Roadside assistance insurance is designed to protect motorists when their cars break down on the side of the road. The insurance company will send a tow truck or a few gallons of gasoline, or whatever you need to get back behind the wheel.
According to Consumer Reports, the coverage available through roadside assistance insurance can vary tremendously. It depend on where you purchase it – from your auto insurance provider, for example, or from an auto club – and the devil is very literally in the details.
For example, some roadside assistance insurance plans cover you regardless of what car you’re in. This means that if you borrow Aunt Edna’s 20-year-old sedan and it breaks down on the highway, you can still call your insurance company and receive assistance. Other plans, however, will only come to your aid when you are in your own vehicle.
Unlike traditional auto insurance, roadside assistance generally follows the driver. In other words, assistance will not be available in most cases if someone else is driving your vehicle when it breaks down. This is something to keep in mind, especially if your plan allows you to add family members for a small additional cost.
Keep in mind that there are also usually limits to roadside assistance insurance. The first time I used it, I didn’t realize that I needed to choose an auto mechanic within five miles of the accident in order to have my car towed free. I wound up paying a considerable per-mile fee when I had it towed to my regular mechanic almost 19 miles away.
In most cases, roadside assistance insurance covers two basic categories of service: emergency roadside service (e.g. jump starts, battery replacements, tire change); and lockout service (lock or key replacement). There is generally a limit to how many times you can use the service in a given year, and you might also be limited by the cost of these services (e.g. up to $300 per year).
Roadside assistance insurance becomes more sophisticated all the time, and nowadays many fringe benefits are offered with no increase in premiums. For example, you might get coverage for rental cars, free auto mechanic referrals and warranties on certain types of repairs. Talk to your insurance agent about your options.