Arrived in 25minutes. It's online only but worth every penny.

Tony.

[Pete Lewis]

i use peter james with a modern + classic but never  had to use the breakdown cover included  

pete

[yorkshire_spam]

Peter James insurance with recovery included. Used it a couple of times and on both occasions it was the AA who turned out to recover me. I priced up breakdown cover and the AA wanted more per year than the insurance with the cover included!

[Colin Lindsay]

2 hours ago, Phil Hayden said:

I have had cover with RAC since 1987 but having haggled the last few years an finding the premium is creeping up.

They all start off at a reasonable rate - see the current TV ads for some ridiculous amount - then in a year or two it's well over £100 per year; I left the AA after over 20 years when they started to charge almost £200 renewal. I used them three times in all in twenty years, no complaints with the service but the price is exorbitant. They did try to argue that it works out at about £4 per week, and when I still insisted on leaving they dropped the renewal to just over £100. If they had done that in the first place I'd probably have kept with them.

These days I just use a mate who has a Recovery Business, he doesn't charge me and I do all his legal work and official documents. And buy the chocolate biscuits.

[Phil Hayden]

Thanks all.

I see Footman James advertise in The Courier...Is this associated with Peter James or just coincidence.

Phil.

[AndyTV8]

9 minutes ago, Phil Hayden said:

Thanks all.

I see Footman James advertise in The Courier...Is this associated with Peter James or just coincidence.

Phil.

I am almost certain that Peter James (as an individual) was a senior member of the Footman James Company many a moon ago. He then chose to leave and set up his own company which is Peter James the current TSSC insurance panel member 

...... Andy 

[Phil Hayden]

Just did a quote on line...need to call as the car has a few basic modifications.

Thanks

Phil

[Clive]

45 minutes ago, Phil Hayden said:

Just did a quote on line...need to call as the car has a few basic modifications.

Thanks

Phil

They are really very good. My car with ford engine/box and so on was no problem. They took a couple of hours to call me back after they ran it past the bean-counters, and a very fair price. 

As to cover, last year I had 2 breakdowns. (first in many many years) and both times the AA turned up and did the job. First time was a 600 mile recovery from Scotland. (all for a propshaft UJ, next day took me about 2 hours to do the job from start to finish)

[NonMember]

I'm another one with my classics insured through Peter James but never had to use the breakdown cover yet. I do also have AA for the modern, which I've used once, the day I got the cover. Had it not been a Sunday evening in the middle of winter and two hours drive from home, I'd have just bought a new battery. SMWBO has breakdown cover for her car but the only time she's "broken down" (OK, flat tyre) she was close enough to home that she rang me and I put the spare on for her.

My past experience with the RAC was poor. Herald with a snapped vertical link, right on a junction, reported as such and with a comment that it needed a "lift type tow truck". They sent (after an hour) a guy in an Astra van. He took one look, said "that needs a spec lift" and called base. He helpfully stayed around with his yellow lights flashing, as we didn't have hazards. Another hour later, a flat bed truck turned up. Driver took one look, turned to the first driver and said "I bet you asked for a spec lift. I wish they'd $&%ing told me that!" That wasn't an isolated case - the RAC seemed to follow that pattern every time.

[Mjit]

15 hours ago, AndyTV8 said:

I am almost certain that Peter James (as an individual) was a senior member of the Footman James Company many a moon ago. He then chose to leave and set up his own company which is Peter James the current TSSC insurance panel member 

...... Andy 

Yep, Peter James set up Footman James, then sold it out ~10 years ago to one of the big insurance companies.
He then set up Peter James then set up the Peter James insurance company basically doing exactly the same thing Footman James used to do.
Think I read on here that he'd sold Peter James a year or two back too?

[Phil Hayden]

Rob,

Similar experience, blocked fuel line ( didn't know that at the time though) called requesting transporter. In Suffolk needed to get back to Buckinghamshire. After 2 hours on a slip road of a major duel carriageway and a long chat with the boys in blue a RAC transit or similar turned up.

Towed of to a retail park and told we'll need a transporter ...thought so.... long story short, having had to arrange my own recovery as the RAC didn't have any vehicles in the area.. 13 hours to get home after making the call. However they did  offer me 10% discount on renewal.😖

[thescrapman]

9 hours ago, Mjit said:

Yep, Peter James set up Footman James, then sold it out ~10 years ago to one of the big insurance companies.
He then set up Peter James then set up the Peter James insurance company basically doing exactly the same thing Footman James used to do.
Think I read on here that he'd sold Peter James a year or two back too?

If he has sold up that might explain a few things

[dougbgt6]

Yes, I’m with Peter James and I broke down and got recovered.

Standard procedure with a lot of them is to send someone to try and fix it, then you have to wait again for a tow truck.

However I told PJ It wasn’t a road side fix (head gasket) so they sent a tow truck straight away.

It was an AA truck, don’t know how that works, maybe they sub contract? I remember telling the guy how much my insurance was, his response was “This tow’s costing twice that!!”

