Recovery EXTRA - Personal Breakdown Cover

What does Recovery EXTRA personal breakdown cover include?

Recovery EXTRA cover is a personal breakdown recovery service. With our personal breakdown cover, you will be covered as a driver or passenger in any car or motorcycle, and you will also be covered if you drive a van with a gross vehicle weight up to 3500 kgs. We even include car and caravan breakdown cover in our policies, so you're covered if your car is towing a caravan or small trailer.

With our Recovery EXTRA breakdown cover, you just make one simple phone call or request through our breakdown recovery app, and we provide roadside assistance and do everything else for you. Whether it's a fix at the roadside or a 'recovery breakdown' where we take you to another location, we arrange everything for you with Recovery EXTRA. 

Please note, all breakdown cover with GEM is personal cover, we do not provide vehicle breakdown cover. 

This is what's included in GEM's EXTRA recovery breakdown personal cover policy:

Home Assistance

If you're at home and your vehicle won't start (or grinds to a halt around the corner, within a quarter of a mile from your home) call us for home assistance. We'll either fix it there or, if that's not possible, we will take it to the nearest suitable garage that can.

Roadside Assistance

If you break down on your journey, we provide roadside assistance. We can do most basic repairs right there. If you breakdown more than a quarter of a mile from home we will carry out emergency repairs to get you going, otherwise we will recover the vehicle to the nearest suitable garage which is able to undertake the repair the same working day. If neither are possible we will recover you to a UK destination of your choice.

Nationwide Recovery

If we can’t repair your vehicle at the roadside or we are unable to find a local garage to carry out the repair during that working day we will take you, your vehicle and the passengers to your destination… anywhere in the UK.

Onward Travel and Overnight Accommodation

What is onward travel breakdown cover? If you're far from home when you break down (more than 25 miles from home) and repairs can’t be carried out that day, we can assist with onward travel or overnight accommodation up to the value of £200.

We don't just assist car breakdowns

We look after you as a GEM member, which means we also cover accidents and driver illness. And with our personal breakdown cover, you can call us for assistance as a driver or passenger in any eligible vehicle you're travelling in.

*Eligible vehicle: Private cars or motorcycles, Vans with a gross vehicle weight (GVW) up to 3500 kgs, Motorhomes/campervans with a GVW up to 3500 kgs which do not exceed 7 metres/23 feet in length or 2.3 metres/7 feet 7 inches in width (including any extra fitments). If in doubt, check the terms and conditions. We cover any vehicle excluding vans with a GVW over 3500 kgs, HGVs, LCVs, minibuses, vehicles used for private/public hire or to carry livestock. If in doubt, check the terms and conditions or call our friendly Member Services team on 01342 825676 to check if your vehicle is covered.

Why join GEM Motoring Assist for your breakdown cover?

Award-winning - Which? Recommended Provider, Highly Commended in the Personal Finance Awards 2023, Defaqto 5 Star Rated

Comprehensive breakdown cover - 24/7 home and roadside breakdown assistance, nationwide recovery and onward travel

Value for money - we're up to 45% cheaper than similar breakdown policies and you can cover up to four drivers in one policy

Personal breakdown cover - you're covered in any eligible vehicle* you're travelling in with personal cover

Unlimited call-outs - plus we cover driver illness, punctures, flat batteries and running out of fuel or charge

Easy assistance - share your location through the GEM app and log your request in seconds or request recovery by phone

GEM club membership - exclusive quarterly magazine, vehicle road test reports, technical advice, competitions and member offers

We’ve been around a long time - established in 1932, we’ve been looking after our members for over 90 years. Read The GEM Story.

FAQs

How long has GEM Motoring Assist been in existence?

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 and we still pride ourselves on going the extra mile to look after our members and keep them safe on the roads. Find out more about The GEM Story.

We introduced our own independent and comprehensive breakdown recovery service over 40 years ago. GEM has been named a Which? Recommended Provider for our breakdown cover in September 2024.

Read more about our car breakdown cover and The GEM Story.

Do you cover the member or the vehicle?

Our cover is personal, which means we cover you as a driver or passenger in any eligible vehicle you're travelling in. We do not offer vehicle breakdown cover.

Handy if you're looking for the best car breakdown cover that also includes 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.

So if you're researching the best breakdown cover UK wide, for multiple vehicles, GEM's personal breakdown cover is a great option for you.

