Breakdown Cover FAQs - GEM Motoring Assist

Established in 1932, we’ve been looking after our members for over 90 years. 

We have a long-standing heritage, and our founding road safety mission remains at the heart of everything we do. We still pride ourselves on going the extra mile to look after our members and keep you safe on the roads.

We introduced our own independent and comprehensive breakdown recovery service over 40 years ago. Read more about our car breakdown cover and The GEM Story. 

GEM Motoring Assist is now part of the Call Assist Group. Established in 1998, Call Assist Ltd works with an extensive network of around 425 approved Recovery Operators throughout the UK and an additional network in Europe, providing breakdown recovery assistance in over 45 countries.

In addition to GEM Motoring Assist, the Call Assist Group provides breakdown recovery services on behalf of many other insurance brands, including other household names, providing a service for over 2 million breakdown customers.

For a small membership fee, you can become a GEM club member and benefit from an exclusive quarterly magazine, vehicle road test reports, competitions and member discounts. Also included in GEM membership is unlimited access to our free expert technical advice.

GEM breakdown cover automatically includes GEM club membership and you can also become a GEM member without buying our breakdown cover.  

Becoming a GEM member goes beyond our simple and straightforward breakdown cover, expert motoring advice, personal service and great value membership benefits… membership also contributes towards the cost to support great road safety causes, which means each member is really making a difference - just by joining us.

GEM breakdown cover is award-winning and highly recommended by the experts…

At GEM Motoring Assist, we’ve been keeping our members on the move since 1932 and we are proud that, over the years, we have been recognised for the breakdown recovery service that we provide.

Which? Recommended Provider for Breakdown Services 2024

Highly Commended in the Personal Finance Awards 2023

Defaqto 5 Star Rating, one of the most comprehensive policies in the market

And most importantly, by our members… we have an average of 4.5 out of 5 stars for our online reviews on Trust Pilot, Reviews.io, Review Centre and Google.

At GEM our aim is to keep you on the move. That's why, included in GEM membership is free and unlimited access to our motoring and road safety content, plus expert technical advice on anything from MOT queries, which electric car to buy or how to fix that recurring problem under the bonnet.

Our Advice & News section is updated regularly with motoring related content including a list of useful motoring resources. 

You may also like to visit our Resources & Videos section for How To guides and more.

We were founded as a road safety association in 1932. Our founding road safety mission remains at the heart of everything we do and we still pride ourselves on going the extra mile to look after our members and keep them safe on the roads. Our road safety ethos encompasses driver wellbeing, vehicle wellbeing and all the motoring essentials that come with being a driver…. after all, these things all need to be taken care of to keep you safe and legal on the roads.

We established the GEM Road Safety Charity to enable us to continue to champion road safety, donating to worthwhile causes and initiatives to support projects across the UK that all have one thing in common – keeping people safe on the roads.

With GEM, our comprehensive and all-inclusive breakdown cover means you don’t have to pick and choose what your policy includes. Our personal breakdown cover automatically includes home and roadside assistance, nationwide recovery and onward travel. No add-ons or catches… just all-inclusive breakdown cover.

Getting covered is easy with GEM. Simply choose from two options…

Recovery EXTRA – unlimited callouts, just call our recovery control centre and we take care of everything for you.

Recovery RECLAIM - Designed to provide comprehensive cover at the lowest possible cost, our pay-and-reclaim option offers the same cover as Recovery EXTRA, but the member can choose to request assistance from GEM, or can pay the attending garage when assistance or recovery has been completed. The member then reclaims this cost and any travel or accommodation charges as appropriate, from GEM Motoring Assist. With Recovery RECLAIM members may make their own arrangements for assistance and recovery and reclaim the appropriate costs by completing a claim form and submitting relevant receipts.

With GEM's complete breakdown recovery and membership benefits package, we provide value for money and are cheaper than similar breakdown providers. 

It can be confusing when you have to add-on extras to arrive at the cover you need. With GEM, you don’t have to pick and choose. 

View our breakdown cover comparison for personal breakdown cover policies that include roadside assistance, home assistance, nationwide recovery and onward travel options for a single person.

What3Words is a free app that divides the world into 3m square grids with a unique identifier, comprising of three words.

We accept What3Words locations at our contact centre to help locate you. If you use the What3Words app to locate where you are, you will be able to give your What3Words location to the call handler when you call us to request breakdown recovery to help them to locate you.

If you use the GEM breakdown recovery app to request recovery, you will not be able to enter a What3Words location, however our app will locate you or you can enter your address. 

