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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.
Cover in any vehicle
You’re covered as a driver or passenger – so no matter the journey, we’ll rescue you.
Help in 60 minutes
We get to most breakdowns in 60 minutes or less.
Our patrols fix 4 out of 5
We can usually fix you on the spot – saving you time and money on a trip to the garage.
Compare our personal breakdown cover
Compare our personal breakdown cover levels below and find the right cover for you. You can also get add-ons to our Basic, Standard and Extra cover including onward travel, battery replace, key replace and tyre replace.
Basic
From £7.21 a month*
Standard
From £10.50 a month*
Extra
From £13.74 a month*
^Find the same cover cheaper on theaa.com within 7 days & we’ll beat it by 20%. T&Cs here. *At least 10% of customers buying this cover level, pay this for single person cover.
Personal breakdown cover explained
What is personal breakdown cover?
Personal breakdown cover is a policy that covers you as a named driver or passenger, rather than covering designated cars or vehicles. This means you can get help if you break down no matter what vehicle you’re in, even if you aren’t 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. This is different from vehicle cover, that only covers a specific vehicle rather than a person.
Whether you choose personal or vehicle cover, the decision depends on how many vehicles you drive or travel in regularly. For example, 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?
Personal breakdown cover means you’re covered in any vehicle, even if it’s not registered to you. Someone else won’t be able to use your breakdown cover, unless they live at your address and they're added to your policy.
Depending on the membership you choose, our personal breakdown can cover 2 people. This is ideal for couples or housemates. If you live with more family or friends, you can cover up to 5 people on one policy. Find out more on our family breakdown cover page.
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.
Can I get personal breakdown cover for a vehicle of any age?
RAC personal cover covers you no matter how old your car is. We have no vehicle age limit within our policy. This means personal cover might be a great option if you have a classic car or vintage motorcycle on top of your vehicle you drive regularly.
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 that meet certain requirements. And you’re not just covered as a driver, you’re covered as a passenger too.
For example, if you borrow your partner's car and you break down, personal breakdown cover will cover you. Or if you’re riding a pillion on a friend's motorbike and they don’t have cover, you can still call for help.
Extend your cover
Onward Travel
Can’t do without your car? Get a hire car while yours is in the garage with Onward Travel.
European Rescue
With RAC European Rescue, you’re covered in 48 countries across Europe. So you can have complete peace of mind™ when driving abroad.
Avoid big bills
Tyre Replace
Puncture? No problem — you're covered for the cost of 5 new tyres a year.
Battery Replace
Get a new battery if we can't recharge yours — saving you £200 on average.
Key Replace
Lost your car keys? We'll replace them, saving you £315 on average.
What's covered with personal breakdown cover?
What you’re covered for depends on the level of breakdown cover you choose. We offer 'Basic', 'Standard', '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
- Standard: 5 callouts per year; with 1 additional callout for every person added to the policy, Roadside Assistance and National Recovery
- Extra: Unlimited callouts, Roadside Assistance, National Recovery and At Home.
- Complete: This provides you with the most breakdown cover features. In addition to everything in Extra, our Complete cover also includes Onward travel. 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.
Other cover you might be interested in
Family breakdown cover
Family breakdown cover provides vehicle cover for several members of your family within a joint policy.
Multi-car breakdown cover
Our multi-car breakdown cover is perfect for friends or families with multiple cars.
European breakdown cover
Driving over to Europe? You’ll need European breakdown cover. Choose from single trip or annual trip.
Vehicle breakdown cover
With vehicle breakdown cover, your vehicle will be covered no matter who’s driving it when it breaks down.
Personal Breakdown Cover - FAQs
Yes. You can add up to 5 people to your personal breakdown cover policy, as long as they live at your address.
New members
Just choose ‘personal breakdown cover’ and select the number of people you’d like to cover.
Existing members
Let us know how many people you’d like added to your policy. Just call 0330 159 8454.
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 Standard 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 Standard, you won’t be covered – that’s the only exception.
If you have ‘Basic’ or ‘Standard’ cover levels, you have 5 callouts per year; with 1 additional callout for every person or vehicle added to the policy. With ‘Extra' and '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.
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. At checkout choose personal cover, then pick the number of people you’d like to add.
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.
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).
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.
Yes, you can get personal breakdown cover for couples, as long as you both live at the same address. Just choose ‘two of you’ when you buy your cover.
Page reviewed by: Andy Baker