Where can you buy roadside assistance?
If you want to purchase roadside assistance, plenty of companies offer coverage and can assist you. Car insurance companies, motor clubs, and even credit card and cell phone companies offer roadside assistance plans.
Where you purchase roadside assistance will vary depending on your needs and your current car insurance provider. Here are some options to consider if you don’t know where to start looking for roadside assistance coverage.
Car insurance companies
Most major car insurance companies provide roadside assistance services as an optional add-on coverage.[2] To begin, reach out to your car insurance provider to find out what’s available.
Buying roadside assistance as an add-on policy from your current insurance provider is usually the cheapest option. However, many insurance providers offer roadside assistance as a stand-alone policy for anyone to purchase.
See Also: Cheap Car Insurance
Need Roadside Assistance Coverage?
Motor clubs
For an annual fee, you can join a motor club and receive a variety of benefits. For instance, your motor club may offer roadside assistance, including towing and labor services; discounts on hotels and rental cars; and other reduced rates.
One of the best-known motor club examples, AAA serves 61 million members with a variety of vehicle assistance, insurance, and financial services through 32 affiliated motor clubs and more than 1,000 North American branch offices.[3]
Keep in Mind
You typically need to purchase a membership to the motor club to receive roadside assistance services. This option works well for people who want to take advantage of the additional perks that come with that membership.
Roadside assistance companies
Specialty companies, like OnStar, also provide roadside assistance services to customers. You may receive more comprehensive coverage with a roadside assistance company, but your plan will likely cost more than what you’d pay for an add-on policy from an auto insurer.
Cell phone and credit card companies
Some cell phone and credit card companies provide roadside assistance as a benefit to their customers. For example, Chase provides roadside assistance to customers traveling anywhere in the U.S. and Canada. For a flat fee, you can access services related to towing, jump starts, or lockouts.
And AT&T offers roadside assistance to its customers for an additional $2.99 per month. However, the services provided as perks of these companies may be more limited than coverage from your insurance company or a motor club.