5 min read
We know that breakdown cover can be a dreary subject at the best of times, but here at CBC, we want to attempt to make it that little bit easier to understand. We’ve put together a whole host of articles explaining breakdown cover in a way that’s easy to understand in the hope that customers everywhere can be that bit better informed about the wonderful world of breakdown cover.
This one’s all about onward travel options, so settle in, grab a brew and prepare to be enlightened.
Onward travel is a benefit in your breakdown policy that allows you to be transported to a location of your choosing; this can be either your final destination, temporary accommodation such as a hotel or back to your home, generally this is done on a reimbursement basis. So you’ll pay the cost of the travel and your policy will pay you back the money after your claim.
It’s important to note that this specific benefit only applies when you are a certain distance from your home address, so you need to check your policy cover for the exact distance.
When you make a claim on your breakdown policy and your car has to be recovered to a garage and repairs aren’t easy or quick, if you have onward travel included in your policy, you may be offered the option of onward travel if your car can’t be fixed by the end of the working day.
It’s at this point that you’ll have a few options:
You can take buses, coaches, trains or equivalents to your desired location and be reimbursed the cost (up to a certain amount of money) of that journey. If public transport isn’t readily available, you may also take a taxi.
If you’d rather hire a car to continue your journey, then the onward travel cover in your policy will reimburse the cost (up to a certain amount) of hiring a car to get you to where you want to go.
On some policies the cost of returning and collect your vehicle when repaired is covered too.
Whilst not technically, onward travel, alternative accommodation does fall into the category of onward travel. Your policy will cover the cost of reaching a nearby hotel and the price of a room per passenger up to a certain amount. Always check your policy to find out the exact amounts that you’ll be covered for.
Onward travel is not always available in every breakdown policy. Just because you have breakdown cover, never assume you’re covered for onward travel too.
It’s really important you look through your policy carefully (including the policy wording) before you purchase, so you know exactly what you’re getting for your money and what you’ll be covered for in the event you require onward travel.
In truth, onward travel operates almost exactly the same, wherever you are. One major difference though between the UK and European policies is that more often than not the cost of onward travel is higher in Europe, simply because it’s likely you’ll have further to go. So, you’ll usually find that you’re afforded a higher reimbursement amount if you require onward travel in Europe than you would in the UK.
Check the policy wording of your breakdown cover before you buy to find out exactly how much you’ll be covered for.
Want to learn more about breakdown cover and the different types of policy benefits you could be entitled to? We’ve put together a load of pages to help educate our customers and people looking for great breakdown cover, but who may not understand the ins and outs of insurance, take a look at some of our other “Breakdown Cover Explained” pages:
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Still not satisfied? Head to our contact us page, type in your query and our customer service team will be in touch.
