Best Breakdown Cover 2024
Looking for the best breakdown cover available for your car? We've ranked the best breakdown providers based on HonestJohn.co.uk readers' experiences.
- Which is the UK's best breakdown cover provider?
- Find out how our readers rate the various options
- Is it time you switched to better breakdown cover?
Choosing breakdown cover can be tricky: does spending more with a reputable provider actually guarantee a better service or is cheaper breakdown cover just as good?
Having peace of mind from knowing your breakdown cover is top-notch is essential if you don't want to be left stranded by the roadside. This is where we come in.
Here you will find 2024's best UK breakdown cover providers for 2024 based on our readers' feedback for the latest Honest John Satisfaction Index.
We've collated over 6000 of your motoring breakdown experiences, including those where readers chose their own providers and those offered by third parties, typically insurers and banks, such as Nationwide including AA breakdown cover for its FlexPlus account customers.
If you need to prioritise keeping costs down you'll also want to check out our guide to cheap breakdown cover, which includes everything you need to look for when comparing providers.
Prices for breakdown cover can vary depending on the age and type of car. All of the prices below are based on a 2018 Ford Fiesta, where applicable. If you're after the best breakdown cover, look no further.
Best Car Breakdown Cover 2024
If you're looking for the best car breakdown cover, these are the leading firms to choose from. All were rated highly by our readers and ranked by speed of service, communication and customer care.
- LV= Britannia
- GEM Motoring Assist
- AXA
- Start Rescue
- Rescuemycar.com
- Auto Aid
- AA
- Green Flag
- RAC
- Emergency Assist
1. LV= Britannia Rescue
Breakdown Cover Satisfaction Score 9.07
Looking for the best car breakdown cover out there? According to our readers, it's provided by LV= Britannia Rescue. Part of the LV insurance group, LV= Britannia Rescue came out top for customer satisfaction and claims an impressive average response time of 53.45 minutes to callouts. Personal cover for you and your partners costs from an additional £26.
How much does LV= Britannia Rescue breakdown cover cost?
| Recovery Type | Cost |
| Roadside Assist | £33 |
| Roadside & Home Assist | £66 |
| UK Recovery | £73 |
| UK Recovery & Home Assist | £102 |
| UK & European Assist | £152 |
2. GEM Motoring Assist 
Breakdown Cover Satisfaction Score 8.95
GEM policies only offer personal breakdown cover so there is assistance available in any of your vehicles, plus others you may have hired or borrowed. GEM's cover is fully comprehensive and includes home assistance, roadside assistance, unlimited callouts, nationwide recovery and onward travel but not European Cover. Costs vary for the number of people that are included on the policy, all of whom must live at the same address.
How much does GEM breakdown cover cost?
| Number of People | Price |
| Single | £106* |
| Joint (two people) | £141* |
| Family (three people) | £186* |
| Family (four people) | £221* |
3. AXA Car Breakdown Cover
Breakdown Cover Satisfaction Score 8.94
How much does AXA breakdown cover cost?
| Recovery Type | Cost |
| Local | £26.25 |
| Nationwide | £31.00 |
| Nationwide and Homestart | £38.95 |
| European (annual) | £62.65 |
4. Start Rescue
Breakdown Cover Satisfaction Score 8.87
Last years top ranked breakdown provider, Start Rescue has slipped a few places. It offers five levels of cover with prices starting from £20.87 for local roadside cover (depending on the age of your car), making it a popular choice for anyone looking to keep costs as low as possible. Personal cover starts at £53.12 a year.
How much does Start Rescue breakdown cover cost?
| Recovery Type | Price |
| 1 Star (Roadside Assistance and Local Recovery up to 10 miles) | £20.87* |
| 2 Star (Nationwide Recovery) | £33.96* |
| 3 Star (Nationwide Recovery and Home Assist) | £39.76* |
| 4 Star (European Roadside Assistance with no Home Assist) | £68.76* |
| 5 Star (European Roadside Assistance plus Home Assist and Vandalism/Illness/Injury cover) | £81.76* |
5. Rescuemycar.com 
Breakdown Cover Satisfaction Score 8.79
It's not a household name but rescuemycar.com aims to offer members an alternative to the well-known brands in the breakdown and recovery industry. It claims to be one of UK’s largest networks of breakdown specialists, with more than 4000 independent breakdown recovery experts operating nationwide. Unusually, adding on National Recovery and At Home Assistance actually brings the price down. Personal cover starts at £47.50.
