Money tip #31 – Save money on your car breakdown insurance

This weekend I got a letter from the AA informing me that my breakdown cover was up for renewal at the end of the month. The letter also stated that they would renew my AA cover automatically and deduct the annual fee of £158 from my account by direct debit – I currently have the standard cover plus the Home start and Relay options.

So I thought to myself 'surely I must be getting some sort of discount especially as I have not had to call them out during the last year?' - But no, nothing!

So I shopped around and without much effort found that I could get the same cover level of cover with RAC for £100 online. One quick freephone call to the AA and they agreed to renew my contract for £100 rather than the original £158. No questions asked and no hassle. A saving of £58 (or nearly 37%!). A simple case of ''you don't ask, you don't get!'

So don’t just automatically renew your breakdown cover and shop around instead. It took me no more than 5 minutes from opening the letter, checking the RAC website to contacting the AA.

But if you have the time you could save even more. The breakdown sector is dominated by big names such as the AA and RAC but there are scores of cheaper alternatives. Click here to compare prices and find the cheapest deal out there