No, you can call out your own trusted breakdown agents if you want as long as you get the receipt, you don't have to use their agents unless you want.

Click on their "help & advice" tab at the page top in the link.

When you are far away from your destination it is very much in their interests to repair at the roadside or local garage, otherwise they would have to provide a long expensive recovery either home or to your destination.

I was already thinking of Autoaid as a matter of fact. I gather they are more of a recovery service than road-side repair but overall comments seem to be favourable. They seem ideal for a low-mileage driver like me who needs a cheap "Just In Case" cover.

This company Autoaid (voted best value by consumer groups) charges £36 / annual breakdown cover and gives your spouse free cover for whatever car they break down in addition to yourself.

You can pay the bill by credit card or what you prefer at the scene..... get a receipt, then send it to them for full reimbursement around ten days later, it works well and is backed by Equity Red star insurance and operated by Boncasters........it is a bargain as you effectively have two cars covered for £36. ! (If you're married)

http://www.autoaidbreakdown.co.uk/index.htm

This is a really useful tip! Thanks for posting it!

Exactly the same thing happened to me with Green Flag - I saved over £20 on the level of cover I wanted just by cancelling/renewing - I've now added a 2nd car and the total is only £4pa more than their original renewal quote for 1 vehicle!

Mind you, it appears to be the same for all "insurance" products - had a crazy conversation with Direct Line re car insurance - as a result I will not be automatically renewing ANY policies any more.I've actually saved £50 on car insurance and £20 on annual travel insurance this week alone!

I've just received my renewal demand from Green Flag. As a loyal customer and because I did not claim last year I have been given a 10% discount if I renew my policy. Checking on-line and applying for cover as a NEW member, the premium is £10.00 cheaper than my "special price".

Experience shows you should always check the new customer price first, I have caught out several suppliers in this way. Many years ago when I was a buyer, I was told a tale of a major on-line stationery supplier who have different priced catalogues for new and existing customers. I always ordered a new client catalogue every year and compared to the repeat customer brochure I saved a considerable sum.