Doug

[NonMember]

12 hours ago, Phil Hayden said:

After 2 hours on a slip road of a major duel carriageway and a long chat with the boys in blue

One of the times that Herald needed the RAC was a half-shaft UJ failure on the roundabout of J2 of the M6 - ironically within sight of the RAC headquarters. In the half a minute it took us to confirm the fault and look far a nearby phone box (this was before everyone had mobiles) a police Range Rover turned up. They actually phoned the incident through to the RAC for us and declared it a "police priority" needing a tow truck. The RAC still sent a transit first and took over three hours to get something appropriate on the scene.

[Clive]

1 hour ago, dougbgt6 said:

Yes, I’m with Peter James and I broke down and got recovered.

Standard procedure with a lot of them is to send someone to try and fix it, then you have to wait again for a tow truck.

However I told PJ It wasn’t a road side fix (head gasket) so they sent a tow truck straight away.

It was an AA truck, don’t know how that works, maybe they sub contract? I remember telling the guy how much my insurance was, his response was “This tow’s costing twice that!!”

Doug

Similar here. The 2 (that is embarrassing) breakdowns in my spit last year both required recovery. First one was Scotland, UJ in prop failed, but thankfully got us to the hotel and PJ arranged for us to be recovered the 600 miles home the next day. 

5 days later I had a loom fire, called PJ, confirmed it wasn't the same fault(!) and got told to put my hazards on. I said no, as the car may catch fire if I reconnect the battery, to be told I MUST reconnect it. I laughed.... Anyway, a very helpful AA man arrived after a mere 15 minutes, not a low loader, but he had a dolly and I was home 15 minutes later. Then took the stuff out the spit and put it in the Toledo as I was off to Spa and now running late.....

Yes, it seems teh AA are PJ preferred subcontractor, and I am very happy about that. My one concern is the european cover. They verbally confirmed the recovery cost limit was unlimited when I called last year, but I can't find it in any paperwork. I know some companies limit it to 3k, so if you have a £40k tr5 that breaks down in southern Italy, they could write it off and give you 3K! More likely in that situation is they will give you 3k and you have to arrange recovery yourself, but it is a worry. 

[Colin Lindsay]

2 hours ago, dougbgt6 said:

Yes, I’m with Peter James and I broke down and got recovered.

Yes, therapy is wonderful these days.

I can't fault the AA, they brought my TD5 all the way home from Kendal after it blew a top hose on the M6, right the way to Stranraer, onto the boat, off again and home at the other side.

I was more annoyed at missing Stoneleigh and losing two nights hotel refund. I still left the AA after their prices went through the roof, and they pestered me for months afterwards with silent phone calls until I answered one day and told them to leave me alone, after which - they did.

[poppyman]

I broke down in my Dolly auto when the nos condensor packed up. Sadly my box of spares and tools were on the bench at home  as i had been rustproofing in the boot   AA came out after testing agreed with me. I will put on the frame  said man, it's auto say's me. Will have to call for flatbed say's man. Disconnect prop say's me.... Not allowed say's man...... Lift the back end then say's me...... not allowed say's man.  Health and safety say's man, adding i would if they would let me as you are only 12 miles from home. Another half hour a very posh covered flat bed arrived and took me home and he pushed it in the garage for me. All went very smooth, so yes PJ it is for me and i have just renewed.

Tony.

[Dick Twitchen]

4 hours ago, clive said:

My one concern is the european cover. They verbally confirmed the recovery cost limit was unlimited when I called last year, but I can't find it in any paperwork.

I raised this last year with PJ following Laon Historique where a Tiumph owner at the campsite had a small accident and his insurance (not PJ or a TSSC panel member) said because it was an accident and not a breakdown up to him to sort it out.  Response from PJ, cannot immediately put my hand on it, was very clear they will get you home be it accident or breakdown..

[Clive]

Be nice to have it in writing!

5 hours ago, Dick Twitchen said:

I raised this last year with PJ following Laon Historique where a Tiumph owner at the campsite had a small accident and his insurance (not PJ or a TSSC panel member) said because it was an accident and not a breakdown up to him to sort it out.  Response from PJ, cannot immediately put my hand on it, was very clear they will get you home be it accident or breakdown..

 

[Dick Twitchen]

Clive , apologies if this sounds a bit abrupt but they pointed me to the Additional Cover booklet, Section 2, pages 9 & 10.  However, as you point out it does not talk about any financial limitations, ergo there are not any? Dick

[dannyb]

I get breakdown included with RH insurance.  2 years ago  my Spit broke down at John O'groats on the RBRR.   They relayed me back to Essex by 4 pickups, which took some 15 hours.

I could not fault them

 

Danny

 

[PeteH]

HI

I currently have "Member Cover" with RAC, through my Motorhome insurance, which covers me for ANY vehicle I am in. It`s not cheap though, even through the Camping Club scheme!. (arrival). SWMBO`s car is covered fully, via her Lease Scheme.

As an aside to this. There will hopefully come a time when the value of the 13/60. will be enough to warrant cover even though it will still be unroadworthy. Is there a (known) scheme whereby a car under long term repair refurb, could be covered against (say) Fire and or theft?.

[NonMember]

13 minutes ago, PeteH said:

I currently have "Member Cover" with RAC, through my Motorhome insurance, which covers me for ANY vehicle I am in.

Be careful with the small print on that! Last time I looked the "member cover" option (from all the major breakdown services) covers you for any vehicle under 15 years old that you're in.

(Edit: In my case, that actually excludes SWMBO's car and, from next year, my modern)