I take it if your reading this you are looking at Breakdown insurance to cover the car and the caravan!!

So what do you need?

And where you are more likely to use the caravan are your first questions.

Uk only or UK and Europe?

Single tip or Annual cover.

Annual cover in my experience works out at similar costs. Myself and other members of the Amigo’s team have been paying for a number of years now around £60 for full UK and European Breakdown annual policies and in the instances that we have used them have had no problems. Compare that to some leading names who charge three times the price for single trip cover.

And will my caravan be covered in the event of a breakdown?

Not all policies cover caravans and some only cover up to 7m. Also worth looking at are the countries that you will be covered in. For example it is more difficult to find a policy that covers Croatia or other parts of Eastern Europe.

Breakdown cover is a worthwhile policy to have, especially if you drive frequently. Each year, thousands of motorists get stuck on the side of the road. And each year, caravanners venture to the Continent without proper breakdown cover.

The consequences can be financially crippling. According to Bill Smith, manager of emergency services at the Caravan Club, the cost of repatriating an outfit to the UK can be extortionate: "We once had to pay out more than £2500 just to get a family's badly damaged van from the autobahn to a local garage," he said. And this comes before any addition of retrieval and shipping back to the UK. Luckily this family had the foresight to get appropriate cover, saving themselves thousands of pounds' expense.

Keeping your fingers crossed may do the trick nine times out of ten, but have you considered that just one fateful sojourn onto a foreign hard shoulder may deprive you of your holiday budget for the next couple of years. Aside from personal injury and the usual horror scenarios, the prospect of being stranded on some distant autobahn with a damaged car and caravan is not one to ignore. Mr Smith explains: "The first thing that needs to be borne in mind is that a car and caravan outfit cannot be repatriated on an ordinary car transporter. If a large, expensive flat bed is used, then it is possible to bring back both at once.

This makes it much more expensive than if we were only dealing with cars." We calculated an average cost for the rescue of a Land Rover Discovery with Swift Challenger 530, from the French Riviera. Starting with the initial roadside retrieval of £100, there's then the cost of storage at £15 per day for, say, five days. Add to this a moderate estimate of £1300 for repatriation and the cost of four family air fares, at £100 each, and the bill is heading towards £2000. The AA gave us an estimation of the costs in repatriating from further afield. Using representative locations in Rome, Malaga and central Scandinavia, the figures hovered around an eye-watering £3000, just for getting the caravan home. With this figure returning the traveller only as far as London, you can then add on the cost of any further journeys.

Types of cover:

Policies tend to operate in one of two ways. They will either be an auto service policy, or a pay-and-claim policy.

Auto service polices are what most people recognise as breakdown cover. If you breakdown, you call the service and they will come out to fix the problem. The AA and RAC work in this way.

Pay-and-claim policies work in a different way. When you breakdown and notify the service, they will then contact a recovery firm in the area who will come and do the repairs or recovery necessary. You pay for this at the time, and then claim the cost back by submitting receipts to the recovery firm. It is a more complicated process but it is almost always cheaper than auto service policies.

Make sure you know which type of policy you are getting when you take out the cover. If you do not anticipate having to use the service frequently, pay-and-claim may be better value. But if you feel your car might need rescuing more often, auto service will be more convenient.

The most basic type of cover is roadside rescue. This policy will ensure that you get your car fixed on the roadside if it breaks down. It will not be covered if car does not start outside of your home or breaks down within a specified radius (usually one third of a mile) away from your home. If you think you need to be covered for breakdowns at or near your home you can apply for a roadside and home rescue policy. You will generally be covered if your vehicle needs to be towed to a local garage.

The most comprehensive cover you can get is roadside rescue and recovery plus. This policy will provide all the perks of roadside rescue and home rescue plus a couple of extras, including a courtesy car or train ticket that you can use to continue on your journey. Policies will normally let you use the courtesy car for 24 hours and will charge you extra if you need the car for longer. It will cover the cost of any other mode of transport you use to wherever you need to go. It might also pay for accommodation in a local hotel while repairs are being carried out, provided the breakdown occurred a set number of miles away from your home.

Some policies will cover an individual, rather than a particular vehicle. If you are required to use several different vehicles, this type of policy may be more suitable.

Some insurers include European cover in normal policies so check with your provider first before you get the extra cover. Most European rescue policies will cover you for breaking down on the roadside, returning your vehicle back to the UK if it cannot be driven and the delivery (but not the cost) of replacement parts if they are not available locally.

Some policies might allow you to include a spouse or partner but check if it needs to be organised in advance. Joint cover will cover you and a partner, provided they live at the same address as you. Family cover will include you, a partner and usually two children under 21 living at the same address as you. Generally, breakdown policies will provide cover everyone who is travelling in the car, but its best to check this with your provider first. You will usually wait between 25 minutes to an hour for roadside assistance.

Some policies limit you to between five and six call outs each year. If you have joint cover or family cover you may be entitled to more. If you exceed your limit you might have to pay for assistance. Policies will not cover the cost of parts that need to be replaced. Some providers offer a specialist replacement policy as an extra. Some policies will not cover trailers and caravans. If you are transporting animals, such as horses or livestock they are not usually covered under the recovery policy.

Regular servicing and carrying some basic equipment can save you an awful lot of hassle. You will also find that your policy may be void if you have evidence of a service within twelve months.

You are also required by law to keep your car in a roadworthy condition. Check your battery; the tyre tread (legal standard is 1.6mm); lights, spark plugs; clutch cables; starter motor and of course fuel, oil and water, particularly before embarking on a long journey.

Tips

Shop around you can find some fantastic deals on the web.

Compare the policies pick a leading brand policy and compare cover you may be surprised.

Look at who the insurer uses for its breakdown service.

Some caravanning organisations offer you full service trip that covers all your insurance needs. They are very handy if you want a one stop shop but be prepared to pay a premium

They above information although as accurate as possible from reliable internet souces may contain errors it is your responsability to ensure your cover meets your needs.