EUROPEAN BREAKDOWN COVER

Look into the German Club ADAC you cannot beat it for value or cover will cover you, your car (anycar) and caravan of any size plus wife or partner for 98.70 euro's per year.  This covers the whole of Europe including the UK.  For more info see my website http://www.dvthompson.webs.com under Clubs, Breakdown and Organizations.  Contact me if you need to know more. 

Hi Chippie

I had this problem before, when we had a new car. Although the car came with three years breakdown cover for UK and Europe, when I looked at the small print it did not provide sufficient cover for the caravan (only vans up to 7 metres, and no cover if van breaks down - only car).

....so I arranged a separate policy for the caravan through Mondial Assistance ww.mondial-assistance.co.uk       

I can't remember the details, but it covered all my requirements and was very reasonable in price.

I was in the same situation with the car being covered by manufacturer but I felt I needed a lot more than that just in case catastrophe struck just the caravan so paid up for the Red Pennant.

Hi. I can strongly recommnd that you use Red Pennant.We just got back today from a 2 week trip to France and I took out the Red Pennant policy for the car and caravan. We spent a week in Normandy and were heading to La Tranche Sur Mer in the Vendee a week past Sunday. About 20 miles north of Nantes suddenly lost power going up hill and a lot of black smoke from the exhaust. Pulled in to hard shoulder and called emergency services. Breakdown truck arrived in about 30 minutes and as he couldn't fix the problem there he took us back to his local garage. The car was on the flatbed and the caravan attached to his towbar. His wife phoned Red Pennant and much to her surprise spoke to a fluent french speaker. They arranged for us to go to a local municipal site for the Sunday night while Red Pennant tried to find a Land Rover dealer. Got a call first thing Monday to say that they had found a dealer about 20 miles from La Tranche and the chap would take the car there and then take us on with the caravan to La Tranche. Overall trip about 100 miles. We arrived by four in the afternoon so had only lost one day. Car was fixed by Tuesday morning and I had to get a taxi to collect it. All repair costs, taxi fare and breakdown recovery covered in my one off premium of £128. Well worth the money and peace of mind.

That seems expencive to me when you can get 12 month for excellent cover for 79. 50 euro's + 19.20 euro's for extra person at ADAC. 

Does ADAC give personal cover in the same way that Red Pennant does  such as emergency return home, holiday cancellation and medical cover etc etc ? I don't know so can someone advise please.

I have had to use the execllent services of Red Pennant on two occasions both of which were sorted quickly and efficiently, the only slight hiccup being when R.P. handed over part of the job to ADAC as we were in Germany. The ADAC guy who RP handed me over to admitted that he didn't speak much English (although 1000% better than my German !). If a problem occurs in France I believe RP handle it totally themselves.

Having experienced RP's efficiency first hand, for the completeness of the package including provision of hire cars and taxis and their first rate efficiency I'm quite happy at the moment to pay the small extra amount for a lot more peace of mind.

JohnM

ADAC Breakdown Plus does not cover health and emergency if you had to return to the UK for illness of someone in the UK but does cover if you or your partner were taken ill while driving in Europe or had an accident.  Then they have their own flight of helicopters and planes to fly you to anywhere in Europe in an emergency situation.  For repatriation in case of Breakdown then you are flown home by arrangement with an airline.  CC  Red Pennant.  is also split into 3 covers. Motoring and Personal, Just Motoring or Just Personal but is only from 66, 122 or 185 days a year.   ADAC is 98 .70 Euro's per year Breakdown of Car and Caravan which we have, Health and Holiday Insurance we  have free with our Lloyds Bank Account. 

Excellent cover for less, is only as good as it turns out to be in the event that you need to use it, and you've only to read the stories on here and other forums about people being refused help because 'the caravan is not covered' or 'you weren't towing at the time' - or similar.  Recently someone caught up in the floods in the Var was refused help by his insurers, but the guy sent from the Caravan Club to help their Red Pennant customers helped sort something out for him.  Another story was that of a tow-truck sent  by another insurer to pick up a car and caravan but the caravan had to be unhitched and left at the side of the road whilst the car was sorted out elsewhere and the people had to make their own arrangements for overnight stays!

You may save money in the short term, but if you need to use your breakdown insurance, who knows how much it might cost you in heartbreak, lost holiday, etc., if it doesn't provide 'what it says on the tin'!

I can assure you that ADAC cover is complete for everything more so that Red Pennant.  You can read of some of the incidents on my web site.  Another member of this Forum who lives in Germany checked ADAC out for me before we signed up.  Green Flag, AA, RAC and many more clubs or companies will not cover over 7.50 metre caravans in Europe and repatriate them home.  Leaving the Caravan Club and Camping Club the only others in this Country to cover larger vans.  Though someone did say they will not cover the wider vans I do not know for sure.  ADAC covers your car, your caravan wider width and up to 10 metres long.    

Would recommend Red Pennant too,did seem expensive this year but its the classic case of insurance is always expensive until you need it , then you find out how good they really are and you cant get better than word of mouth from peoples own experiences.