For generations even during the golden age of motoring there seemed to be a difference between the breakdown services options for personal use say for cars and that of commercial vehicles. The suggestion that van breakdown cover would become popular was not on the horizon as the adverts sent out a message about getting the stricken housewife who knows nothing about car mechanics home.

In reality though, the inconvenience of a motorist breaking down and cost implications of a commercial van breakdown could be miles apart. Think about the wages, the unhappy customer and the real threat of having the load stolen if the van is left unattended. If the breakdown was to happen on the way home, is there overtime involved and that unhappy customer, was there more custom to come from them.

So keeping that van on the road really could eat into the business pocket, not to mention the insurance issues involved. This is not meant to scare but more like a realisation of the needs of the business owner and why van breakdown cover has become more popular and how the service providers have adapted or should I say added to their policies and agreements to keep the businesses on the road.

Commercial vehicle policies are available from most providers now and in many cases the costs versus the rewards or can be a no brainer for the companies concerned. Call out times under 1 hour and even recovery to anywhere in the mainland could save serious money in this competitive world.

There was a lively discussion the other day between myself and a friend talking about where breakdown cover services will go in the future. It started with the huge rise in petrol costs that eventually will have an impact on what fuel we may choose in future years. Take the current hybrid cars, the Toyota being the most popular at the moment. What would the chances be that a breakdown could be caused by an electrical motor fault rather than a fuelled engine?
Well maybe not so high at the moment, it as hybrid cars are becoming more popular it only makes sense that eventually the fuel driven options will be reduced and electrical increased, meaning the breakdown cover patrol guys will probably need a new set of skills.
(more…)

It doesn’t matter what you watch, what you read the news of the day, month and possibly year is the credit crunch that is going to take away our homes and reduce our pensions. It doesn’t matter about the typhoon in Burma or the earthquake in China the credit crunch is here and everyone is going to be broke.
This obviously affects our buying habits and products or services we don’t need start getting put on the shelf. An example of this is breakdown cover, yes it is an insurance policy, but no, it is not compulsory by law and it is very easy to assume that next year your car, bike or van will not have a mechanical failure whilst on the road. (more…)