# Newbies to france - Insurance and breakdown cover ?



## haggispeed (May 10, 2005)

We're off to France in June, will be our first European trip in the motorhome. We have normal travel insurance and the Motorhome insurance covers us for European travel. What about breakdown and recovery, what would people recommend ? At the moment I have basic AA breakdown cover in UK (courtesy of the Bank) but am looking to improve that anyway to cover a trailer too and have recovery. I have heard RAC Arrival is quite good with no silly restrictions. Motorhome is an AS Duetto, just under 6m. All opinions welcomed.


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## dodger148 (May 9, 2005)

Some of the insurers, Safeguard for instance include Continental AA cover in with the policy. If your bank does AA cover do they do freeby Personal Travel Insurance - Alliance & leicester do


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## 88735 (May 9, 2005)

We're off to france for the first time in august and we have the fiat aa assist, I was hoping this was adequate cover but looks like i'll have to make sure.
I give them a ring and check :?: 


Chris & Brenda


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## MOTORHOMER (May 9, 2005)

bauldy said:


> We're off to france for the first time in august and we have the fiat aa assist, I was hoping this was adequate cover but looks like i'll have to make sure.
> I give them a ring and check :?:
> 
> Chris & Brenda


We have this cover for the van as well & were hoping it would cover us. Not got round to ringing yet & we go in June.

Motorhomer


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## rednev (May 10, 2005)

Hi We currently have RAC arrival cover from CCC we are away in August cover for 21 days RAC £106 or £85 if added to your cover you already have,we go with CCC cover as we have used it in the past and was very good you contact a person in UK give them your location they do the rest, cover was £121 but inclued personnel cover for two.But of course you must be a member Paul.


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## 88781 (May 9, 2005)

Anyone requiring breakdown cover whilst abroad, wil be best advised to make sure Ins. Co. providing the cover for your stay, are fully aware of the length, height and weight of your 'van.

Ours is 8mtrs and weighs 4 tonnes, we are struggling to get cover at a reasonable cost, still shopping around if anyone can beat £144 for three weeks! 8O 

M&D


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## peedee (May 10, 2005)

I think it all depends on your attitude to risks and the 'teams' capabilities and available time to soak up any delays.

Some questions you might like to ask yourself are. Can you afford to be stuck abroad if anything goes wrong? If you have to be repatriated, who is going to be able to drive the vehicle? What do I do if the vehicle is imobilised and is required to be returned to the UK for repair? In my experience the above are not covered by the breakdown services or any medical insurance. The best cover comes from the the CC and C&CC who tailor their policies for members. It might not be the cheapest but could save you a great deal of money in the event of mishap.


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## autostratus (May 9, 2005)

bauldy said:


> We're off to france for the first time in august and we have the fiat aa assist, I was hoping this was adequate cover but looks like i'll have to make sure.
> I give them a ring and check :?:
> 
> Chris & Brenda


We have Peugeot Assist which was part of the Peugeot package with our van. We also have breakdown cover with our Comfort (Norwich Union) Insurance. In addition we have Red Pennant Multi-trip Health and Motoring cover through the Caravan Club.
I make that belt and braces plus safety pin! :lol:

When we had a major breakdown in France in June 2004 we immediately contacted Peugeot Assist who arranged for the Van to be taken to a Peogeot dealer in Perigueux for assessment and the garage arranged a hire car on behalf of Peugeot Assist.
Peugeot Assist would only pay for a car for 48 hours although they did allow us an extra 24 hours as the 3rd day was a Sunday. This although the garage did say that the engine was warranty covered and the breakdown was not in any way due to us.
MORAL: Check manufacturers breakdown cover. Is Fiat Assist similar to Peugeot Assist?

We contacted the Caravan Club on the Monday and they extended the hire of the car until we were able to collect the motorhome 9 days later. They were very good in enquiring whether the car was big enough, whether we needed hotel accomodation, whether we wanted to travel home and return later and rung us a few days later to ask how things were going and whether they could be of any other assistance.
I can't speak too highly of them.

Because they didn't have an account with Hertz we were asked if we would settle the bill. On our return to the UK we submitted the paid invoice and had repayment by return so no hardship.

We sometimes wonder if we have too much cover but I was grateful for it on that occasion.

One daft thing to come out of the incident was that Peugeot Assist wanted to repatriate the motorhome to the UK to have the engine repaired. Daft.
We pointed out that we were in France with a Peugeot and that the Peugeot dealer was willing to carry out the repair.
Furthermore we weren't prepared to see our pride and joy carted off on the back of a low loader and fall prey to all and sundry on the journey back to Leicestershire.
We won and it was repaired in France.


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## 89154 (May 15, 2005)

Gillian,

do you happen to have a list of Aires for France or is this a silly question?

we are touring Western Europe namely, France, Spain and Portugal from November thru to March

So looking for any tips and sites etc


TIA

Jim


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## frenchfancy (May 21, 2005)

*European breakdown and recovery*

Hi, we are newbies to motorhoming also, and are taking our first trip to France in 3 weeks time. We obtained breakdown and recovery service in Europe through our Motorhome insurers which are Camptons, the premium is £60 per year. Hope this is a useful tip. and good luck.


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## 89154 (May 15, 2005)

*Pets abroad*

Thanx for the tip, can u tell me if the dog is covered in the breakdown agreement

I now have concern as the RAC only give car to port then you have to travel across as foot passenger and pick up a car in Dover or the UK port you land in to get you home. The problem is the Ferries dont allow dogs as foot passengers

Anyone know the answer?


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## Enodreven (Aug 29, 2005)

Hi, just an update, make sure your normal insurance extends the same level of cover you have in the UK to the countries you are traveling to, as if you are unlucky enough to have a Road Traffic Accident you will find that your breakdown cover generally will not recover your vehicle. While the company may do the actual work they normally want to recover their costs from your insurance, and if your insurance only provides the minimum cover while you are outside of the UK you could find yourselves picking up the costs.

Also most of the breakdown warrantees that come with new vehicles do not cover Road Traffic Accidents.

Double check your insurance and get a Green Card if Necessary ?

Read the small print in your breakdown insurance "Accident" is not in there opinion the same as a road traffic Accident

Double Check that the breakdown insurance covers your size of vehicle ?

Hope this helps

Brian


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