European breakdown cover

  • Thread starter Thread starter John McIlhoney
  • Start date Start date

John McIlhoney

Guest
Calling all "Euro Nomads". I am going to spend the winter in Spain (my first long term venture) but cannot find reasonably priced European breakdown cover for the 6 months I will be out of the UK. Does anyone know of a breakdown company that will not charge the earth for a Motorhome European breakdown cover for 6 months from mid September 2017?
 
Until a couple of years ago I insured my van with Safeguard. As I recall this included both unlimited European travel cover including breakdown cover as well as unlimited annual mileage. It was quite reasonably priced - about £300 per year.

I have since moved my van insurance to AIB as I have a Nationwide Flex Plus bank account which includes unlimited European (including motor home) breakdown cover. This account also gives you and family members up to 31 days per trip world wide travel insurance which I extend to 90 days per trip with a £90 annual fee. You can also make commission free cash withdrawals abroad with the debit card. The downside is that the account costs £10 per month going up to £13 in September however you do get 3% interest on any balances up to £2500 so if you kept that much in your account it would reduce the account charge to £3.75 per month - £6.75 from September.

Two possible approaches for you?
 
Adac

We use ADAC a German company for the two of us wintering in Spain/Portugal (will be our third time this year) We are paying €109 for 12 months cover for Europe and U.K. Although German they have English speaking staff when you phone them (if you break down)Not needed them yet but have read good reviews of their service. Don't phone them to apply though....use the web address below....
A few on here will soon comment I'm sure !

Fehlerseite

Oh, if leaving your home empty make sure the house insurance covers long periods away....if not there are ones that do.

Maja
 
Adac

John McIlhoney said:
Calling all "Euro Nomads". I am going to spend the winter in Spain (my first long term venture) but cannot find reasonably priced European breakdown cover for the 6 months I will be out of the UK. Does anyone know of a breakdown company that will not charge the earth for a Motorhome European breakdown cover for 6 months from mid September 2017?
Click to expand...

My post in the link may be useful if you go the ADAC route.
https://www.wildcamping.co.uk/forums/motorhome-chat/62807-adac-cover-uk-non-motorhome.html#post833033
 
maja07 said:
We use ADAC a German company for the two of us wintering in Spain/Portugal (will be our third time this year) We are paying €109 for 12 months cover for Europe and U.K. Although German they have English speaking staff when you phone them (if you break down)Not needed them yet but have read good reviews of their service. Don't phone them to apply though....use the web address below....
A few on here will soon comment I'm sure !

Fehlerseite

Oh, if leaving your home empty make sure the house insurance covers long periods away....if not there are ones that do.

Maja
Click to expand...

The link goes to a "sorry page not found" page for me on ADAC site.
 
....thanks Dnk....that link you posted is great thanks 🙏 ! Maja
 
Does anyone know for certain whether ADAC provides
cover for more than 90 days in a single trip? I seem to
recall that they didn't and that's why I never joined up.
This was more than 10 years ago so terms & conditions
may wel have changed in the interim..
 
I joined ADAC earlier this year bit I couldn't do it online as they only had in input for a German address. I rang and spoke to an English speaking guy who signed me up using my credit card, I have cover for myself and my husband, a personal one not a vehicle based one, so any vehicle in our posession I guess?
They also repatriate the person as well as the vehicle which some breakdowns don't do,the also recover pets too, carrying them where the RAC won't.
 
90 days

Hi, have checked the docs and it mentions 92 days actually...but that was just about long enough last time..will need to look further into it for this winter.....Thanks Byronic....Maja
 
Byronic said:
Does anyone know for certain whether ADAC provides
cover for more than 90 days in a single trip? I seem to
recall that they didn't and that's why I never joined up.
This was more than 10 years ago so terms & conditions
may wel have changed in the interim..
Click to expand...

The 92 days is relevant to certain benefits detailed in notes. So I assume all other benefits are not excluded for trips beyond 92 days.

"The benefits relating to illness, injury, death and other emergencies (§§24 to 34) apply while travelling. Travelling means that you are more than 50km (distance over land) away from your place of residence. In the European area of coverage, cover extends to travel which at the time of the incident did not exceed 92 days in duration since departure from the place of residence".

I have found the relevant notes by translating from their site attached here:
 

Attachments

Last edited:
Byronic said:
Does anyone know for certain whether ADAC provides
cover for more than 90 days in a single trip? I seem to
recall that they didn't and that's why I never joined up.
This was more than 10 years ago so terms & conditions
may wel have changed in the interim..
Click to expand...

