When your car won’t start in the morning due to a flat battery, you may regret not taking out additional at home cover when you bought your breakdown insurance. AA home start extends roadside assistance cover to provide you with protection when you breakdown at home or within the first quarter mile of home.

The number one reason the AA is called out to a member at home is because their battery is either flat or faulty. This can be due to a number of reasons including, faulty connections, faulty alternator not charging the battery, improper maintenance of the battery (although most modern batteries are now maintenance free and do not need to be topped Up), cold weather affecting the batteries performance and ability to accept a charge, and last, but not least, loss of charge due to either a short in the system or an electrical item being left on such as an interior light, a boot light or a radio.

The AA are called out more than half a million times each year to breakdowns that are a result of a faulty or flat battery and as a result they replace more than 140,000 batteries. When you consider that most battery problems only become apparent when you stop and leave your car sitting for a length of time before you start it again, AA HOME cover could be a sensible addition to the breakdown package you choose. Still unsure whether you should choose AA or RAC Home Cover? The following may help you decide.

Common reasons why you may need to use your AA home start cover

• Flat battery
• faulty battery
• lost keys
• flat tire
• alternator problems
• starter motor problems
• distributor cap
• HT leads
• fuel problems
• ignition problems
• frozen breaks

What you’re covered for – AA Home Start

• A breakdown at or within a quarter of a mile of your home
• AA Labour costs

what you’re not covered for – AA home start

• The cost of any spare parts
• the cost of any oil, petrol or diesel your car may need
• the cost of Labour other than the AA patrol’s time or that of their appointed agent
• the cost of any routine maintenance or running repairs

AA home start service may be refused if:

• repeated callouts for the same problem or fault
• you are not with your vehicle at the time the AA patrol man arrives
• the AA patrol considers your vehicle to be unsafe, in a dangerous condition or unlawful to use on a public highway
• the AA patrol considers there has been an unreasonable amount of time since your vehicle first broke down
• you are unable to produce your AA membership card or other proof of membership
• in the opinion of the AA patrol fixing your vehicle would put them in danger or would contravene the AA’s health and safety guidelines
• assisting you would put the AA patrol in a breach of the law
• the AA patrol considers you or any of your passengers is posing a threat to them or you are acting in an abusive/unacceptable manner
• the AA patrol has reason to believe you are not who you say you are or are not entitled to home start cover
• the AA patrol believes you have helped someone in obtaining the AA’s services that are not entitled to them

AA home start membership options

The cheapest AA breakdown cover home start package is usually based on a single vehicle membership, where you specify a vehicle to be covered whoever is driving it. Alternatively there are a number of personal cover plans including:

• Personal membership – individual cover for one person whatever car they are driving or are a passenger in
• joint membership – personal membership with an extra person living at the same address
• family membership for 3 – personal membership plus two other people living at the same address
• family membership for 4 – personal membership plus three other people living at the same address

Other breakdown cover options

AA roadside assistance is included in all breakdown cover packages, additional options include home start, national breakdown recovery, onward travel and European breakdown cover

To compare AA, RAC and Green Flag breakdown cover visit www.breakdowncover.co.uk where you will find the latest breakdown cover offers, prices and membership options.  AA breakdown cover including home start gives you peace of mind should your car not start on those cold winter mornings.

Roadside assistance only includes the AA patrols Labour costs and not any labour costs once your car has been towed to a local garage or any parts needed. If your car cannot be fixed at the roadside the AA patrolman will tow your car, you and up to 7 passengers to a local garage of the AA’s choice.

What you are covered for – AA roadside cover

• A breakdown on the highway more than a quarter of a mile from your home address
• AA patrolman’s labour costs
• A tow to a local garage

What you’re not covered for – AA roadside cover

• The cost of any spare parts, keys, oil or petrol/diesel or in fact any materials required to repair your.
• The cost of labour other than the AA patrols.
• Additional transport costs you may incur once you have been towed to a local repairer.
• Any costs for recovery or a tow following an accident.
• Routine maintenance and running repairs.
• Assistance following a breakdown or accident that is attended by any emergency service until the service concerned authorises the vehicles removal. Should they insist on recovery by third-party the AA will not cover the costs.
• A second recovery once your vehicle has been recovered to local garage.

The AA may refuse service if:

• You breakdown with the same or similar cause to one that was attended by the AA in the previous 28 days.
• You are not with your vehicle at the time of breakdown or not there when the AA patrol arrives.
• In the opinion of the AA patrolman, your vehicle prior to breakdown was unsafe, overladen, dangerous or unlawful to use on a public road.
• In the AA’s opinion, there has been an unreasonable amount of time in reporting the breakdown.
• You cannot produce your AA membership card or receipt and some other form of identification.
• In assisting you the AA patrol is put in danger or is in breach of the AA’s health and safety guidelines.
• In assisting you the AA patrol is in breach of the law.
• The AA patrol considers that you or any of your passengers is behaving in a threatening way, and abusive way or has behaved in an unacceptable way towards an AA patrol, agent or any third party contractor.
• The AA patrol believes you have misrepresented who you are and what services you are entitled to.
• The AA patrol believes you have helped another person in obtaining AA breakdown cover that they are not entitled to.

AA Roadside assistance options

The cheapest AA Roadside cover will cover your vehicle only, you will need to supply the AA with the vehicle details then that vehicle will be covered regardless of who is driving it. Other more expensive options include:

• Personal cover, allowing you to drive any car while being covered.
• J oint cover, personal cover for two people living at the same address.
• Family cover for three, personal cover for three people living at the same address.
• Family cover for four, personal cover for four people living at the same address.

Other breakdown cover options

AA Roadside assistance is included with all other membership options, should you wish to extend your cover for home and within the first quarter mile of home you can add at home breakdown cover, if you want your vehicle recovered anyone other than to a local garage you can add breakdown recovery and if you want the option to continue your journey should you breakdown you can select the onward travel option. All these are added on to your basic AA Roadside cover, however, if you want cover while you are outside of the UK but still within Europe you can take out European breakdown cover either as a stand alone product or an addition to your AA UK breakdown cover.

For further details of AA breakdown cover we suggest you visit www.breakdowncover.co.uk for the latest AA offers and to compare AA, RAC and green flag membership deals.