RAC Arrival from C&CC versus ADAC

[wildebus]

I am with ADAC currently and it is good value. Never used it but no reason to think it will not deliver.

However ... there are complications with it, having to call a German number if you want support, so I am wondering if I might be better off with my usage pattern to change to RAC Arrival via C&CC. Pricewise they don't seem to be that much different and it could be a lot less complex to call upon if I (or the OH) were to need it?

Anyone had both and can provide comparisions, or done a detailed feature for feature between them? I know if I don't renew ADAC, then I won't be able to rejoin so it is not a matter of trying another for a year to see and going back.

 

[jagmanx]

I use "Comfort Insurance Breakdown Cover" which is allegedly AA (I think)
Called then in UK for a flat tyre and an RAC man arrived within time and sorted.
Last summer in Switzerland again had a tyre problem. A local "Swiss agent" arrived only in a small van (all that was needed as they knew the problem)
Again all sorted..(Replacing the tyre not included...as expected)
2nd call from Belgium (Antwerp) engine not starting so full transporter arrived. It was not needed as the problem was a faulty plug-in unit!
I detail this to say that IMO whichever you have they simply source the nearest available local agent. Who arrives and does !
Should the vehicle require garaging and you accommodation that is I think back to "Comfort" for hotel billls etc.
Yes ADAC will have multi-lingual agents..but if there is little in the price.."Buy British". Whoever you ring from abroad they will pass you to their main European contact centre who will then delegate to a country hub (I think) !
BUT just what I THINK I do not KNOW !!

 

[TeamRienza]

I cannot offer experience of ADAC, however I am with RAC Arrival through C&CC. Depending on family circumstances have a look at this option.

I have family membership (5 people) technically all at the same address. Covered for any vehicle they travel in, driver or passenger. We have roadside, recovery and onward travel plus annual European cover (all of the family, any vehicle). The cover is free of any weight, height, length or age restrictions and includes recovery from a bogged down site.
This cost me £300 this year (negotiated down from £310 last year. Easily achieved). This equates to extensive cover for approx £60 per family member which I consider to be good value. Particularly for the girls if travelling alone.
I have used them at various times for car problems over 30 years and find the service good, although as stated it can be an agent who arrives and at peak times, naturally wait times increase.
Not had to use them abroad or for Motorhome.

As an extra piece of information RAC offer stand alone legal cover for up to 5 people for £15 per annum. This compares to the £29 per policy quoted by most insurers, so a saving of £75 there on my 3 car multi policy. No membership needed. I have not needed to use it so quality unknown but never had to use the insurer version either.

Not perhaps the direct comparison you are hoping for but knowledge is power. Hope this information helps you.

Davy

 

[wildebus]

Great info.
The price surprises me though. At the C&CC website, they refer to the cost for club members as "from £7.95 a month" - so under £100 a year, rather than the £300 you pay. That £7.96 did seem pretty cheap mind and the word "from" always gets an alarm bell ringing! Is yours higher because of the Family Membership? I would be looking to cover just 2 people, both c&cc members, at the same address in any vehicle.
ADAC is super value at €102 for 2 people but decided the complication (and cost) of a foreign call each time could be a pain for the OH (and also me for that matter) so if RAC Arrival is ~£100, that is good.

Again, thanks for the info. Good point on the legal cover there. I use a company called MEM-Online for the same thing at a similar price and as you point out, much better value than the standard insurance policy offering. (I have not used mine either, but a friend who I put onto them a few years ago had occasion to use it and said they were spot on )

 

[in h]

At the C&CC website, they refer to the cost for club members as "from £7.95 a month" - so under £100 a year, rather than the £300 you pay. That £7.96 did seem pretty cheap mind and the word "from" always gets an alarm bell ringing! Is yours higher because of the Family Membership? I would be looking to cover just 2 people, both c&cc members, at the same address in any vehicle.
ADAC is super value at €102 for 2 people but decided the complication (and cost) of a foreign call each time could be a pain for the OH (and also me for that matter) so if RAC Arrival is ~£100, that is good.

I'm not clear about what RAC Arrival costs, but if it is £100 for full European cover including recovery, that sounds good. If it is £300, less so.
The Nationwide service which comes "free" with a £13 per month bank account (make it a joint account so that both account holders are covered whatever vehicle they are travelling in) is probably the best alternative to ADAC.

 

[Bigshug]

I think ADAC are going to change their Adac plus to be germany only. I read about this on another forum. I stopped my ADAC account last year because when I phoned to renew, the girl on the phone would not say that their cover for UK members would be continued after brexit

 

[wildebus]

I think ADAC are going to change their Adac plus to be germany only. I read about this on another forum. I stopped my ADAC account last year because when I phoned to renew, the girl on the phone would not say that their cover for UK members would be continued after brexit

They certainly changed it a couple of years ago so only German residents could join new. I wouldn't be surprised if renewals went the same way.

