Breakdown cover?

jamesbil

Hi all,

I am trying to find some breakdown cover for my camper, AA wont do it as it is over 5.5m, ADAC no longer cover Ireland.

Any ideas?

Irishgoatman

My camper ins. is through Dolmens and it includes breakdown cover.

jamesbil

Irishgoatman wrote: »

My camper ins. is through Dolmens and it includes breakdown cover.

So is mine but it's pretty basic and doesn't cover repatriation.

corkbuoy

jamesbil wrote: »

Hi all,

I am trying to find some breakdown cover for my camper, AA wont do it as it is over 5.5m, ADAC no longer cover Ireland.

Any ideas?

Just renewed my cover with ADAC, no mention of not covering Ireland, unless its for new entrants. I ring on this number for renewal and get a very helpful english speaking person, might be worth a call 0049 941 55673

Martin_D

Stuart Insurance covers breakdown

Lanshane

jamesbil wrote: »

Hi all,

I am trying to find some breakdown cover for my camper, AA wont do it as it is over 5.5m, ADAC no longer cover Ireland.

Any ideas?

Where did you hear/see that ADAC no longer cover Ireland?

Lanshane

corkbuoy wrote: »

Just renewed my cover with ADAC, no mention of not covering Ireland, unless its for new entrants. I ring on this number for renewal and get a very helpful english speaking person, might be worth a call 0049 941 55673

Hi Corkbuoy,

I am just wondering do ADAC get in touch with you when renewal time comes? I thought I heard from someewhere that if you do not intend on renewing with them for another year then you must give them 2 or 3 months notice? If you don't then you automatically have to pay for another year. Any truth in this? Did you get the ADAC Plus for €109 when renewing? Seems great value and great reviews too!

jamesbil

Read post 3 here;
http://www.motorhomecraic.com/forum/topic.php?t=6195

Read similar in a few places, google it..

Benbecul97

What is ADAC?
Is this an extra insurance on top off, for example, Dolmen?
Does ADAC insurance only cover you on mainland Europe?
Does it offer better cover on mainland Europe?
Don't Dolmen offer cover on mainland Europe too?

Lanshane

jamesbil wrote: »

Read post 3 here;
http://www.motorhomecraic.com/forum/topic.php?t=6195

Read similar in a few places, google it..

No mention of no cover for Ireland, maybe reduced. Funny though if you ring them the ADAC plus for €109 (I was charged €113?) provides the same level of cover all over Europe, not just Germany. Repatriation is the big one though, and that's definitely covered. It's a must with a Motorhome IMO.

jamesbil

Lanshane wrote: »

No mention of no cover for Ireland, maybe reduced. Funny though if you ring them the ADAC plus for €109 (I was charged €113?) provides the same level of cover all over Europe, not just Germany. Repatriation is the big one though, and that's definitely covered. It's a must with a Motorhome IMO.

I just called them to check, ended up buying full cover in any vehicle anywhere in Europe with repatriation for family of 4 for the €113 mentioned..

Cant be too bad at that.

Lanshane

jamesbil wrote: »

I just called them to check, ended up buying full cover in any vehicle anywhere in Europe with repatriation for family of 4 for the €113 mentioned..

Cant be too bad at that.

Yes that's the one I have, ADAC Plus. I found them very helpful and are very quick to respond to an email too! What number did you call incidentally and did you get straight through to an English speaking agent? Hopefully you'll never need to be using it but very reassuring to have all the same.

jamesbil

Lanshane wrote: »

Yes that's the one I have, ADAC Plus. I found them very helpful and are very quick to respond to an email too! What number did you call incidentally and did you get straight through to an English speaking agent? Hopefully you'll never need to be using it but very reassuring to have all the same.

I called 0049 941 55673 Greman answer but I just asked to be put throught to an English speaking agent. Easy and helpful.

Benbecul97

jamesbil wrote: »

I called 0049 941 55673 Greman answer but I just asked to be put throught to an English speaking agent. Easy and helpful.

What is ADAC?
Is this an extra insurance on top off, for example, Dolmen?
Does ADAC insurance only cover you on mainland Europe?
Does it offer better cover on mainland Europe?
Don't Dolmen offer cover on mainland Europe too?

JonMac

It is the German version of the AA, and noticeably better if you want to go to Europe. Example, in Germany they have their own helicopters for medevac.

Benbecul97

JonMac wrote: »

It is the German version of the AA, and noticeably better if you want to go to Europe. Example, in Germany they have their own helicopters for medevac.

Thanks John.
So would you recommend it in addition to the cover abroad that Dolmen offers?
Is this a belt and braces approach? Is it really needed?

JonMac

Belts and Braces. I have AA for convenience here and UK, Dolmen, and ADAC.
AA is a bit of a waste, ADAC is much cheaper and Plus gets the OH covered too.

corkbuoy

Lanshane wrote: »

Hi Corkbuoy,

I am just wondering do ADAC get in touch with you when renewal time comes? I thought I heard from someewhere that if you do not intend on renewing with them for another year then you must give them 2 or 3 months notice? If you don't then you automatically have to pay for another year. Any truth in this? Did you get the ADAC Plus for €109 when renewing? Seems great value and great reviews too!

