Taking your own vehicle abroad and travelling from country to country can be a fantastic experience, allowing you to travel at your own pace and take everything you might need for your ideal trip. However, running into car troubles when you’re far from home might seriously disrupt your plans if you don’t have breakdown cover for travelling in Europe. We’ve delved into this area to help explain how European breakdown cover works and some extra details you should know about it.

How much does European breakdown cover cost?

The cost of European breakdown cover will vary depending on the type of product you are looking for. European cover can be bundled in as part of an annual UK and European breakdown cover policy, which covers your car at home and abroad, or you can find single trip European breakdown cover if you only need cover for a single holiday.

Standalone European breakdown cover will vary in price depending on a few factors:

• The length of your trip
• When you plan on travelling
• The vehicle you want to insure
• The level of cover you want for your trip

Getting cover for a single trip will likely be cheaper than an annual policy, but it might not give you all the benefits you’d get with an annual policy and is limited to that specific trip. Any future trips would require a new policy, which can end up costing more than if you’d opted for an annual policy originally.

At Asda we offer European Breakdown Cover as an annual policy with prices starting from £216 for the year.

Where does European breakdown cover include?

By taking out European breakdown cover, you will be able to make a call out in practically any country which is included within the European continent, rather than only the European Economic Area (EEA) members. If you want complete peace of mind, you can check all the countries covered by European breakdown cover in your policy documents so you can be sure the country you’re travelling to is included.

No matter which European country or countries you might be travelling through, European cover can help you can feel reassured that you’ll have access to assistance if anything goes wrong with your vehicle. If you are to break down in Europe, then you’ll be able to make a call out to wherever you might be and receive local assistance.

Is breakdown cover in Europe essential?

If you plan on taking your own vehicle abroad, then having some form of breakdown cover will be just as important as having travel insurance. Getting into car troubles in Europe without breakdown cover can leave you out of pocket paying for callout and repairs, but also more major problems with your car could mean you have to pay for getting your car back to the UK.

Not only is this an especially expensive possibility, but it can also derail your further travel plans and send you back home via alternative transport that you could have to pay for yourself. This is a key advantage of European breakdown cover, as it can cover the costs to bring your car back to the UK as well as arranging to get you and your passengers back if your car can’t be fixed by the end of your trip.

There are other benefits of having European breakdown cover as well as these, but having unlimited European call outs and help getting you and your vehicle back to the UK on hand is crucial. 

What’s the best European breakdown cover?

Each provider will offer slightly different European breakdown policies, usually at different prices and with different benefits. Finding the best European breakdown cover for you will mean figuring out what your priorities are in terms of cover and looking for a policy that fits those at a fair price. Comparing European breakdown cover and looking at recommended providers can help to identify policies which could fit you and help to make a decision.

Our European Breakdown Cover covers all travel on the continent for 180 days a year as well as UK breakdown cover and roadside assistance, so you can get help with your car no matter where you are. For more information, check out our FAQs page.