 

[TeamRienza]

The price of £300 relates to a family of 5. Literally 5 memberships at £60 (simplistic division). This is what makes it good value per head in relation to the services purchased, for instance if I remember correctly the annual European cover is about £93 as a stand alone element. It suits to go annual because we can do up to 3 European trips per year and also living in N. Ireland, technically driving into the south is Europe. Cover there (even before brexit) is afforded to northerners, but a bit of a grey area, so annual suits us.

As I mentioned at the start of my first post, this scenario may not suit everyone, the only way to check is to go to the RAC/Arrival website and build the level of cover that best meets your needs. I have not found any other breakdown service website offering anything comparable and I am not inclined to ring them to get specific quotes.

I just ran a quote for myself and wife. Basic roadside plus recovery and onward travel is £140 add annual European cover at £96, total cost £236. If I simplistically divide this by 2 (self and wife) it is either £70 per head or £118 with european add on. Because I name my 3 (adult) kids it adds only £60 approx for all of them to have the full levels of cover.

Davy

 

[wildebus]

I went onto the link via the C&CC website and came up with two likely scenarios for two people ...

The "Full Monty" option at £331, and the more limited choice at £140

So pretty well as you said. I agree as you include more people, the cost per person becomes significantly better.
In reality, I don't think I will be taking the camper abroad so removing that feature makes sense to save money.
Onward travel and At Home? Who knows. Not needed it so far. Onward Travel seems could be useful for an extra £30. Home Start for £43 sounds a pricy add-on.

I thought the £7.95/month in the "from £7.95" sounded to good to be true!

 

[Deleted member 2693]

I am with ADAC currently and it is good value. Never used it but no reason to think it will not deliver.

However ... there are complications with it, having to call a German number if you want support, so I am wondering if I might be better off with my usage pattern to change to RAC Arrival via C&CC. Pricewise they don't seem to be that much different and it could be a lot less complex to call upon if I (or the OH) were to need it?

Anyone had both and can provide comparisions, or done a detailed feature for feature between them? I know if I don't renew ADAC, then I won't be able to rejoin so it is not a matter of trying another for a year to see and going back.

I think it's a good idea depending upon what area if in Europe maybe a better reaction than the UK as having delt with ADAC as a driver working throughout Europe delivering, I changed to green flag this being around 2005

 

[Millie Master]

I have a single policy with https://www.autoaidbreakdown.co.uk/

The one policy which costs me just £59.99 and covers any vehicle that I own for UK use with an additional charged for overseas travel. They came out tops in various surveys and were highly recommended by the money saving expert Martin Lewis.

 

[wildebus]

I have a single policy with https://www.autoaidbreakdown.co.uk/

The one policy which costs me just £59.99 and covers any vehicle that I own for UK use with an additional charged for overseas travel. They came out tops in various surveys and were highly recommended by the money saving expert Martin Lewis.

Sounds good value
What I didn't mention in the intial post is why I went for ADAC initially and why I was looking specifically at RAC Arrival ... the need to cover a >3.5t camper. So autoaidbreakdown could have been a good option and thanks for the suggestion, but the gotcha which makes the right option harder to find for me and why they wouldn't be suitable is in the small print i.e. "Private cars and motorcycles. Vans, pick-ups and motorised caravans will only be covered if they do not exceed 3.5tonnes gross vehicle weight "

I have decided, looking at the various choices available, to open a new Flexplus account with the Nationwide (actually been with the Nationwide - or rather Nationwide Anglia since they first started their FlexAccount in the 80's but left in the early 2010's).
Seems the best value option when coupled with the Mobile Phone Insurance and Travel Insurance features.
Still got a potential 'gotcha' there as well though:

• Motorhomes - 8 metres in length or 7.5 tonnes in weight
• All other vehicles - 7 metres in length, 2.3 metres in width, 3 metres in height or 3.5 tonnes in weight (Please see Section 2 and 3B of the policy document, for further details on vehicle eligibility)

So if you have a van conversion and it has not been accepted to be reclassified as a Motor Caravan by the DVLA (a common issue now) and is over 3.5t, they could decide it was not covered? (mine is, so not a problem).

The RAC Arrival sounded good, but the "from" price quickly ramped up when adding in features that other policies were including.

 

[Tezza33]

ADAC have changed for anyone who does not reside in Germany, they have removed the plus part of the policy so when you next renew you will not be covered except in Germany, mine is due in August so I will be checking out the others.

 

[DnK]

ADAC have changed for anyone who does not reside in Germany, they have removed the plus part of the policy so when you next renew you will not be covered except in Germany, mine is due in August so I will be checking out the others.

I just got renewal for my plus membership which is now increased to €129 for the two of us. I'm UK based and theres no mention in the renewal or price increase letters that the service has changed in any way.

