Updating breakdown cover when you move house

Breakdown cover doesn't carry a legal deadline the way council tax or the electoral roll do, which is exactly why it ends up forgotten — nothing forces the question. But unlike most of the subscriptions on a change-of-address list, some breakdown policies aren't just billed to an address; they're defined by it.

Why the address isn't just for billing

The AA's Local Driver product is explicit about this in its own policy booklet: among the conditions of using the cover it lists "Breakdown assistance at or within 20 miles of Your home address only", and that distance is measured "in a straight line directly from your home". Further out than that, you're expected to upgrade: "If You require service more than 20 miles from home or would like to add National Recovery (Relay), then You are required to upgrade your existing Local Driver breakdown cover to a standard AA Membership." And the booklet defines the home address as "the home address of the Member that we have recorded at the time of the relevant Breakdown" — the one on file, not the one you've just moved into.

The RAC's terms tie cover to the address on file in a similar way. They define home as "Your permanent home in the UK. It's the address you will see on your schedule", vehicle cover applies to vehicles "registered at your home address", and everyone on a personal policy must "live at the same home address". The RAC is blunt about what happens if that goes stale: "If any of your details change, let us know straight away. If you don't, there may be additional charges if you break down. In some cases you may not be covered."

What to actually do

1. 1

   Update it once you've moved in

   The AA's change-of-address page says "If you haven't moved yet, get in touch once you're in your new address", and both the AA and the RAC ask to be told straight away when your details change — so do it as soon as you've moved, not weeks later.

2. 2

   Check which product you've actually got

   "Breakdown cover" isn't one thing even within a single provider — the AA's Local Driver, for example, is limited to 20 miles from home where its standard membership is not. Read your own policy documents or log in to your account rather than assuming, since the figures above apply to specific named products, not every policy that provider sells. If you're splitting a household, check that too: the RAC requires everyone on a personal policy to live at the same home address.

3. 3

   Do it alongside your car insurer, not instead of it

   Breakdown cover and car insurance are usually separate policies, each with its own address on file. The car-insurance side — including why an out-of-date address can affect a claim — is covered on the insurer page; do both rather than assuming one covers the other.