I believe you need to give three months notice if you want to quit, think its somewhere in the conditions. I get a renewal notice about a month before expiry and I just phone and pay by card. ADAC plus is 89.50 and 25 euro extra if you want your partner covered also. Great value for 114.50. Covers you and your partner anywhere in Europe for any vehicle you are driving.

Belt and braces to me is travel your own tools, service manual and spares. I've always had myself back on the road faster than waiting for a rescue.
Places I go don't always have phone reception either.

AutostratusEB

Hi

I've been meaning to post here about the ADAC after an incident we had last year and this thread is as good as anywhere.

Our bus is pushing the 20 year old mark, but having said that, in the time we've had it, we've been to the south of France and back 5 times plus around Ireland fairly often. Always serviced, and has always passed CVRT. I even pumped grease in the axle.

We ended up in the eastern corner of Spain last year, near Roses and one night whilst asleep the suspension on one side sat down. We wouldn't be going anywhere.

Called ADAC in the morning. That afternoon (remember we are in Spain, things move slower) we were visited on the campsite by the nearest ADAC recommended garage.

There was some to-ing & fro-ing at this point which lasted a few days. I was pretty sure even from my limited knowledge that the torsion rod in the axle had gone on one side. We eventually got it to the garage. Torsion Rod indeed gone. It was clear our holiday was over.

From this point ADAC couldn't been better.

We stayed in a nearby hotel (close to beach with swimming pool, so no dump) whilst we awaited news. ADAC refunded costs.

We then booked flights home. ADAC refunded costs.

Obviously what to do with the camper was ongoing all this while. ADAC at this point offered to repatriate the vehicle. When this happens, it has to go via Germany as ADAC is German. Repatriation could take upto 3 months I was told.

I asked if we could get camper repaired in Spain by the garage currently holding the vehicle, on the basis that it would be easier to do this in Europe than in Ireland. This solution was quickly put in place, ADAC going to considerable trouble identifying and sourcing parts from ALKO (chassis builder) as well as getting a local ALKO specialist to oversee the repair at the Spanish garage.

Parts (new torsion rods) were flown from Germany and the dirty business of fitting them into the original axle was done. I was kept uptodate at all points by ADAC.

3 weeks later I returned to Spain, picked up the camper, repaired with the axle repaired better than ever. Drove camper back to Ireland.

ADAC paid for all initial works/diagnosis/transport to garage. Then they paid for all parts and all delivery costs of parts to garage. They refunded all hotel costs for 2 adults & child. There was a limit but pretty generous. Refunded all flights home. They also paid my flight back to Spain and some of the costs of changing a ferry crossing back to Ireland (having to return via Roscoff rather than Cherbourg) in the height of peak season.

All I paid for was all the labour costs - as I would' ve had to do had I had the vehicle repaired in Ireland. Obviously I paid fuel costs from Spain to Roscoff as I would've had to do had the incident not occurred.

ADAC is the best €100-ish I spent in 2014. I would never take a vehicle to Europe without it and would recommend them to anyone. The only thing I would say is that I have reasonable spoken German having lived there 20 years ago for a time. However I always had the option of dealing in English, but having German certainly helped when there was some negotiating to be done.

Hope this helps anyone in deciding on vehicle breakdown insurance for Europe.

moodrater

AutostratusEB wrote: »

Hi

I've been meaning to post here about the ADAC after an incident we had last year and this thread is as good as anywhere.

Our bus is pushing the 20 year old mark, but having said that, in the time we've had it, we've been to the south of France and back 5 times plus around Ireland fairly often. Always serviced, and has always passed CVRT. I even pumped grease in the axle.

We ended up in the eastern corner of Spain last year, near Roses and one night whilst asleep the suspension on one side sat down. We wouldn't be going anywhere.

Called ADAC in the morning. That afternoon (remember we are in Spain, things move slower) we were visited on the campsite by the nearest ADAC recommended garage.

There was some to-ing & fro-ing at this point which lasted a few days. I was pretty sure even from my limited knowledge that the torsion rod in the axle had gone on one side. We eventually got it to the garage. Torsion Rod indeed gone. It was clear our holiday was over.

From this point ADAC couldn't been better.

We stayed in a nearby hotel (close to beach with swimming pool, so no dump) whilst we awaited news. ADAC refunded costs.

We then booked flights home. ADAC refunded costs.

Obviously what to do with the camper was ongoing all this while. ADAC at this point offered to repatriate the vehicle. When this happens, it has to go via Germany as ADAC is German. Repatriation could take upto 3 months I was told.

I asked if we could get camper repaired in Spain by the garage currently holding the vehicle, on the basis that it would be easier to do this in Europe than in Ireland. This solution was quickly put in place, ADAC going to considerable trouble identifying and sourcing parts from ALKO (chassis builder) as well as getting a local ALKO specialist to oversee the repair at the Spanish garage.