How much does rescuemycar.com breakdown cover cost?
| Recovery Type | Cost |
| UK Roadside Assistance with Local Recovery | £27.50 |
| UK Roadside Assistance with National Recovery | £23.60 |
| UK Roadside Assistance with National Recovery and At Home Assistance | £22.23 |
| Europe Roadside Assistance^ with National Recovery and At Home Assistance | £57.00 |
^ based on annual cover
6. AutoAid Breakdown
Breakdown Cover Satisfaction Score 8.78
AutoAid Breakdown is part of a group of companies including AutoNational Rescue and Euro Rescue all owned by Right Choice Insurance Brokers, so we've combined their scores. These prices are based on covering a car through AutoNational Rescue. Personal cover starts from £63.64 a year and includes your spouse.
How much does AutoAid breakdown cover cost?
| Recovery Type | Price |
| AutoNational Roadside Annual Membership | £29.33 |
| AutoNational Roadside & Recovery Annual Membership | £36.56 |
| AutoNational Total UK Annual Membership | £43.15 |
| AutoAid Breakdown Annual Membership | £63.64 |
| AutoNational Total UK & Europe Annual Membership | £114.97 |
7= AA 
Breakdown Cover Satisfaction Score 8.71
How much does AA breakdown cover cost?
| Recovery Type | Price |
| Roadside Assistance | £85.00* |
| Roadside Assistance plus At Home | £103.87* |
| Roadside Assistance plus At Home and National Recovery | £135.36* |
| Roadside Assistance plus At Home, National Recovery and Onward Travel | £165.44* |
| European Breakdown Cover — Zone 1 (annual) | £139.42* |
7= Green Flag 
Breakdown Cover Satisfaction Score 8.71
How much does Green Flag breakdown cover cost?
| Recovery Type | Cost |
| Rescue — Roadside assistance | £39.20 |
| Rescue Plus — Roadside assistance and cover at home | £44.42 |
| Recovery Plus — Roadside assistance, cover at home and national recovery | £51.95 |
| Europlus — Roadside assistance, cover at home and European recovery | £112.45 |
9. RAC 
Breakdown Cover Satisfaction Score 8.41
One of the 'big two', the RAC rivals the AA as the biggest breakdown provider in the UK. It offers a choice of personal breakdown cover or vehicle breakdown cover, and builds a price depending on the options you add in — with things like battery cover, tyre replacement and key replace available. Unlike others, the number of callouts is limited to five unless you pay for the most expensive Complete cover. Personal cover costs from £120.89.
How much does RAC breakdown cover cost?
| Recovery Type | Price |
| Basic — 24/7 Roadside Assistance and Recovery up to 10 miles | £93.39* |
| Extra — 24/7 Roadside Assistance and National Recovery | £131.89* |
| Complete — 24/7 Roadside Assistance, National Recovery and At Home | £186.89* |
| Complete plus European Rescue | £294.89* |
10. Emergency Assist
Breakdown Cover Satisfaction Score 8.31
Emergency Assist is one of the newer breakdown providers, founded in 2017. It operates its own in-house emergency call centre and has a network of over 3000 agents. It does offer cover with a £30 excess (per callout), but that hasn't been included in the quotes below. Interestingly, its European breakdown cover package is no longer available. Personal cover is one of Emergency Assist's newest additions, costing from £50.11.
How much does Emergency Assist breakdown cover cost?
| Recovery Type | Price |
| Saver — Roadside Assistance and Local Recovery | £21.60* |
|
Premium — Roadside Assistance, National Recovery, Home Start and Onward travel |
£26.69* |
