by Mike Mccarthy

Created on: March 13, 2009   Last Updated: March 02, 2011

Asking if emergency roadside assistance is worth the cost is the same question you could apply to any type of insurance. It's one of those things you have, but hope not to use. However, when something happens, and you do not have such an insurance, you always wish you had.

If one assumes that you have broken down at the roadside, and the problem is not one that you can deal with yourself, how are you going to progress your journey, and recover your vehicle, if you do not have emergency roadside assistance? Of course, you can try to make arrangements with a local repair place, if there is one local to you of course, but the cost of recovery and subsequent repair will probably be as much if not more than the cost of your pre-paid emergency cover for a whole year.

There are quite a few good Companys that supply emergency roadside assistance, the AA, the RAC and Green Flag are the most common in the UK. Each provide a similar service, with a menu of options available to the motorist. This means you can choose how much cover you require. There is the basic attempt to repair the vehicle and if unsuccessful, a tow to the nearest garage right up to delivery of the vehicle to anywhere in the Country, with a replacement hire car supplied. Which you choose, and how much you pay is of course up to you.

Some of these recovery and roadside assistance Company's provide cover for the driver and not a specific vehicle, which gives the owner of the policy a great deal of flexibility. It means if you borrow a car, or have just purchased one and are on the first home trip, you still have emergency cover. It also means the vehicle is covered even if you are a passenger and not the driver.

Let's look at a hypothetical scenario. Your car has broken down, miles from anywhere, it is raining, you are not mechanically minded. If you have emergency roadside assistance, you call them on your mobile phone and within an hour, a van turns up with a friendly and knowledgeable mechanic driving it. He inspects the car, discovers the fan belt has broken, gets a replacement from his van and fits it. He makes sure all is well, you start your car and carry on your way.

Or, you are in the same situation without emergency roadside assistance. What do you do? Try to find the address of a garage, that will be miles away using your phone? Call home for help although that is hundreds of miles away? Walk in the rain to the nearest town even though its a 10 mile walk or more in the hope that you can get help? Remember, as you are not mechanically minded, you do not even know what is wrong with your car.

I would say that the answer is a simple one, pay for some emergency roadside assistance.

Peace of mind is what you are paying for here. The knowledge that when you set out on a journey, you will have help should something go wrong. A car is a machine, and this means no matter how new and sophisticated it is, or how well maintained it is, there is always a chance of something going wrong with it.

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