RAC vs Emergency Assist

How does our cover compare?

Emergency Assist breakdown cover vs RAC

Breakdown cover is sometimes the service you think you can manage without - until your car breaks down on the way to that important business meeting or en route to the airport, to start the long-awaited family holiday. A car breakdown can happen at any time, and often at the worst possible time, so it’s no surprise that so many people choose to take out breakdown cover.

If you’re just starting to look for breakdown cover, the good news is that there’s plenty of choice. There are a range of breakdown cover providers, offering lots of different packages. The RAC is the UK’s most experienced breakdown cover provider, established in 1897, but how does it compare to a newer provider? Emergency Assist was founded in 2017.

Contents

Cover - what’s included?
Brand & Reliability
Level of breakdown cover

Emergency Assist Cover - what’s included?

When choosing your breakdown cover, cost isn’t the only thing you should consider. Everyone has a budget to work with, so the cover needs to be affordable. But you should also look into the service you get with each breakdown cover provider. Here’s what’s included with certain types of breakdown cover packages from the RAC compared to Emergency Assist.

	RAC	Emergency Assist
Hire car period available with Onward Travel cover	Up to 2 days with Advanced, or up to 7 days with Ultimate	24 hours
Personal based memberships available	Yes	No
Key cover available as an optional extra	Yes	Yes
Monthly contracts available	Yes	No

RAC source - breakdown cover
Emergency Assist - https://www.emergencyassistltd.co.uk/

Brand and Reliability

As Britain’s most experienced provider, the RAC have been championing motorists for over 120 years. We’re equally proud that 4 out of 5 customers who experienced a breakdown would recommend our service to family and friends.

RAC patrols fix four of out five broken down vehicles, at the roadside, within an average of only 30 minutes.

Breakdown cover from the RAC has been awarded a 5-Star rating by Defaqto *.

Emergency Assist’s Premium Cover has been awarded a 3-Star rating by Defaqto**.

*5 star rating refers to the RAC’s Roadside Recovery, At Home & Onward Travel offering
** 3 star rating refers to Emergency Assist’s Ex Misfuel, Keys & Unlimited Call Outs offering

RAC: Defaqto ratings
Emergency Assist: Defaqto ratings

Level of breakdown cover

Both the RAC and Emergency Assist offer a range of breakdown cover packages, allowing you to build your perfect level of cover. Here’s what each level of cover provides:

RAC

Standard	Advanced	Ultimate
Rescue at the roadside and at home Also known as ‘roadside assistance’ and ‘at home’.	Rescue at the roadside and at home Also known as ‘roadside assistance’ and ‘at home’.	Rescue at the roadside and at home Also known as ‘roadside assistance’ and ‘at home’.
3 callouts a year	Unlimited callouts	Unlimited callouts
10-mile tow To a garage or somewhere else within 10 miles.	Unlimited tow Tow to any garage or destination in the UK. Also known as 'national recovery'.	Unlimited tow Tow to any garage or destination in the UK.
20-mile taxi We’ll reimburse you for the cost of a taxi from the garage	Up to 2 days’ hire car or taxi Stay mobile if your vehicle’s in the garage. This is a type of onward travel.	Up to 7 days’ hire car or taxi Stay mobile for longer if your vehicle’s in the garage.
Fault report for the garage So you can let the garage know what’s wrong	Advanced garage support Your patrol will arrange priority access to an RAC garage. And get a repair estimate for you.	Ultimate garage support In addition to Advanced garage support, we’ll also arrange a taxi for you from the scene of the breakdown. So you won’t need to come to the garage with us.