Personal Breakdown Cover
With RAC Breakdown Cover, you can choose between cover for a specific vehicle, or for a specific person. With personal breakdown cover, you’re covered as a driver or passenger in any vehicle†. So even if you’re getting a lift from a friend and their car breaks down, we’ll get you going again.
Compare our personal breakdown cover
Compare our personal breakdown cover levels below and find the right cover for you. You can also add extra cover to our Basic, Extra and Complete policies including onward travel, battery replace, key replace and tyre replace.
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FREE car health check
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5 callouts
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Roadside Assistance
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FREE car health check
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5 callouts
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Roadside Assistance
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National Recovery
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FREE car health check
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Unlimited Callouts
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Roadside Assistance
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National Recovery
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At Home
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FREE MOT
Worth up to £55, at selected RAC garages
Personal breakdown cover explained:
What is personal breakdown cover?
Personal breakdown cover is a policy that covers you as a named driver in any eligible car or vehicle if you breakdown, even if you're not driving. This is different to vehicle cover, that only covers a specific vehicle rather than person that is driving.
With the RAC, you can buy personal cover for up to 5 people living at the same address. So you can get cover for you, for two or the whole family.
Should I get vehicle or personal breakdown cover?
Personal breakdown cover is ideal if you often drive more than 1 vehicle. Or, if you drive and travel in a different vehicle as a passenger – for instance, you rideshare with a friend or colleague.
Personal breakdown cover might not be right for you if you only drive 1 vehicle, or if you share a car with other people in your house, vehicle breakdown cover might be a better option for you. With vehicle cover, anyone can drive your chosen car and it will still be covered if it breaks down.
Can I use my breakdown cover for someone else?
If you have personal breakdown cover and you are in someone else’s car at the time it breaks down, then the car will be covered†.
While we always recommend having breakdown cover, we understand there might be times you don’t. If you ever break down without cover, we can still help. Head over to our ‘broken down’ page to see your options.
What are the different types of breakdown cover?
We offer a wide range of different types of breakdown cover, including:
- Personal cover for an individual person, no matter who’s driving
- Vehicle cover for an individual vehicle, no matter who’s driving
- Family cover for up to 5 people on the same personal cover policy
- European breakdown cover for trips starting in the UK (check out our single trip and annual cover)
- Motorbike cover for motorbikes, mopeds and scooters
- Van breakdown cover including van-for-van replacement while yours is being fixed
- Business breakdown cover for commercial use and multi-vehicle fleets
Which vehicles are covered with personal breakdown cover?
With personal cover, you’ll have breakdown cover in any vehicle † – including cars, motorbikes (49cc and over), minibuses and vans. And you’re not just covered as a driver, you’re covered as a passenger too.
This is different to vehicle breakdown cover, which covers a particular vehicle no matter who is driving when it breaks down.
For example: If you borrow your partners car and you break down, personal breakdown cover will cover you. Or if you’re riding pillion on a friends motorbike and they don’t have cover, you can still call for help.
We cover the following, but not limited to:
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Cars of all ages
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Motorbikes with an 49cc engine or over
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Vans that meet certain requirements -
Motorhome cover
What's covered with personal breakdown cover?
What you’re covered for depends on the level of breakdown cover you choose. We offer ‘Basic’, ‘Extra’ and ‘Complete’ cover. Here’s what’s included with each:
- Basic: 5 callouts per year; with 1 additional callout for every person added to the policy, and Roadside Assistance
- Extra: 5 callouts per year; with 1 additional callout for every person added to the policy, Roadside Assistance and National Recovery
- Complete: Unlimited callouts, Roadside Assistance, National Recovery and At Home. Plus get a FREE MOT at selected RAC garages. With family breakdown cover, you’ll get 2 Free MOTs~.
You can also add extra cover – including Onward Travel, Battery Replace, Key Replace and Tyre Replace.
Can I add additional people to my breakdown cover policy?
Yes. You can up to 5 people to your personal breakdown cover policy.
Just choose ‘personal breakdown cover’ and select the number of people you’d like to cover.
Let us know how many people you’d like added to your policy.
Just call 0330 159 8454
Personal Breakdown Cover - FAQs
Q. Can I get help if the vehicle breaks down at someone's house?
On all our cover levels, we’ll come to your rescue if you break down at someone else’s house. We’ll try to fix you there and then, or we’ll tow you to a garage if we can’t. Just remember, Basic and Extra cover only applies to breakdowns over ¼ mile from your address, so if you break down at a house that’s less than ¼ mile from home, and you’re on Basic or Extra, you won’t be covered – that’s the only exception.
Q. How many times can I claim on personal breakdown cover?
If you have ‘Basic’ or ‘Extra’ cover levels, you have 5 callouts per year; with 1 additional callout for every person or vehicle added to the policy. With ‘Complete’, you have unlimited callouts – so you can call us out as many times as you like, as long as it’s not for a recurring problem.
Q. Am I covered as a pillion passenger on a motorcycle?
Yes, with Personal Cover you're covered in any eligible vehicle†. RAC breakdown packages give the same level of cover to motorbikes as cars. Please note that motorcycles need to be over 49cc and not be classed as a mobility scooter.
Q. Can you get breakdown cover for a person?
Yes you can. With personal cover, you can get cover that applies to any eligible vehicle you’re in – as a driver or a passenger. This is ideal if you often travel in more than one car, van or motorbike. And you can add personal cover for up to 5 people to the same policy, as long as they all live at the same address.
Q. Can I add people to my personal breakdown cover?
Yes, you can add up to 5 people living at the same address to your personal breakdown cover. Just click ‘buy now’ on the website and choose personal cover, then pick the number of people you’d like to add.
Q. Does the age of the car affect personal breakdown cover?
There’s no vehicle age limit for RAC Breakdown Cover – we can cover your car no matter how old it is.
Q. Does RAC personal breakdown cover you abroad?
With personal breakdown cover (and vehicle-based cover), you’re covered all over the UK. But if you’re driving abroad, you’ll need separate cover. Luckily we offer European breakdown cover, for single trips and travel throughout the year, so you can get peace of mind driving on the continent.
There’s one exception – if you’re resident in Northern Ireland, you’re covered when you drive anywhere in the Republic of Ireland under your normal UK breakdown cover.
Q. Does personal breakdown cover car and motorcycle?
Yes. With personal breakdown cover, you’re covered in almost any vehicle – including cars, motorcycles (49cc and over), vans and campervans.
Just as long as the vehicle doesn’t weigh more than 3.5 tonnes (3,500 kg) and isn’t bigger than 6.4 m by 2.55 m (that's about the same as a Ford Transit long wheelbase van).
Q. Does RAC breakdown cover the car or the person?
RAC personal breakdown cover covers you as a person. Personal car breakdown cover is a good choice if you often drive or are a passenger in a number of vehicles.
Vehicle breakdown cover covers an individual vehicle. This is a popular choice of cover for people who drive one vehicle or have a vehicle that more than one person drives.