Imagine yourself in the following scenario. It is dark, wet and late at night and your car has just broken down on the side of the road. Your wife and children are tired and cold. What do you do?

Assuming that you have access to a mobile phone all is not lost. In many cases you will have had the foresight to arrange breakdown recovery insurance with one of the many large providers and you can simply ring them on their 24 hour emergency number, explain your circumstances and then sit and wait for them to send a truck to recover you.

But what if you do not already have breakdown cover? Who should you ring?

Your first port of call should be to ring one of the directory listing companies that are advertised on the television and radio. They should be able to find a local company that will come out and rescue you. Alternatively you can ring somebody at your home or work and ask them to look up car towing services on the internet in the area that you have broken down.

Whilst the above approach will result in your immediate predicament being resolved, a local recovery company may well be expensive (particularly if it is late at night or the weekend) and they might only be able to drop you at a local garage.

The moral of this article is simple. Do not leave it until your car has already broken down before trying to arrange for recovery, it is often more expensive and less comprehensive than a proper breakdown and recovery insurance policy.

When choosing a breakdown and insurance policy, take into consideration your requirements. If you require recovery to your home bear in mind that many policies only take you to the nearest garage! If you tow a boat or caravan not all recovery companies have the facilities to rescue both your car and your trailer. A visit to any of the large recovery provider’s websites will give greater insight into the features each policy offers and the costs involved. Do not leave it until it is too late; get breakdown insurance as soon as you can.