Just How Useful Is Breakdown Insurance?

The modern car is an impressive creation. It combines transport with a communication hub, entertainment centre and navigational facility. You’d be forgiven for thinking that, in these technologically advanced times, car breakdowns are a thing of the past.

Unfortunately, this isn’t the case. The same issues with breakdowns are still as valid today as they were 20 years ago. Cheap car breakdown insurance is available from a number of reputable resources such as Kwik Fit Insurance, keeping you covered if the worst happens, and getting you to your intended designation if possible.

A recent study into the top ten causes of car breakdowns by Which magazine showed the biggest issues that were those most likely to occur, such as a flat or faulty tire. These mishaps can, and do, occur randomly. A piece of debris in the road unseen by the driver can easily puncture a tire. Having an unfit spare tire falls into the category of ‘causes of a car breakdown’, and it may not be checked or noticed until the tire becomes flat and you end up stranded at the side of the road. As the majority of us won’t have ever had to change a tire, or perhaps never had with the current car, a callout to your insurance company can be made to quickly solve this issue. When driving late at night with a small child or frail family member it may be impractical for them to vacate the car for prolonged periods, therefore making it necessary to involve another party. And this is where breakdown cover fits in.

Losing car keys is surprisingly frequent, especially after returning from a holiday. Although not strictly speaking a breakdown, the end result is still the same – the car is unusable. If you have breakdown cover, a mechanic can, at the very least, tow the car to a safe location or contact the car dealership to acquire a spare set of keys. By far the most common issue is a flat or faulty battery, which once again can take place without warning. Infrequent journeys or a car being stationary for a prolonged period of time can be a major cause of this, neither of which are necessarily the fault of the owner and driver. When buying a second-hand car, especially an older or more specialist model, this problem can arise due to the previous owner simply not driving the car enough.

Unsurprisingly a lack of fuel, or sudden draining of it, can be a frequent problem. A perished hose or rusted tank can create a leak, so fuel can dissipate without the driver realising it. The thought of running out of petrol may seem ridiculous, but at times indicators such as your petrol light cannot be trusted, especially on older cars, making it far more common than you’d like to believe. Not being able to start the car, whether the reason being the alternator, starter motor or HT leads, is a common issue as well, due to the starting of the car being one of the most energy-consuming acts it has to partake.

So just how important is breakdown insurance? Pretty bloomin’ important, if you ask us.

Disclosure: for more information on breakdown insurance or how to upgrade your existing policy, click here to explore the options our sponsors Kwik-Fit can offer you.