 

[Tezza33]

I just got renewal for my plus membership which is now increased to €129 for the two of us. I'm UK based and theres no mention in the renewal or price increase letters that the service has changed in any way.

I received the letter this morning telling me that in the future they are not renewing with plus membership for anyone not residing in Germany, it is possible you have renewed before they apply the rule


As you know as an interested ADAC member, the ADAC focuses its mobility services in particular on its more than 21 million members based in Germany in order to provide them with the best offers and services worldwide. In view of the fact that the complexity of the legal requirements that have to be met in connection with the provision of services, especially for Plus members residing abroad, we have decided that Plus services in the context of ADAC membership will only be for members in the future with residence in Germany.
Therefore we will change your ADAC Plus membership (and possibly existing partnerships of partners/children) from 01.08.20 to a membership without plus benefits.
Nevertheless, you will continue to be protected within the framework of your classic ADAC membership, for which you will of course pay a correspondingly cheaper membership fee. The services associated with classic ADAC membership, such as breakdown assistance in Germany, legal advice, ADAC Tourset or the ADAC benefit program, remain in effect for you.
If your main place of residence is in Germany and does not correspond to the address given above, please provide us with the address of your main place of residence in Germany.
Kind regards
Michael Dern Head of Members Individual Topics & Last Level Service (MIL)

 

[DnK]

I received the letter this morning telling me that in the future they are not renewing with plus membership for anyone not residing in Germany, it is possible you have renewed before they apply the rule


As you know as an interested ADAC member, the ADAC focuses its mobility services in particular on its more than 21 million members based in Germany in order to provide them with the best offers and services worldwide. In view of the fact that the complexity of the legal requirements that have to be met in connection with the provision of services, especially for Plus members residing abroad, we have decided that Plus services in the context of ADAC membership will only be for members in the future with residence in Germany.
Therefore we will change your ADAC Plus membership (and possibly existing partnerships of partners/children) from 01.08.20 to a membership without plus benefits.
Nevertheless, you will continue to be protected within the framework of your classic ADAC membership, for which you will of course pay a correspondingly cheaper membership fee. The services associated with classic ADAC membership, such as breakdown assistance in Germany, legal advice, ADAC Tourset or the ADAC benefit program, remain in effect for you.
If your main place of residence is in Germany and does not correspond to the address given above, please provide us with the address of your main place of residence in Germany.
Kind regards
Michael Dern Head of Members Individual Topics & Last Level Service (MIL)

Oh! not sure I want to renew now if thats their future for non German members. Thanks for letting us know.

 

[Tezza33]

Oh! not sure I want to renew now if thats their future for non German members. Thanks for letting us know.

If they are quoting you for plus membership then I would think you will have it for 12 months before it changes, others who have received the letter shows a different date than mine, the date on mine is my renewal date so I presume the others are
From WC

ADAC Again!

Hi all, I’ve been told that my ADAC breakdown only covers 90 days abroad ... it never occurred to me that it did but haven’t read all the terms and conditions. Can anyone confirm either way?

wildcamping.co.uk

ADAC Again!

Hi all, I’ve been told that my ADAC breakdown only covers 90 days abroad ... it never occurred to me that it did but haven’t read all the terms and conditions. Can anyone confirm either way?

wildcamping.co.uk

both have different dates, it might be worth a phone call or an email to clarify

 

[DnK]

If they are quoting you for plus membership then I would think you will have it for 12 months before it changes, others who have received the letter shows a different date than mine, the date on mine is my renewal date so I presume the others are
From WC

Today got the letter confirming changes from 1/6/20 as you said. My renewal date is 1/6/20 so its naughty for them to send me a letter detailing fee increase and the renewal quote then 2 days later the letter with reduced benefits of membership. I wont be renewing.

 

[in h]

I have a single policy with https://www.autoaidbreakdown.co.uk/

Page 5 of https://www.autoaidbreakdown.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/AutoAid-1216-V3-0.pdf says:
"Motorised caravans can be covered provided they are under 2.5 tons gross vehicle weight and with an engine capacity of no more than 2500 cc, which is being driven by either you, or your legal spouse or civil partner. "

So that would cover small camper vans, but only the very smallest motorhomes. Even my car is over both those limits.

 

[in h]

Onward travel and At Home? Who knows. Not needed it so far. Onward Travel seems could be useful for an extra £30. Home Start for £43 sounds a pricy add-on.

I thought the £7.95/month in the "from £7.95" sounded to good to be true!

Well, the word "from" is generally a sign of something being hidden.
Although Home Start sounds expensive, for most people, home is the place you are most likely to be when the car won't start.
In my view, it should be covered by default, but making it an extra allows a lower "standard" premium.
I was wondering if there is a cheaper option than the Nationwide one I use, but it looks increasingly good value.
Breakdown cover, Recovery home, Home start, European cover, European recovery home, personal cover for two people.
At £156, even if you ignore any other benefits of the bank account, it is good value