Breakdown Cover: Which? Recommended Provider for Breakdown Services 2023

Why use Start Rescue for breakdown cover?

If you’re looking for breakdown recovery, car roadside assistance or breakdown insurance, you’ve come to the right place.

As one of the leading UK breakdown cover providers, our car breakdown service has been split into five simple levels to ensure you get the right type of breakdown cover for your lifestyle and budget.

Great benefits included in all car breakdown cover policies

All of our affordable car breakdown cover policies include unlimited call outs, accident recovery, misfuel cover and roadside assistance over a quarter of a mile from you home address as standard!

In addition, if our Recovery Operator is unable to repair your vehicle within the same working day or a period agreed by you and our Rescue Coordinator, we will pay up to £250.00 (maximum) towards the reasonable cost of alternative transport or a hire car up to 1600cc, to allow you to complete your original journey.

Choosing the best breakdown cover for you

We understand that you may have some questions that you need answering before you make any decisions on the best breakdown cover policy for you, which is why we’ve put together a few of the most commonly asked ones below.

Breakdown Cover FAQs

Which breakdown cover is right for me?

Choosing the breakdown cover that’s right for you can be quite difficult once you factor in all of the varying features and benefits some policies offer.

For example, you may just want car breakdown cover for the UK, or you may want European breakdown cover also.

Easy to understand levels of breakdown cover

Here, at Start Rescue, we’ve tried to make it as simple as possible so you know that the car breakdown insurance cover you choose is the right one for you. 

We’ve broken our cover down into straightforward levels using a star rating system, making it easy to compare the different types of breakdown cover policies we offer.

What types of breakdown cover are there?

At Start Rescue, we offer a range of affordable, annual breakdown cover policies, from our One Star cheapest breakdown cover policy, to our Five Star breakdown cover:

One Star (★)

If you’re looking for peace of mind, when it comes to breakdown services our One Star - cheap car breakdown cover - offers the perfect solution for your needs.

While our One Star cover is our cheapest level of breakdown cover, there is still a wealth of features included. 

Roadside assistance and recovery

Providing car breakdown cover in the UK, if your vehicle breaks down more than a quarter of a mile radius away from your home address, our breakdown service provides roadside assistance and roadside recovery for your vehicle, you and your passengers (within a 10-mile radius of the incident).

One Star breakdown cover policies also include:

• Alternative travel
• Emergency overnight accommodation
• Misfuel cover
• Key assist
• Message service   

We’ll even recover your trailer or caravan at no extra cost!

Buy One Star Breakdown Cover Online 

Two Star (★★)

Our Two Star level of cover has all the same benefits as our One Star breakdown insurance, but with the addition of nationwide recovery, providing roadside assistance breakdown cover UK wide.

Buy Two Star Breakdown Cover Online 

Three Star (★★★)

Three Star is our most popular level of vehicle breakdown cover.

Three Star breakdown cover will provide you with the following features:

• roadside assistance,
• nationwide UK cover and
• home assist, so we can help you at your registered address if, for example, you wake up to a flat battery or deflated tyre.

Our Three Star breakdown cover has been given a 5 Star Rating by Defaqto. This means the policy offers one of the best breakdown cover provisions available on the UK market.

Buy Three Star Breakdown Cover Online 

Four Star (★★★★)

Our Four Star level of vehicle cover has all of the benefits of Two Star, with the bonus of roadside assistance and recovery within the Territorial Limits of the UK and Europe.

With the inclusion of European breakdown cover, our Four Star breakdown cover is perfect for those planning a European road trip.

Buy Four Star Breakdown Cover Online 

Five Star (★★★★★)

Five Star is our most feature-rich level of breakdown cover.

This comprehensive breakdown cover policy includes roadside assistance and nationwide recovery in the UK and Europe.

Five Star breakdown cover also includes:

• Home assist
• Misfuel cover
• Alternative travel
• Emergency overnight accommodation
• Key assist
• Complimentary message service.

In addition, our Five Star breakdown insurance policy provides cover for illness or injury and vandalism or theft.

Cover in the event of illness

If you’re unable to continue your journey due to illness or injury (and none of your passengers can drive), with your five star vehicle breakdown cover, we will cover the cost of an alternative driver to return the vehicle to a nominated destination within the territorial limits (UK).

If you can’t go with your vehicle we will pay up to £1000 for alternative transport to where your vehicle is.

Cover in the event of vandalism or theft

If you’re not able to move your car due to theft or vandalism, we will provide a car recovery service to your home address or nominated garage within a five-mile radius of your home address.

If you can’t go with your vehicle and you are more than one mile away from your home, we will pay up to £1000 for alternative transport to where your vehicle is.

Cover in the event of an accident

If your vehicle is rendered immobile due to an accident, we will provide the same service as above.

Buy Five Star Breakdown Cover Online 

Unlimited call outs!

All of our breakdown cover policies offer unlimited call outs. 

This means you can call us out as many times as you need to.

if you have the same reoccurring issue with your vehicle, you must have this checked, see policy terms and conditions).