Am I covered as a passenger?

Yes! We cover you as a passenger in any eligible vehicle* you are travelling in that is covered under our terms and conditions. Please also see eligible vehicle information below.

What is personal breakdown cover?

Rather than covering one specific vehicle, you're covered in any eligible vehicle* you're travelling in with personal breakdown cover. So if you're considering whether you need breakdown cover - personal or vehicle - think about how many vehicles you need cover for, and how many people you need cover for, as you may be able to combine your breakdown cover policies into one.

Consider GEM Motoring Assist if you're looking for a personal cover breakdown policy that provides you with breakdown cover for a person, not a specific vehicle.

What vehicles are covered with personal breakdown cover?

When you choose personal cover it does not mean you are restricted when it comes to the vehicle you are driving or travelling in as a passenger.

Eligible vehicles include: Private cars or personal car breakdown recovery cover for car and motorcycles, Vans with a gross vehicle weight (GVW) up to 3500 kgs, Motorhomes/campervans with a GVW up to 3500 kgs which do not exceed 7 metres/23 feet in length or 2.3 metres/7 feet 7 inches in width (including any extra fitments).

We cover caravans which do not exceed 7 metres/23 feet in length (not including the length of the 'A' frame or hitch) and trailers which do not exceed 3 metres/10 feet in length (including any load but not including the length of the A frame or hitch).

Any caravan or trailer must be attached using a standard 50 millimetre/2 inch towing coupling. We DO NOT cover Vans with a GVW over 3500kgs. If in doubt, please check the terms and conditions.

Will personal breakdown cover also cover my family?

If you want other members of your household to be covered by your personal breakdown cover policy when they are driving, then you will need to add each family member to your policy. Please note, this only means family members who are driving age, you don't need to let us know about other family members in your household, such as young children. We cover up to four drivers in one household at GEM.

Personal vehicle coverage does not automatically cover your family members, only those in the same household as the policyholder who are named on the policy. However, if you are driving your vehicle, your passengers will be covered under your policy.

What are eligible vehicles?

Eligible vehicles include private cars or motorcycles. Van breakdown cover applies to vans with a gross vehicle weight (GVW) up to 3500kgs. We cover 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. If you're looking for van breakdown cover, please note we DO NOT cover vans with a GVW over 3500kgs.

Do you cover classic cars?

Yes! When you buy breakdown cover we will cover vehicles of any age, including classics. Looking for classic car breakdown cover?

Will my caravan or trailer be covered?

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 any 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.

Looking for caravan or motorhome breakdown cover?

What is the difference between Recovery EXTRA and Recovery RECLAIM?
Getting the best breakdown cover is easy with GEM. Simply choose from two options…

Recovery EXTRA – unlimited call-outs included in your car breakdown cover. Just call our recovery control centre and we take care of everything for you.

Recovery RECLAIM - comprehensive cover at the lowest possible cost, with our pay-and-reclaim option you can contact us for assistance or you can make your own arrangements for assistance and claim the appropriate costs from GEM.

A great option if you prefer to go to a specialist garage, you'd like your vehicle to be seen by a favourite mechanic who knows the service history, or if you want to pay less up-front for your cover.

What if I put in the wrong type of fuel?

Some breakdown cover companies simply won’t come out if you run out of fuel or charge, fill up with the wrong fuel, get a flat battery or lose your car keys. GEM Motoring Assist have limits in these scenarios but we know that these things happen, and we will help.

We provide unlimited callouts too - so you can drive with peace of mind knowing you are covered for many eventualities, including driver illness, punctures, flat batteries, misfuelling and running out of fuel or charge.

When is the earliest I can be covered?

At GEM we don't offer instant breakdown cover, 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.

How quickly will I get assistance?

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.

Can I get European breakdown cover?

Yes, you can buy European breakdown cover to cover any breakdowns in Europe.

GEM provides a specialist UK breakdown service and, whilst we don't offer our own European Breakdown Cover, if you're looking for breakdown cover including European travel, we can still help.

Especially for GEM members, we’ve teamed up with Travel Insurance Specialists P J Hayman to bring you Euro Plus: a discounted European Breakdown Cover. So if you need breakdown cover for UK and European adventures, you can get both through your GEM membership.

Do you have any testimonials or awards?

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

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.