How can families find cheap breakdown cover?

When you’re looking for family breakdown cover, there’s a range of options to choose from. This guide will help you learn what you need to look for.

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Jason Loewenthal

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Families on the look-out for affordable breakdown cover should compare what a policy offers as well as the price. The cheapest policy might not offer the best value if it has fewer inclusions. Prices will vary based on how many people need covering, what level of roadside assistance is included and how quickly you can get support when you break down.

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What should families compare?

When comparing family breakdown cover, you should consider a range of factors. These include:

  • How many people can be covered under a single policy
  • Whether cover applies in any vehicle or just 1 car
  • Roadside assistance and recovery options
  • Callout limits
  • App features and breakdown tracking
  • Roadside repair rates
  • Patrol availability and response capability

How does family breakdown cover work?

Family breakdown cover allows you to insure a number of people (typically up to 5) who all live at the same address. A person named on the breakdown cover does not need to be the driver of the car when a car breaks down but can also be a passenger of a broken-down car.

What is included in family breakdown cover?

The features of the family breakdown cover policy will vary between providers as well as the level of cover you choose. Generally, you can expect the following:

  • Local roadside assistance. If your car or a car you’re travelling in breaks down, you’ll get roadside assistance and recovery to a local garage for any repair work that can’t be completed at the roadside.
  • National roadside assistance. Regardless of where your car or a car you’re travelling in breaks down, you can choose where you would like the car towed to for repair work, if the mechanic is unable to fix your car at the roadside.
  • Home breakdown. If you’re close to home when your car or a car you’re travelling in breaks down, or the car won’t start outside of your home, you’ll get assistance with repairs.
  • Onward travel. This will ensure your journey can continue even if your car or a car you’re travelling in can’t immediately be fixed. You could get a replacement car or tickets for public transport. In some cases, you may be covered for an overnight stay.

Be sure to read your policy document carefully to ensure you have the right level of cover for your needs.

How much can you save with family breakdown cover?

The cost of a policy will vary for a lot of different regions, including age, location and how many people will be covered.

We gathered real quotes for The AA’s family breakdown cover and compared them with the cost of taking out 4 individual policies. Prices vary depending on location and age, but you can see in the table below that there’s a clear saving of 50% or more when you opt for a family policy (covers up to 4 people) instead of 4 individual ones.

RegionAgeThe AA annual family cover costThe AA 4x individual plans costTotal savings
London20£229.31£486.88£257.57
40£229.83£487.96£258.13
60£231.05£490.56£259.51
Birmingham20£240.78£511.20£270.42
40£241.32£512.36£271.04
60£208.92£487.40£278.48
Leeds20£217.85£462.52£244.67
40£208.92£462.84£253.92
60£175.96£397.36£221.40
Manchester20£217.85£462.52£244.67
40£219.01£465£245.99
60£201.66£445.28£243.62

These prices were sourced in August 2026 and depend on individual circumstances. They’re subject to change and won’t be the same for everyone. But as an illustration of the savings you can get from a family breakdown cover policy they’re very insightful.

What factors affect the cost of family breakdown cover?

There are many factors at play here. These include how many drivers are covered, the roadside repair capability, whether you’re taking out cover for named drivers or for the vehicle. Your location and age also have an impact.

In terms of how many drivers are covered, most providers cover 4 or 5 drivers.

Roadside repair capability will depend on the provider as well, with the big 2 of The AA and RAC having their own fleets. For example, The AA aim to get to you in around an hour and fix 80% of cars at the roadside. The price may be more expensive with The AA, but it’s justified due to more dedicated patrols, unlimited callouts and additional benefits.

Vehicle cover is usually cheaper than a personal policy, so it can be a good alternative if you or the others you’d like to cover only drive the same vehicles all the time.

Example: The Smith family realised they could save with family breakdown cover

Mark and Sarah Smith, their 21-year-old daughter Emily and 18-year-old son Jack didn’t have a a family breakdown cover policy.

When Emily's car had an issue, Mark had a look at their total spending on breakdown cover. He realised he could save money with a family policy.

Each family member had different policies, leading to a mix of coverage and high costs:

  • Mark had a premium standalone AA personal policy (£160 per year) so he was covered in any vehicle.
  • Sarah paid for RAC roadside recovery as an add-on through her car insurance (£75 per year).
  • Emily bought a basic Green Flag policy (£55 per year) when she started commuting to university.
  • Jack just passed his driving test and had no cover at all, which would be costly if he had a breakdown when driving on his own.

Their total household cost was £290 per year and that was only for 3 adults because Jack didn’t have any cover.

As they all lived at the same address, they were eligible to get a family policy.

This meant they could all get premium cover (roadside assistance, national recovery and home start) that would protect them whether they were driving their own cars, sharing a vehicle or as a passenger in someone else's car.

Mark compared prices online, then switched the entire household to an AA family policy covering up to 4 people living at the same address. He was able to save £125, get his son coverage and give everyone the same high level of cover he already had.