Personal Breakdown Cover

If you're looking for a policy to cover yourself and others in your household for breakdown call outs in any car then our Personal Cover could be right for you.

What is Personal Breakdown Cover?

As an alternative to our specific vehicle recovery breakdown cover, personal breakdown cover allows you and up to 3 others in the same household to be covered for whichever vehicle* you are using to travel. (*terms and conditions apply. Please see our personal breakdown cover page for more details).

personal breakdown cover

Multi-Car Breakdown Cover

Looking for joint breakdown cover for you and other members of the family? Own multiple cars yourself, that you are looking to cover?

If you want to cover more than one car in your household, our Multi Car Breakdown Cover could provide a cheaper breakdown cover solution for you.

There is no limit to the maximum number of cars that you can cover on your multi-car breakdown policy.

The multi-car breakdown cover option from Start Rescue offers an additional 10% discount.

Buy multi-car breakdown cover

European Breakdown Cover

You may just want to cover your car for a short holiday in Europe. If so, our Short Term European Breakdown Cover might be the right choice for you.

short term european breakdown cover

Whichever one of our comprehensive breakdown cover levels you choose, we always highly recommend reading through the terms and conditions fully to make sure you are purchasing the correct breakdown cover to suit your needs.

Breakdown cover comparison: Compare breakdown cover

Finding the right vehicle breakdown policy can be difficult, but it doesn’t have to be.

Whether you are looking for vehicle cover or personal breakdown recovery cover, through our handy breakdown cover comparison guide, you can compare breakdown cover policy provisions from Start Rescue v's RAC, The AA and Green Flag.

What is a 5 Star Rating by Defaqto?

As an independent financial services research company, Defaqto consistently analyses the market and assess thousands of products to make sure you, the customer, have a useful star rating guide for each product. 

Star Rescue’s most popular level of vehicle breakdown cover, our 3 Star breakdown cover option, has been rated 5 Star by Defaqto.

Find out more about Defaqto

How do I purchase breakdown cover online?

Whether you require UK breakdown cover or European breakdown cover for your car, our secure online purchasing system can make setting up your car breakdown cover fast and simple.

Here are the steps you will need to take to purchase breakdown cover online from Start Rescue:

• Step 1: Read through our available cover levels and breakdown cover policy wording
• Step 2: Select the right breakdown recovery cover for you by pressing the relevant ‘Buy Now’ button
• Step 3: Enter your vehicle and contact details
• Step 4: Invest in your chosen breakdown cover from Start Rescue and make the most of our reliable and dependable car rescue services. Once you have you breakdown cover policy with us, you’ll then also have access to our exclusive customer deals, including discounts on airport car parking, Travel Insurance and much more!
• Step 5: Utilise our Customer Lounge to amend or renew your existing Start Rescue breakdown policy online.

Get a Quote 

What do I do if I breakdown?

If you do happen to suffer a vehicle breakdown, please read through our guide on what to do in the event of a breakdown here.

What happens after I report my vehicle breakdown?

Once your vehicle breakdown has been reported either over the phone or via our mobile app, a recovery operator will be dispatched to repair or assist with the vehicle.

Dependent on the level of car breakdown cover you have purchased, Start Rescue will either assist you with breakdown recovery:

• quarter of a mile away from your registered address
• at your registered address
• or within the Territorial Limits of Europe.

What happens if you are unable to repair my vehicle at the roadside?

When providing roadside assistance, if in the opinion of the recovery operator, they are unable to repair the vehicle at the roadside within 60 minutes, we will arrange for vehicle recovery for you. We will either:

1. Arrange for your vehicle, you and the passengers to be recovered to the nearest garage (within 10 miles of the scene of the breakdown) which can undertake the repair.
   
   
2. If the above is not possible or the repair cannot be made in the same working day, we will arrange for your vehicle, you and the passengers to be transported to your chosen destination (within 10 miles from the scene of the breakdown with One Star cover, or nationwide with Two, Three, Four and Five Star cover).

How much does Start Rescue cover?

Alternative travel

As part of your breakdown cover policy, if your vehicle is unable to be repaired on the same working day, we will pay up to £250 towards the cost of alternative travel or car hire to complete your original journey.

Vehicle collection

We will also pay up to £150 for one person to return to collect the repaired vehicle.

Emergency accommodation

Sometimes your journey cannot be completed and we will need to provide emergency overnight accommodation. In these circumstances, we will pay up to £150 for a lone traveller or £75 per person for one night’s accommodation, including breakfast (Maximum payment per incident is £500).

Breakdown coverage for towing vehicles?

If your broken down vehicle is towing a caravan or trailer we will recover it at no extra cost, provided the caravan/trailer is fitted with a standard towing hitch.

Does breakdown cover include lost or broken keys?

With Start Rescue breakdown cover, if you lose, break, or lock your keys within your vehicle, we will pay the callout and mileage charges back to the recovery operator’s base or your home address if closer.

Additional breakdown cover FAQs

If we've missed your question, you can find more answers about our home and roadside assistance breakdown recovery services on our Frequently Asked Questions page.

For car recovery insurance, buy your breakdown cover online today:

Buy breakdown cover