Parts (new torsion rods) were flown from Germany and the dirty business of fitting them into the original axle was done. I was kept uptodate at all points by ADAC.

3 weeks later I returned to Spain, picked up the camper, repaired with the axle repaired better than ever. Drove camper back to Ireland.

ADAC paid for all initial works/diagnosis/transport to garage. Then they paid for all parts and all delivery costs of parts to garage. They refunded all hotel costs for 2 adults & child. There was a limit but pretty generous. Refunded all flights home. They also paid my flight back to Spain and some of the costs of changing a ferry crossing back to Ireland (having to return via Roscoff rather than Cherbourg) in the height of peak season.

All I paid for was all the labour costs - as I would' ve had to do had I had the vehicle repaired in Ireland. Obviously I paid fuel costs from Spain to Roscoff as I would've had to do had the incident not occurred.

ADAC is the best €100-ish I spent in 2014. I would never take a vehicle to Europe without it and would recommend them to anyone. The only thing I would say is that I have reasonable spoken German having lived there 20 years ago for a time. However I always had the option of dealing in English, but having German certainly helped when there was some negotiating to be done.

Hope this helps anyone in deciding on vehicle breakdown insurance for Europe.

Thats incredible, sounds like less hassle than others have had repairing theirs here!

shagman

Sounds like a great service and it seems cheaper than the AA. Has anyone any experience of their service in Ireland?

AutostratusEB

shagman wrote: »

Sounds like a great service and it seems cheaper than the AA. Has anyone any experience of their service in Ireland?

AFAIK if you call ADAC with a problem in Ireland, they send you the AA!

Benbecul97

@AutostratusEB. Thanks for taking the time to post the details of your experience last year and its great it worked out so well for you.

Can I ask, who are you insured with in Ireland?
Did you access any of their overseas cover to deal with this situation, or just ADAC?

AutostratusEB

Benbecul97 wrote: »

@AutostratusEB. Thanks for taking the time to post the details of your experience last year and its great it worked out so well for you.

Can I ask, who are you insured with in Ireland?
Did you access any of their overseas cover to deal with this situation, or just ADAC?

Insured with Dolmen/AXA. Rang them. Was told they couldn't help with a breakdown in Europe. Which I already knew. Didn't press it as I had already been in touch with ADAC.

Benbecul97

AutostratusEB wrote: »

Insured with Dolmen/AXA. Rang them. Was told they couldn't help with a breakdown in Europe. Which I already knew. Didn't press it as I had already been in touch with ADAC.

Ok, great to know that. I'm also with Dolmen/AXA and this is what their website says:

====
BREAKDOWN ASSISTANCE

To avail of the benefits provided by this you must use the freephone number 1800 333 393 (or 00353 906 486335 if calling from abroad). Northern Ireland clients freephone number 0845 8734435 (or 00353 906 486335 if calling from abroad).
Any expenses incurred prior to or without calling this number will not be covered.

What is Covered:
AXA will arrange the dispatch of a Motor Trade Professional (MTP) to the site of the breakdown. The MTP will attempt to get the vehicle mobile – the cost of one hours labour to achieve this is covered. If they cannot get your vehicle up and running within this time AXA will cover the cost of towing to either the nearest competent repairer or to any other chosen location within 50 miles. If the vehicle is too large to tow AXA will cover the cost of an additional one hour's labour to attempt to get the vehicle mobile.

NB: Please note that under French Law AXA Breakdown Assistance cannot assist on French Motorways. You will need to contact the French Police if you breakdown on a French Motorway.



Continental Cover is Free, including Spanish Bailbond (Please see policy booklet when you take out a Campervan policy for the Spanish Bailbond)

====
Must get ADAC Cover then. Do you have to get ADAC cover for the full year or can you get cover for the length of your holiday?

AutostratusEB

Benbecul97 wrote: »

Do you have to get ADAC cover for the full year or can you get cover for the length of your holiday?

ADAC cover is for 12 months and you can only buy it for the year. At €90 (or circa €120 cover for an additional driver) it's still better value than the AA. Also it covers you on any vehicle you break down in (yes, your normal car or if you are driving a friends/relative's vehicle).

finyar

I have recently broken down in France and used the cover that came with my Dolmen camper policy.
I was recovered twice in the same day due to a slave cylinder failure and in both cases the breakdown assist was both easy to access and English speaking.
Once off the road the recovery truck will bring you to a dealer within 50 miles.
I found Dolmen to be excellent

Finyar

moodrater

finyar wrote: »

I have recently broken down in France and used the cover that came with my Dolmen camper policy.
I was recovered twice in the same day due to a slave cylinder failure and in both cases the breakdown assist was both easy to access and English speaking.
Once off the road the recovery truck will bring you to a dealer within 50 miles.
I found Dolmen to be excellent

Finyar

They wont repatriate or come abywhere near the service adac do though

glenmac

I had to use ADAC in Italy and France in alternative years and always found them to be excellent.

Benbecul97

When you phone up ADAC looking to take out a policy with them, what details do they require from you to arrange cover over the phone?