Our cover is personal, which means we cover you as a driver or passenger in any eligible vehicle*. Handy if you use more than one vehicle, whether that’s a car or small van, or perhaps something you enjoy less often like a motorbike, motorhome, towed caravan or trailer or an old classic.

The earliest we can cover you from is 24 hours after purchase. You can buy your breakdown cover up to three months in advance. So, if you're not going to be driving for a while, or you’re getting organised for an upcoming adventure, you can pay now and rest assured that your cover will start when you need it.

In the unfortunate event that you do need breakdown recovery assistance, requesting our help is now easier than ever. We have multiple ways you can let us know you’ve broken down, so you can pick the one that works best for you.

1. Download our self-service app and let us know you’ve broken down in seconds

2. Call our rescue helpline and select the option to receive a self-service online link by text message (no app required)

3. We’re still at the end of the phone if you prefer to speak to one of our rescue co-ordinators on 0330 999 2505 or 01206 785805

We use a nationwide network of approved local independent recovery operators, which means wherever you break down, help is not far away.

We pride ourselves on providing a speedy and efficient service throughout the whole of the UK. Response times can vary depending on the time of the incident, the day, the time of year and of course the weather. We use a nationwide network of approved local independent recovery operators, which means wherever you break down, help is not far away.

The transportation of domestic animals will be at the discretion of the recovery operator. We will endeavour to help arrange alternative transport however you will need to pay for this service immediately by credit or debit card.

We offer a simple, one-off, up-front annual payment with no hidden fees or extra charges... and that’s it! You can pay with most debit and credit cards and you can even set your cover to automatically renew.

No, you will still be covered providing you are driving any eligible vehicle or are travelling as a passenger in an eligible vehicle. Please see eligible vehicles below.

Eligible vehicles include private cars or motorcycles, vans with a gross vehicle weight (GVW) up to 3500 kgs, motorhomes/campervans with a GVW up to 3500 kgs that do not exceed 7 metres/23 feet in length or 2.3 metres/7 feet 7 inches in width (including any extra fitments). All other vehicles are not covered. If in doubt, check the terms and conditions.

No, we cover vehicles of any age. Many breakdown recovery providers will only cover vehicles of a certain age, but at GEM we appreciate heritage. As long as the vehicle is roadworthy and meets our eligible vehicle criteria, it doesn’t matter how old it is… it’s covered.

All our breakdown cover policies include cover for caravans, motorhomes and campervans at no extra cost.

Small domestic trailers are also included in our breakdown cover. Any caravan (up to 7 metres/23 feet long, not including the length of the a-frame or hitch) or trailer (up to 3.05 metres/10 feet long including any load, not including the length of the a-frame or hitch) attached to the broken down vehicle will be recovered with the vehicle.

In the event of a breakdown to the caravan or trailer being towed by the vehicle, we will recover it to one place chosen within the territorial limits, which means nationwide recovery. Any caravan or trailer must be attached using a standard 50 millimetre (2 inch) towing coupling.

You will find the GVW on the manufacturer’s plate.  It is a legal requirement for all light commercial vehicles (LCVs) to have one. 

The plates vary in position; one could be riveted to the inside of a front door panel, or somewhere within the engine bay. It may take the form of a sticker but the weights also tend to be listed in the owner’s handbook. 

If you are in any doubt, get in touch with the manufacturer giving them your vehicle chassis number, make and model. 

Various weights are etched/stamped on the manufacturer’s sticker/plate, including the Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW). This plate/sticker tends to contain the chassis number of the vehicle, too.

GVW is shown in kg and is on the manufacturer’s plate (or sticker or owners’ handbook and sometimes on the V5C vehicle registration certificate).

Note that the GVW is NOT the unladen weight.

No, GEM breakdown policies only cover vans with a GVW of up to 3500 kgs. Regardless of whether your van is empty or full, because it has a stated GVW of 3670 kgs on the manufacturer’s plate it is NOT covered.

Not always – it depends on the age of the vehicle.

On the V5C vehicle registration certificate, there are two weights given for more modern vehicles. Section 4.F.1, which is titled “Max, permissible mass”, is the same as Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW). The other figure is the “Mass In Service”, which is lower than the GVW.

Yes, MAM (Maximum Authorised Mass) and Revenue weight are the same as GVW.

We provide electric vehicle recovery for our members across the UK. Depending on availability at the time, we will allocate a recovery operator who can perform a mobile charge to help you on your way, or recover you to the nearest available charging station.