There’s a particular kind of freedom in loading the car, rolling onto the shuttle or ferry, and emerging with the whole continent in front of you. No baggage allowances, no airport queues, and the ability to change your plans on a whim because the Dordogne looked nicer than the plan said it would.
There’s also a particular kind of misery in breaking down 700 miles from home, on the wrong side of the road, in a language you last studied at school. Here’s how to make sure your summer trip stays in the first category.
What European breakdown cover actually does
Our European Cover extends your UK National Cover to 30 European countries, including all the summer favourites: France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Croatia and the Alpine countries en route.
If you break down abroad, you call the same 24-hour claims line you’d use at home (+44 1274 288 488), and a recovery operator will attend, attempt a roadside repair, and recover you to the nearest suitable garage if the car can’t be fixed at the scene. Annual European Cover gives you up to 90 days of European travel per policy year, with individual trips of up to 30 days, which comfortably covers a summer holiday, a ski trip and a long weekend or two.
Only making one trip? Single Trip Cover protects a single journey of up to 31 days, and includes National Cover in the UK for your travel dates, so you’re covered from your front door to the ferry and all the way back.
One eligibility note for older cars: vehicles need to be no more than 10 years old at the policy start date for European Cover, a little stricter than the 15-year limit for UK-only cover.
Breaking down on a European motorway works differently
This catches British drivers out every year. On many European motorways, you can’t simply call your own breakdown provider to the hard shoulder. The motorway operator or police control recovery from the carriageway, so the right move is to use the orange emergency telephones, which pinpoint your location, and let the authorised service move you to a safe place first. Once you’re off the motorway, call us and we’ll take over from there. You may have to pay the motorway operator for that initial recovery, so keep the receipt.
Everywhere else, call us directly, and use What3Words to share your exact location. It works just as well in rural Burgundy as it does in Birmingham.
The packing list that isn’t optional
Several European countries legally require equipment that UK drivers don’t carry day to day. Requirements vary by country and do change, so check the gov.uk travel advice for each country you’ll drive through before you go, but the usual suspects include:
- A UK identifier. Cars registered in the UK need a UK sticker or UK-marked number plate when driving in the EU.
- Reflective jackets, typically one per occupant, kept inside the car rather than in the boot, since several countries require you to put one on before stepping out at the roadside.
- A warning triangle, required widely across the continent.
- Headlamp beam deflectors, so your dipped beams don’t dazzle oncoming traffic when driving on the right.
- Your documents: driving licence, the vehicle’s V5C log book, your motor insurance certificate and your breakdown policy details. Paper copies, since signal in a Pyrenean valley is not guaranteed.
City driving rules that catch tourists out
The three most popular driving destinations all have urban schemes that issue fines by camera, often arriving months later via your hire or registration details:
- France uses Crit’Air clean air stickers in cities including Paris, Lyon and Grenoble. You buy the sticker in advance for a few euros; driving in a zone without one risks a fine.
- Germany has Umweltzonen (environmental zones) in most major cities, requiring an emissions windscreen badge.
- Italy is the big one: ZTL (Zona a Traffico Limitato) zones restrict access to historic centres in cities like Florence, Rome and Pisa. The boundaries are camera-enforced and notoriously easy to cross by accident while following a satnav to your hotel. If your hotel is inside a ZTL, ask them to register your plate.
None of this is a reason not to go. It’s a reason to spend twenty minutes on gov.uk before you leave.
Before you load the roof box
A breakdown abroad is far more likely in a car that was already grumbling at home. Two weeks before you travel: check coolant, oil and screenwash levels, tyre tread and pressures (including the spare, and your locking wheel nut), and get any warning light investigated rather than hoping it’s in a forgiving mood. Your car also needs to meet the policy’s roadworthy condition requirements, including a current MOT where applicable, so a pre-trip service is both good sense and good housekeeping.
And fill up carefully. Misfuelling cover applies in the UK only, and explaining to a French garage that you’ve put essence in a diesel is a conversation best avoided entirely.
Cover the trip before the trip
A 24-hour waiting period applies from your policy start date before you can claim, so European cover is something to arrange when you book the ferry, not when you’re queuing for it.
Annual European Cover and Single Trip Cover are both available at www.simplymotorcover.com, with single trips from £3.41 a day. Wherever the road takes you this summer, make sure help speaks your language.
SimplyMotorCover is a trading name of PlanProtect Limited, an appointed representative (FRN 988654) of Your Company Matters Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 486123). Policy terms, conditions and exclusions apply; see the policy wording for full details. Driving requirements abroad change; always check official guidance at gov.uk before travelling.