* This is a fictional, but realistic, example.

What is the best way to find cheap family breakdown cover?

You can get discounts on your first year if you compare your options online. Breakdown providers regularly have sales and you can c to get cheaper family breakdown cover. When you’re comparing providers and policies, be sure to look at more than just the price, because each provider has slightly different offerings.

Things to compareWhy it matters
Annual costIt’s cheaper to pay annually rather than monthly. But you also need to see what you’re paying for. You might opt for a cheaper plan with less included.
Roadside repair rate and speedProviders like The AA and RAC say they aim to get to you within an hour and fix 80% of callouts at the roadside. How likely this is will depend on where and when you break down, but it’s good to have an idea of what to expect before you purchase a policy.
Unlimited calloutsYou never know how often your car will breakdown as cars can be unpredictable. You can get unlimited callouts on your breakdown cover with providers like The AA and Green Flag, which ensures you can get the help you need, whenever you need it.
Patrol network sizeThe size of the patrol network could be a factor in how long you have to wait when you break down. The AA has around 2,700 patrol vehicles and for comparison RAC has around 1,700. Smaller providers like Start Rescue will rely on a local network of recovery vehicles to help you in the event of a breakdown. Green Flag has a small fleet of its own vehicles and uses a network of independent garages as well.
Recovery servicesIf repairs aren’t possible at the roadside, your car will need recovering and you (and your passengers) will need help getting home. You’ll need to pay for a premium policy to get more support here and every provider does things differently. Make sure you get the level of cover you need so there aren’t any surprises when you break down.
App functionalityThere’s an app for everything now, so it’s no surprise that breakdown providers have them. They allow you to report a breakdown and track when your patrol will arrive. But some apps are better than others, so be sure to read about what’s on offer when you compare providers.
Customer ratingsReading through reviews and customer ratings can help you decide which roadside assistance provider will be best for you. A cheaper provider with bad reviews might cost you more than you save when you need help.

Who offers family breakdown cover?

Many providers offer family breakdown cover, but the 3 largest are The AA, RAC and Green Flag.

You can get direct quotes for The AA and RAC through their respective websites, but for Green Flag you’ll need to call to get a quote.

The AA and Green Flag offer cover for up to 4 people, while RAC lets you include 5 on your policy, provided you all live at the same address.

In terms of callout limits, The AA and Green Flag offer unlimited callouts on all their plans, while RAC only does on more premium plans above the basic level.

Students are covered away from home during term time for RAC and The AA, but not with Green Flag. This is a useful feature and can really bring value in a policy.

Bottom line

Family cover can save you money if you have multiple people living at the same address. A single combined policy also simplifies things as opposed to having multiple policies. You should compare your options to decide whether it’s the right option for you.

Frequently asked questions

How much does family breakdown cover plus European travel extension cost?

The cost of any policy will depend on a range of factors. The more you add on, the more it will cost. You should look at comparing separate policies because European cover can sometimes be cheaper when purchased on its own as you only need it for the time you’re away.

What’s the difference between multi-car and family breakdown cover?

Multi-car cover is for more than 1 car at the same address. The cover is specific to the vehicle and not who is driving it. Family cover is specific to the people named on the policy and they can use any car.

Which breakdown cover features are most popular for families?

Unlimited callouts, national recovery and onward travel are popular features for family breakdown cover. Another popular feature is students maintaining cover when they’re living away from home for the academic year. The AA and RAC, among other providers, offer this as part of their family policies.

Is personal or vehicle breakdown cover better for families?

This will depend. If you only have 1 car and multiple people driving it, then it might make sense to just have vehicle cover. But if you have multiple drivers and multiple cars, then having personal family coverage could be a better option. And it covers you if anyone on the policy is in another vehicle too.

Is family breakdown cover suitable for multiple drivers?

Yes, it’s suitable, but you all need to be residing at the same address. Otherwise you’ll need to take out individual policies.

Is it cheaper to get family breakdown cover or individual policies?

It’s generally cheaper to get a family policy. While it might only be slightly cheaper if you add a second person to the policy, when you’re adding more people on top of that, you can get significant savings. The AA offers coverage for 4 people and RAC offers for 5, so you can really get some good value out of a family policy.

We show offers we can track - that's not every product on the market...yet. Unless we've said otherwise, products are in no particular order. The terms "best", "top", "cheap" (and variations of these) aren't ratings, though we always explain what's great about a product when we highlight it. This is subject to our terms of use. When you make major financial decisions, consider getting independent financial advice. Always consider your own circumstances when you compare products so you get what's right for you. Most of the data in Finder's comparison tables is provided by Defaqto. In other cases, Finder has sourced data directly from providers.
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Jason is a writer and editor. He worked as a senior subeditor for Finder for 5 years and in that time became familiar with a wide range of financial products and services. Before that, he worked for Australian Associated Press. He has a BA from Macquarie University in Australia. Jason loves to help other people find new ways to save money. See full bio

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