BREAKDOWN COVER

A breakdown cover policy covers you for roadside repairs if your car breaks down while you’re out and about.

Most car breakdown cover companies will offer roadside assistance as a minimum. This means a trained mechanic will come to fix your car if it breaks down on the road. If it can’t be fixed, our vehicle recovery service will tow it to a nearby garage.

Our breakdown cover also includes all other vehicles, as long as they’re less than 3.5 tonnes (3,500kg) and no wider than 8ft 3in (2.55m). That means we can help if you break down in a motorbike, van, caravan or electric vehicle.

Larger breakdown companies manage a fleet of vans and recovery trucks, with their own staff of expert mechanics. Smaller providers tend to use third-party garages and recovery operators to provide a breakdown service.

Some policies offer unlimited callouts a year, while others might limit the number of times you can call for help at the roadside.

Find out more on what to do if you break down

Breakdown cover isn’t a legal requirement, but it does offer you support and protection if your car breaks down on the roadside. It also means you don’t have to pay for costly repairs or a tow from a vehicle recovery service if you break down.

Find out more on what to do if you break down

You can still call us to arrange instant breakdown cover and we'll come out to you – just call 0330 053 1100.

Our standard level of breakdown cover (Roadside Assistance) is available once you're more than ¼ mile away from home. We’ll help you any time of day or night in the UK, and if we can’t fix your vehicle by the roadside, we’ll tow you to a local garage for repair.

You can cover just your vehicle, or you can choose to cover yourself and up to 3 other people in any vehicle you’re travelling in:

Vehicle cover – cover for one single vehicle in your household, no matter who’s driving it. Great if you’re sharing a car with friends or family.

Personal cover – cover for you as a passenger or driver in any vehicle. Perfect if you own, borrow or regularly travel in more than one vehicle. Personal cover is our name for multi-car breakdown cover.

If you live with others who also need cover as a driver or passenger in any car, you can opt for a policy the covers them too. Choose breakdown cover for 2 people (joint policy for you and one other person), or family cover (you and up to 3 other people in your household).

If you add the following optional extras to your breakdown cover, we’ll also

• arrange travel for you and up to 7 passengers to wherever you need to be in the UK, up to 3 times a year (Onward Travel)
• take you, your vehicle and up to 7 passengers to a single destination in the UK (National Recovery)
• come to your doorstep (cover At Home), if you have trouble starting the car at home
• help towards expenses if your vehicle needs parts or garage work after we’ve tried to fix it at the roadside (Parts and Garage Cover).

We also offer European breakdown cover.

If you need help deciding on your level of cover, you can compare breakdown cover.

As the UK's largest breakdown cover provider, we we have more expert Patrols than anyone else².

We get to most of our customers in under an hour¹ – and we give priority to people in vulnerable situations.

We’ve got you covered if your car, motorbike or caravan breaks down and needs repairing by the roadside.

We’ll come to your rescue anywhere in the UK. Call us right away, or use our app to report your breakdown, pinpoint your location and track our arrival.

If your vehicle needs extra work done, they’ll tow it to a nearby garage, as standard.

Our Roadside Assistance, National Recovery, At Home and Onward Travel bundle has been awarded a Defaqto 5-star rating.

Find out more on how our breakdown cover works

If you purchase breakdown cover with us you can choose to pay annually by card or direct debit, or monthly by direct debit. 

We’ll use the payment details you provide to renew your cover automatically so that you’ll always be covered. Before the end of your first year, you’ll receive a renewal notice with the price of membership for your second year, so you’ll have plenty of time to change or cancel your cover.

If you pay annually, you’ll pay up front for a fixed 12-month breakdown cover policy and the overall price for a year will be lower than 12 monthly payments. Please note that in some circumstances – such as promotions – annual payment may not be cheaper than 12 monthly payments. There’s no refund if you cancel after your 14-day cooling-off period. You can choose how your policy renews when you set up your cover, and can opt-out of autorenewal at any time if you change your mind.

If you pay monthly, your account will be debited every month until your breakdown cover policy is cancelled. This gives you the convenience of paying per month, together with the flexibility of being able to cancel your cover at any time. After the 14-day cooling-off period, you'll just need to give us 30 days' notice.

Our breakdown cover will activate 24 hours after purchase. You can also choose to buy cover that starts up to 2 months later.

Just so you know, you can’t buy cover online if you’ve already broken down. If you need to buy instant breakdown cover at the roadside, call us on 03330 046 046.

If you have breakdown cover with us, we can help you at the scene of a road traffic accident with our Accident Assist service.

Once we’ve had the all-clear from any emergency services, we’ll do our best to make repairs to your vehicle so it’s safe to drive away from the scene. If that’s not possible, we’ll recover your vehicle and tow it to a nearby garage.

Find out more on what to do if you’ve been in an accident

With Roadside Assistance, if we can’t get you going again, we’ll tow you to a nearby garage – where you'll need to cover the cost of any repair work.

