AA and RAC customers can get £56 knocked off their cover

Drivers can get RAC and AA breakdown cover for less than a third of the price. A recent study revealed drivers, motorists and road users up and down the country are paying three times more than they need to for breakdown cover.

Drivers fork out around £80 a year — worth up to £1.2 billion in total — for AA or RAC cover to guarantee they can access help if their car stops working when out on the road, This is Money has reported. RAC’s roadside breakdown cover averages £77 a year, depending on location and vehicle, according to researchers at consumer group Fairer Finance.

But the same cover is available from £21 if bought as an add-on to 1st Central car insurance — a 72 per cent saving or £56. The most expensive add-on cost for RAC cover found by Fairer Finance — £36 from Tesco Bank car insurance — would still amount to a saving of 53 per cent.

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AA standalone roadside breakdown cover averages £85 a year, according to Fairer Finance data, but drivers pay just £44.95 if they buy it as an add-on to Admiral car insurance. A Fairer Finance spokesman said: "In essence, when purchasing as an add-on, you are buying an AA or RAC membership, since the cover provided does not differ greatly from a standard membership, though a few cover levels might be adapted."

Fairer Finance managing director James Daley says: "People who are buying standalone cover have spent more time making a conscious decision to buy that cover, and maybe shopped around. Whereas buying it attached to a motor policy, it’s a much more passive experience. It’s possible some people don’t realise they’ve bought it, or forget they have."

A spokesman for the AA said: ‘"AA breakdown cover is available through packaged bank acc-ounts, however the level of cover varies, depending on the bank account a customer holds. Purchasing cover directly enables customers to pick and choose their level of cover, dependent on their needs.

"Purchasing cover directly through the AA also provides customers with additional benefits that aren’t always available through packaged bank accounts, such as 15 per cent off Greene King, up to 30 per cent off Vue, plus discounted MOT and vehicle servicing. If a customer who currently holds AA cover through their bank calls us to buy direct, or already has cover direct, then we’ll flag that to them and advise that they choose the cover that best suits their needs."