There is no trip limit. It is an annual insurance-based product that covers Europe and some other countries too ...
 
didds said:
how would they know?

didds
Click to expand...

I suppose for Brits they would ask for your last ferry ticket.
And for serious cases where they suspect fraud and
have to call in Interpol (unlikely lol) mobile phone records,
cctv at frontier points! I suppose in order to enable them
to enforce a 92 day rule, that they must have a cunning
plan in order to ask you the relevant incriminating questions,
probably as dreamt up & stipulated by insurance underwriters
in olde City of Londontowne.
Then of course the alternative is that they might not be
bothered to question anything.
 
No trip limit

Hi, yes, it is a annual insurance as Chris says.....so we are going to renew for this winters 4 months trip.
We have emailed Adac for clarification on the length of single trip issue but suspect not a limit as is annual.
Will post if we hear any different.....Maja
 
DnK said:
The 92 days is relevant to certain benefits detailed in notes. So I assume all other benefits are not excluded for trips beyond 92 days.

"The benefits relating to illness, injury, death and other emergencies (§§24 to 34) apply while travelling. Travelling means that you are more than 50km (distance over land) away from your place of residence. In the European area of coverage, cover extends to travel which at the time of the incident did not exceed 92 days in duration since departure from the place of residence".

I have found most of the notes by translating from their site attached here (can't find notes 26 & 29):
Click to expand...


The exclusions may not be a deal breaker for most people. Although the missing clauses
may be of relevance. Conditions were updated 2014, after the last time I looked.
Post# 12 poi admin. states clearly no trip limit, but it looks likely there are exclusions, limited to 92 days.

I make a token effort most years to get "suitable" cover. Then I just take a fatalistic
decision, no breakdown insurance. I'll just pay as and when, I just can't be bothered
with even more paperwork. If I poured over the t & c of all the documentation concerned
with the van add MOT, VED, maintenance etc. I'd end up not having the time to actually get
away in the damn thing. Slight exaggeration only!
 
....that's how we view it too....so away we go..... Maja
 
DnK said:
My post in the link may be useful if you go the ADAC route.
https://www.wildcamping.co.uk/forums/motorhome-chat/62807-adac-cover-uk-non-motorhome.html#post833033
Click to expand...
I see that link was to a question I asked and you kindly replied to :dog:

So I thought I would update as I called ADAC a few days ago ....
Called the German +49 number and got through to a ADAC rep. Requested an English speaker and the lady switched instantly to perfect English and was extremely helpful.
Took out ADAC Plus cover (required for out of Germany cover as I understand it, so as a UK resident, it is effectively mandatory) for myself and partner at a cost of €109. Took out cover to start 1st of August (today!) as ADAC work on a monthly basis, so taking out the policy a few days ago would have lost me nearly a month of coverage (bit like road tax ...something to consider when buying for first time)
I was advised that ADAC can sometimes have issues dealing with vehicles >3.5t, despite not having a policy barring them (like the AA and RAC do) due to limitations with Flat-bed recovery trucks getting access to some roads. I think this is more of a potential 'heads-up' rather then 'we can't help' message and she confirmed they have many many UK members with big motorhomes.
Call went swimmingly until just about done when the phone started playing up - I could hear her, but she couldn't hear me. But I got my membership number. A follow up email asking to confirm all was ok was sent, and I got a reply today to say so (I think! I need to put it through a translator to check for sure).

Apart from the negative of having to always call an international number to obtain service, and needing to do translation if a non-german reader, the benefits of ADAC over the various UK options seem massive to me when you consider like for like, even before you factor in full international service and repatriation included as standard.
 
wildebus said:
Apart from the negative of having to always call an international number to obtain service, and needing to do translation if a non-german reader, the benefits of ADAC over the various UK options seem massive to me when you consider like for like, even before you factor in full international service and repatriation included as standard.
Click to expand...

Remember that if you're in Europe calls to Germany should now be included in your call allowance.

If you're in the UK it is worth joining Welcome to 18185.co.uk: UK's Leading Telephone Discounter! thereby allowing you to call Germany on your mobile at 1p per minute.
 
POI Admin said:
Remember that if you're in Europe calls to Germany should now be included in your call allowance.

If you're in the UK it is worth joining Welcome to 18185.co.uk: UK's Leading Telephone Discounter! thereby allowing you to call Germany on your mobile at 1p per minute.
Click to expand...

I used to use 18185 for all calls actually years ago and forgot about it. I'll have to renew my contract :)

You sure about the mobile thing and Germany? Is not just calls back to your home country included? (Thinking otherwise you could get a non-UK PAYG SIM and make international calls to any EU country within your allowance when at home?)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top