If you add Parts and Garage Cover, we’ll help cover the costs of garage repairs, which might work out cheaper.

We can’t be called out for routine maintenance or running repairs.

Along with cheap breakdown cover, membership gives you extra perks such as restaurant deals and offers on car hire, added incentives the longer you're with us, and discounts on our other services.

Our breakdown cover includes most:

• Petrol/diesel/electric/hydrogen cars of any age (including classic cars)
• Motorbikes (including quads and trikes)
• Vans
• Motorhomes
• Minibuses
• Caravans and trailers on tow at the time of breakdown

Your vehicle must be under 3.5 tonnes (3,500kg) and 8ft 3in (2.55m) wide, excluding mirrors. The same maximum weight and width separately apply to any caravans or trailers you’re towing. Your vehicle must also be roadworthy, taxed and have an up-to-date MOT.

Our breakdown cover excludes vehicles that are:

• On trade plates
• Used to carry items or people for money
• Non-motorised

Vehicles that can’t lawfully be used on a public highway are also excluded.

Learn more about our cover for different types of vehicles:

• Electric car breakdown cover
• Motorbike breakdown cover
• Caravan and motorhome breakdown cover
• Business vehicle breakdown cover

If we’re unable to fix your vehicle at the roadside and need to tow you and your passengers, we do our best to welcome pets wherever possible. If we can't take your pet, we'll do what we can to help get them home.

We recommend you use suitable travel carriers for your pet or restraints that you can use on any vehicle – so we can take your pet where they need to go safely.

Find out more on what happens to your pets when you break down

Yes – if you have drivers in your household living away from home at university or a temporary address in the UK, they're still included in your family breakdown cover policy.

Yes – if you use your vehicle for work, we can help. Whether you have one vehicle or a whole fleet, we've got you covered with business breakdown cover.

Our business breakdown cover includes cars, vans, minibuses, taxis and more specialist vehicles.

Follow these four steps if you break down:

1 – Make sure you’re in a safe place. Move your vehicle off the road if possible, or pull up onto the hard shoulder if you’re on the motorway.

2 – Stay well away from moving traffic – it’s usually safest to get out of your car (using the doors facing away from passing traffic) and wait behind a barrier.

3 – Put your hazard warning lights on and wear a reflective jacket, if you have one.

4 – Once you’re safe, give us a call on 03330 046 046. We’ll come and rescue you, even if you’re not a Member yet.

If you’re already with us, you can also report a breakdown and pinpoint your location using our app. It's the fastest way to ask us for help and track our arrival.

Find out more on what to do if your car breaks down

You only need to let us know if you have vehicle cover. Tell us as soon as you can, so we can update your membership details – and check your new vehicle is eligible (T&Cs apply). Once you've updated us, you’ll be covered in 24 hours.

Call our free helpline on 0800 262 050.

If you need information in large print, audio or Braille, just ask – you can email our customer services team at [email protected], or let us know when you call our helpline.

If you’ve broken down, you can text us on:

07860 027 999

To use the Next Generation Texting Service (NGTS – formerly known as Text Relay), just add 18001 at the start of any of our numbers.

If you require any additional adjustments (e.g. documents in large print, audio or Braille) or you need us to tailor our service to your specific requirements in the event of a breakdown, call us on 0800 262 050.

Textphone users can prefix this number with 18001.

If your current situation is affecting how you manage your finances and you require additional help or support, call us on 0800 262 050.

Our breakdown cover policy documents give you the terms and conditions of the contracts that make up AA Breakdown Membership and AA Parts and Garage Cover (AA Breakdown Repair Cover).

They are split into two parts:

1. the policy
2. the membership arrangement and administration contract

AA Breakdown Membership

AA Breakdown Membership Terms and Conditions Booklet – September 2022

AA Parts and Garage Cover (AA Breakdown Repair Cover)

AA Parts and Garage Cover Terms and Conditions Booklet – November 2021

Member Extras

Member Extras Terms and Conditions Booklet – November 2021

About the price

Prices shown include insurance premiums payable to the insurer(s) and a fee payable under a separate contract between you and Automobile Association Insurance Services Limited (AAIS) for arranging and administering your cover. Please see the terms and conditions for more information.

AA Breakdown Cover is arranged by Automobile Association Insurance Services Limited which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). You can check their register online. Registered office: Fanum House, Basing View, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 4EA. Registered in England and Wales number 2414212.

How do you use my data?

To find out how we use your data, please read our website privacy notice and our specific roadside product privacy notice.

For more information, there's also our cookie policy and website terms and conditions.

What does the Which? endorsement mean?

The AA is the only major breakdown service provider to be Which? recommended in 2022 and for the last 5 years in a row. The Which? recommended provider endorsement is only awarded to companies that score highly in their category and based on Which?’s assessment benchmarks, plus customer scores and star ratings gathered through their regular surveys.